This is a service / maintenance or supply contract in Raleigh, North Carolina. Contact the soliciting agency for additional information.

Direct all inquiries concerning this RFQ to: Dylan Bruchhaus Senior Planner Email: dylan.bruchhaus@raleighnc.gov for the following professional services: o Landscape Architecture (preferred lead) o Planning and Urban Design o Public Engagement and Outreach o Civil Engineering o Land Surveying o Structural Engineering o Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing Engineering o Cost Estimating o Urban Forestry Fayetteville Street, located in the core of Downtown Raleigh, is Downtown Raleigh's historic Main Street, a ceremonial corridor for civic and cultural events, and a commercial spine for the downtown. Portions of Fayetteville Street close to vehicular traffic over 30 times a year to support outdoor public events. This planning effort aims to guide future streetscape improvements along Fayetteville Street, both public and private, which will further the commercial activation of the street while respecting and enhancing the unique historical context of the corridor. Two separate but complementary reports are anticipated to emerge from this study. The first is a regulating plan for the Fayetteville Street streetscape. At present, there is no policy document that can be used to review proposals to alter the current built condition, which was installed by the City in 2006. The streetscape plan document should be illustrative, user-friendly, and fulfill its regulatory role while providing flexibility. The document will aim to ensure consistency where needed and allow for variation and innovation. Some contemplated changes to the streetscape involve the addition of new lighting and the removal of some streetscape elements to make more room for outdoor seating and other activations. There is substantial infrastructure, including electrical, plumbing, irrigation, natural gas, sanitary sewer service, stormwater pipes, and basements of some buildings under the planters, newspaper racks, and other streetscape elements. An engineering study and utility plan for the street should include how to relocate or cap these services, how to make electrical service available to special events and lighting installations, and the probable costs of these actions. Firms are encouraged to organize teams to provide one or more services listed above; however, a single primary lead firm must be identified. The qualified firm should have expertise in developing streetscape and historic landscape planning and design. The consultant will be expected to work closely with Planning personnel, other City department staff, and the Raleigh Design Review Commission. The final streetscape plan document should be illustrative, user-friendly, and provide design alternates. The document will aim to ensure consistency where needed and allow variation and innovation. The selected team will be responsible for providing a comprehensive set of services to ensure the project's success. These services include: o Landscape Architecture: Leading the project with expertise in creating cohesive and aesthetically pleasing outdoor spaces that respect the historical context and modern needs. o Planning and Urban Design: Developing a holistic streetscape plan that integrates seamlessly with the urban environment, enhances pedestrian experience, and supports local businesses. o Public Engagement and Outreach: Conducting stakeholder outreach and engagement facilitation including public meetings, pop-up events and presentations. o Civil Engineering and Land Surveying: Assessing and planning the necessary infrastructure improvements, including drainage, utilities, and street modifications. o Structural Engineering: Ensuring that all new streetscape elements are structurally sound and meet safety standards, especially considering the constraints of underground parking at City Plaza. o Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing Engineering: Addressing the needs for lighting, power supply for events, irrigation, and other utility requirements. o Cost Estimating: Providing detailed cost estimates for proposed improvements to ensure the project stays within budget. o Urban Forestry: Managing and integrating green spaces, ensuring the health and sustainability of street trees and other plantings. All questions related to this solicitation must be submitted in writing (via email) to the following individual: Contact Name Email Address Dylan Bruchhaus dylan.bruchhaus@raleighnc.gov Questions submitted via telephone will not be answered. Background The City of Raleigh, the Capital City of North Carolina, remains one of the fastest growing areas in the country. A great economy, top educational institutions, and exceptional health care facilities are some of the characteristics that attract people to the triangle area. The mild climate, diverse work force and proximity to Research Triangle Park combine to make Raleigh a great place to live. Raleigh is a 21st Century City of Innovation focusing on environmental, cultural, and economic sustainability. The City conserves and protects our environmental resources through best practice and cutting-edge conservation and stewardship, land use, infrastructure and building technologies. The City welcomes growth and diversity through policies and programs that will protect and enhance Raleigh's existing neighborhoods, natural amenities, history, and cultural and human resources for future generations. The City leads to improve quality of life for neighborhoods and standard of living for all citizens. The City works with universities, colleges, citizens, and local partners to promote new technology, create new job opportunities, and encourage local businesses and entrepreneurs. The City enlists and prepares 21st Century staff with the skill sets to carry out the duties of the City through transparent civic engagement and by providing the very best customer service to our citizens. Fayetteville Street is a historic street running north-south for 0.73 miles through downtown Raleigh. From within this iconic street, there is an axial sightline to the historic North Carolina State Capitol on Union Square to the north and Memorial Hall at the Martin Marietta Center for Performing Arts to the south. Fayetteville Street is one of two axial streets created in Raleigh's original street plan that retains its original 100-foot right of way, the other being Hillsborough Street. As Raleigh grew in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the area north of Union Square became dominated by state government functions, Hillsborough Street developed with a mix of churches, grand houses, and some commercial, and Fayetteville Street became the central commercial spine for downtown. After 30 years as a pedestrian mall, Fayetteville Street reopened in its current configuration in 2006 following a significant capital investment led by the city. While reopening the street to vehicular traffic was the headline news, the street was intended to serve large pedestrian flows, outdoor dining and socializing, and occasional closure for special events. At 29 feet, the street has wider sidewalks than any other street in Raleigh. Curb parking, short blocks, and the lack of a center line result in traffic that moves slowly and defers to pedestrians. The streetscape installation took special care to ensure large and healthy street trees, including silva cells and a below-ground irrigation system. There are also planters and news kiosks that include irrigation and electrical services. Pedestrian scale lighting, granite curbing, and pavers from curb to building face complete the streetscape palette. Project Purpose Streetscape design is regulated through the standards in Chapters 7 and 8 of the City of Raleigh's Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). The UDO defines minimum dimensions for elements such as sidewalk width, tree planting spacing, and the width of tree planting spaces. A City Council-adopted streetscape plan for a specified boundary, would supersede the standard UDO requirements and provide for additional regulatory flexibility. The official streetscape master plan for larger Downtown Raleigh boundary was adopted in 1992 when the street was still a pedestrian mall. The reconstruction of Fayetteville Street in 2006 implemented a customized design for streetscape that did not adhere to the guidance in the 1992 plan, yet no superseding regulating plan was ever created for the street. As a result, the construction drawings of the capital project have served as the regulatory standards for the corridor, a purpose for which they were never intended. When reviewing projects on Fayetteville Street, staff has relied on the specifications for materials, finishes, furnishings, geometries, and plant palettes included in the approved construction drawings for this capital project. These drawings did not allow for any variation from the original design. This lack of a regulatory framework has yet to be tested, as the only new construction along the street to occur following the street reopening has occurred on the south end on formerly City-owned sites, where the developer was amenable to extending the pre-existing design language and material palette. Further, while it is generally understood and enforced that curb cuts will not be permitted on Fayetteville Street, no adopted plan or ordinance prohibits them. From time to time, requests have been made to remove or relocate a piece of street furniture, such as a bench, and these have been handled in an ad hoc manner. However, some property owners desire to activate the street with more sidewalk dining, which runs into the physical barriers presented by the planters, news kiosks, and other street furniture. The rising likelihood of major projects, new construction or the adaptive reuse of older office buildings, has created the need to develop and adopt guidance for reviewing and approving projects that would alter the streetscape. In early 2024, the Downtown Raleigh Alliance (DRA) released the Phase I results of the Downtown Economic Development Strategy. The report focused on reactivation strategies for Fayetteville Street. Among the recommendations was to update the streetscape standards to allow flexibility for activation and delineate zones for business use, clearance for walking, street furniture and sidewalk activity, and plantings. The report also recommended removing existing streetscape elements such as benches, planters, and newspaper kiosks. The components would be replaced with new standard infrastructure and supplemented with additional lighting and plantings. Therefore, the purpose of this RFQ is to develop a streetscape plan with regulatory standards that is specific to Fayetteville Street. The users include but are not limited to, developers, City staff, stakeholders, and designers to reference for any future streetscape proposals. The design elements in this document will be form-based, and the document itself should be cleanly formatted, diagrammatic, and easy to reference or implement. The plan must describe what aspects of the streetscape should remain consistent with the 2006 capital project design and which could evolve to support the changing use patterns of adjacent buildings and the evolving downtown streetscape. Project Boundary Historic Fayetteville Street runs between Morgan and Lenoir Streets. The Raleigh Street Plan calls for an extension of the street between Lenoir Street and South Street. The block between South Street and Lenoir Street is currently a landscaped area between two Cityowned parking lots, and current plans for the Omni Hotel show this remaining as a pedestrian plaza and not being reopened as a vehicular street. Given this, it is anticipated that the streetscape plan will end at Lenoir Street, although the consultants may make recommendations for the plaza between Lenoir and South that would complement and harmonize with the overall streetscape design. Submittal Requirements and Contact Information Proposals must follow the format as defined and addressed and submitted as follows: City of Raleigh Planning and Development Department ATTN: Dylan Bruchhaus One Exchange Plaza Suite 100 Raleigh, NC 27603 RFQ No. 274-PlanDev-Fayetteville Proposals must be enclosed in a sealed envelope or package and clearly marked with the name of the submitting company, the RFQ number and the RFQ Title. Respondents must submit: A. Paper Submittal: one (1) signed hard copy of the respondent's qualifications package. B. Electronic Submittal: One (1) electronic version on flash drive storage device of the respondent's qualifications package that is viewable and printable Portable Document File format (PDF). The electronic version of the Proposal must be submitted as a viewable and printable Adobe Portable Document File (PDF) on a flash drive. Both hard copy and electronic versions must be received by the City on or before the RFQ date and time provided in Section 1.3 RFQ Timeline. Proposals received after the RFQ deadline above will not be considered and will be returned unopened to the return address provided on the submission envelope. Any requirements in the RFQ that cannot be met must be indicated on Appendix VI: Exceptions to the RFQ and submitted with the qualifications. Respondents must respond to the entire Request for Qualifications (RFQ). Any incomplete proposal may be eliminated from competition at the discretion of the City of Raleigh. The City reserves the right to reject any or all proposals for any reason and to waive any informality it deems in its best interest. Submittals that arrive after the due date and time will not be accepted or considered for any reason whatsoever. If the firm elects to mail in its response, the firm must allow sufficient time to ensure the City's proper receipt of the package by the time specified in Section 1.3 RFQ Timeline. Regardless of the delivery method, it is the responsibility of the firm to ensure that their response arrives at the designated location. MWBE Participation Form The City of Raleigh prohibits discrimination in any manner against any person based on actual or perceived age, race, color, creed, national origin, sex, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, familial or marital status, religion, economic status, or veteran status. The City maintains an affirmative policy of fostering, promoting, and conducting business with women and minority owned business enterprises.