Thanks to my friend Chris Chromy for forwarding this RFQ for the Nicollet Mall Design Competition! Great timing for my post a few weeks ago about the benefits of design competitions.
Here are key details from the RFQ on how the design competition will work.
THE CONSULTANT SELECTION PROCESS A Two-Stage Process
The City and MDC are seeking qualifications from multidisciplinary firms (or teams) with a track record of creativity, design excellence, problem solving skills, and the successful completion of similar complex urban redevelopment projects.
The City and MDC will be using a two-stage, qualifications-based selection process that will include this RFQ and a Design Competition that culminates in Final Presentations and Interviews, after which the winning firm will be selected.
For the purposes of these Qualifications and the Design Competition, the City is interested primarily in the key design team members, not the full team of consultants and sub-consultants that will be required to execute the full design contract (Schematic Design through Construction Administration). The city encourages lean teams, maximum creativity, and the use of resources on design, rather than the expenditure of time and resources on the creation of large teams and arrangements that will not be necessary at this stage of the process.
Stage I: RFQ: Qualifications will be reviewed by an Implementation Committee comprised of City and MDC representatives. The purpose of the RFQ process will be to finalize a short list of up to four qualified design firms that will be invited to participate in the Design Competition.
Stage 2: Design Competition: The city will issue the Design Competition Brief to the approved short list of qualified firms. Each firm will have approximately 8 weeks to complete and submit their design ideas for Nicollet Mall. The four firms will make a single, one-day visit to Minneapolis at the end of the competition to tour Nicollet Mall, meet with City staff, present their submissions publically, and interview with the Review Panel, which will include members of the Implementation Committee and the design community. The Minneapolis City Council will approve the winning firm based upon a final recommendation from the Review Panel. The final design submission will be in form of a brief PowerPoint slide show (20-30 slides) and will include four components:
- The firm or team's previous work
- Design Ideas for one enhanced connection or linkage
- Design ideas for one block of Nicollet Mall
- Questions and suggestions for next steps
Each team will also submit a brief proposal for full design services including team and fee as % of construction cost.
Compensation: Each of the four selected qualified firms will receive a stipend of $30,000 for participating in the Design Competition. Payment shall be made upon City receipt of the firm’s completed design submission and proposal as required by the Design Stipend Agreement.
Next Steps: The City intends to enter into a contract with the winner of the Design Competition for full design services related to the reconstruction project. However, based upon available funding, the City may also elect to proceed with Schematic Design phase services only, or may elect not to proceed with design services at all. In any case, the City is not under any obligation to enter into a contract with the winner of this design competition for partial or full design services related to the reconstruction project.
I hope more agencies will test/refine this model.


