Dear Friend of the SS United States:I wrote to you last fall about the need to extend the timeline of our Request for Proposals for redevelopment of the SS United States. At that time, I held much hope that one of the potential real estate partners with whom we were negotiating would enter an agreement with the SS United States Conservancy to re-purpose the ship as a permanently moored mixed-use development.Unfortunately, this has not yet come to pass. For various reasons, the potential partners we discussed our concept with have proved unable to advance in the project. The reasons are not difficult to understand, given that we are still in a recovering economy. They include capital shortfalls, competing interests, and regulatory hurdles. Put simply, the scale and uniqueness of our concept have hindered our ability to enter a development contract.Our efforts over the past year have been guided and advanced by many very talented and committed people. However, the fact remains that we do not yet have a signed deal and are entering a precarious situation. While we have not given up hope and continue in the active search for a scenario that will save our great national flagship, we are rapidly running out of resources and cannot afford to keep the SS United States at her current berth indefinitely.The very positive side of the story is the fact that we have been building a large and diverse network in support of the ship and have amassed significant intelligence on how and where this project can occur. Multiple feasibility and other studies have been conducted and word of our vision has reached high levels in the public and private sectors. For these reasons, we must remain steadfast in pursuit of a deal.We have seen very dark days during the past nine years, including almost losing the ship to scrappers in 2010 before the miraculous intervention of Gerry Lenfest. There is hope that similar support can emerge now but, as the old saying goes, "Hope is not a strategy." We must continue to engage with supporters of the SS United States from across America and the world, with potential private sector partners, and with government officials who may be in a position to help.We have never felt more strongly that our great ship offers unparalleled opportunities, in the form of business and tax revenue generation, economic and community development options, much-needed hospitality, curatorial, and educational amenities, and even significant heat and electrical power creation. It is now our task to deliver this message, loudly and clearly, to the people who can help make the SS United States a crown jewel in a metropolitan waterfront district.Please continue with us in the effort to save our ship. We are at a major crossroads, having identified potential sites and financing arrangements, while painfully aware of our limited resources and dwindling time. Let’s keep faith that the right scenario can and must emerge.As always, THANK YOU for your ongoing faith, support, and patriotism. Let's save our ship.Respectfully,Dan McSweeneyManaging DirectorSS United States Redevelopment Project
Letter from Executive Director Susan Gibbs
Dear SS United States Conservancy supporter,This week we are launching an urgent "Save Our Ship" campaign to raise funds to extend support for the 1,000-foot-long vessel's carrying costs while we continue to advance our museum and redevelopment plans. Click here to view our press release and click here to read today's Associated Press story. While we have made great strides over the course of the year, our efforts have now reached a critical threshold.We are so proud of what we've accomplished to date. We purchased the SS United States in 2011 and saved the historic vessel from certain scrapping. We have built a national organization now numbering thousands of members hailing from all 50 states and 22 countries. We have developed exciting plans for the SS United States Center for Design and Discovery, expanded our collections of archives and artifacts, produced compelling educational and communications materials, and created the SS United States Redevelopment Project to harness the ship's considerable economic potential. We also created an innovative crowdfunding preservation campaign at SavetheUnitedStates.org, and more than 50,000 virtual pieces of the ship have been purchased and personalized to date. Our innovative strategies to raise funds and awareness have garnered international media attention from among others, the Associated Press, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the Philadelphia Inquirer, CBS and NBC News, National Public Radio, and a wide range of other print and broadcast outlets.Over the course of the year, the SS United States Redevelopment Project has advanced plans to repurpose the ship as a stationary mixed-used development. As Dan McSweeney, the Project's Managing Director details below, we have reached out to hundreds of potential partners and entered into detailed redevelopment discussions for possible permanent placement of the ship in New York and Pennsylvania. However, the slow economy, capital constraints, competing interests, regulatory hurdles, and the project's scale and complexity have thus far hindered a final deal. While some intriguing new scenarios and potential partnerships have recently emerged, this exciting window of opportunity will close without additional time and funding.We are launching an urgent appeal with the goal of raising $500,000 from new donors, corporate sponsors, and other supporters to insure that the SS United States' legacy is honored and celebrated - and not destroyed. We have reached an all-hands-on-deck moment. We hope you will join us in urging your friends, family and colleagues to become Conservancy members and "shipowners" at SavetheUnitedStates.org. We seek your help in reaching out to political leaders, the press, and potential corporate sponsors and investors. We welcome your suggestions on how we can insure that our campaign succeeds.With all the attention being given to plans for the Titanic II - a replica of an ocean liner that met a tragic end - we still have the chance to save the most famous ship that didn't sink. If this singular American achievement is destroyed, we will lose an unparalleled opportunity to create jobs, honor our history, and celebrate the nation's enduring capacity for innovation. The SS United States conveys a simple and timeless message: Anything is possible.Thank you so much for your continued support.Susan GibbsExecutive DirectorSS United States Conservancy
March 25, 2013 - PRESS RELEASE: America's Flagship May Soon Be Lost Due To High Costs
AMERICA’S FLAGSHIP MAY SOON BE LOST DUE TO HIGH COSTS
Though Progress Has Been Made, Historic SS United States Could Face Destruction Without Political Will, Public Support and Private Investment
(PHILADELPHIA, PA) March 25, 2013—Her faded red, white and blue funnels are the last of their kind in the world, but they may soon disappear forever unless emergency funding for her upkeep can be raised in the coming weeks.The SS United States received a temporary stay of execution two years ago when she was purchased by a historic preservation group committed to restoring the vessel as a stationary waterfront attraction. The nation’s largest and most famous ocean liner is now once again in grave danger. The only ship to bear the name United States is running out of time due to the high costs of maintaining the nearly 1000-foot-long vessel and slow progress on inking a deal to convert the ship into a mixed-use destination and museum complex.If the SS United States Conservancy can’t secure $500,000 from new donors, corporate sponsors, and other supporters, America’s Flagship could be sold to scrappers within the next two months. The Conservancy urgently needs the funds to keep the ship in the water while promising redevelopment and museum discussions and plans continue to advance. The ship’s monthly maintenance, security costs and operational expenses are upwards of $80,000.“This is a four-alarm historic preservation crisis,” said Susan Gibbs, the Conservancy’s executive director. “If this great American achievement is destroyed, we will lose an unparalleled opportunity to create jobs, honor our heritage, and celebrate technological innovation. With all the attention being given to plans for the Titanic II – a replica of an ocean liner famous for tragedy - we hope the American people and their political leaders will join us in saving the United States. Rather than build a reproduction of the Titanic in China, let’s repurpose the most famous ship that didn’t sink here at home before it’s too late.”The Conservancy, a grassroots preservation group, has succeeded in raising $6.8 million to purchase and maintain the ship and advance its vision of repurposing the world’s fastest ocean liner. To date, the Conservancy has relied exclusively on tax-deductible contributions from private citizens from across the country and around the world. There has been no government intervention to save the historic ship – the crowning American maritime achievement of the 20th Century.In just the last eighteen months, the Conservancy has succeeded in advancing plans for the SS United States Center for Design and Discovery, building a collection of artifacts from the vessel, and creating a thriving global community of supporters. Thousands of donors are purchasing virtual pieces of the vessel through an innovative and massive crowdfunding campaign at SavetheUnitedStates.org. More than 50,000 virtual pieces of the ship have already been purchased and personalized. That campaign and the group’s other creative activities to raise funds and awareness have garnered international media attention from among others, the Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, CBS and NBC News, and a wide range of other print and broadcast outlets.To advance the ship’s economic development potential, the Conservancy established the SS United States Redevelopment project to aggressively pursue development partners and investors. The vessel’s repurposing would create an estimated 1,000 permanent jobs and thousands of other direct and indirect jobs in New York, Philadelphia or another East Coast city. The ship’s more than 500,000 square feet of usable interior space offers a blank slate for establishing hotel, event, conference, retail, and restaurant spaces in a completely unique setting. Parts of the vessel’s massive machinery spaces can be retrofitted to generate significant heat and electrical power for the ship’s host community.During the past year, hundreds of potential developers and financial backers were contacted and more than a dozen firms expressed interest. Serious negotiations with four firms were pursued in New York and Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, given the still sluggish economy, competing priorities on the part of developers, and regulatory hurdles, more time is needed to solidify a redevelopment deal. While the Conservancy has identified new intriguing development opportunities, bridge funding is needed to keep this window of opportunity from closing.The SS United States sailed from 1952-1969 from New York to Europe and other destinations. On her legendary maiden voyage, the ship shattered both east-bound and west-bound transatlantic speed records before beginning a flawless service career. Four U.S. presidents, countless world leaders, captains of industry, celebrities, and diplomatic, religious, and cultural leaders sailed on the ship, as did hundreds of thousands of everyday Americans and immigrants. The iconic ship became recognizable the world over as a symbol of American innovation. After retirement, the ship was stripped of interior fittings and sold repeatedly before being bought by the Conservancy in 2011.“The prospects for success and projected profit margins are significant,” states Dan McSweeney, managing director of the SS United States Redevelopment Project. “We know that this model can work and we need someone who can join the effort and take it to the next level. Our efforts have identified credible financing options that could cover the repurposing of the vessel. We have been in talks with officials in New York and Pennsylvania that lead us to conclude we can make the ship a centerpiece of ongoing waterfront and economic development efforts. There is no downside to our concept."“We have made major headway toward our goal of saving this national icon and giving her a sustainable future,” said Gibbs. “The American people have responded generously to our call but without added support from the public - and their political leaders - our nation’s flagship will be lost.”Supporters are encouraged to contribute online at SavetheUnitedStates.org and become Conservancy members at SSUSC.org. The Conservancy is also encouraging its supporters to contact their elected officials in New York and Pennsylvania and convey the ship’s historic importance and economic development potential.