San Mateo County Community College District

Request for Proposal (RFP)

for

Landscape Architectural Services

December 21, 2006

Introduction:

San Mateo County Community College District is seeking architectural assistance to develop a comprehensive design for Cañada College’s landmark entries, roadways and parking lots.  The anticipated value of this project is $9.3M.  The intent of this RFP is to provide a structured opportunity for the District to explore your interest in providing this design service and to understand your firm’s approach, process, potential timeline and fee to do so. 

The District’s Capital Improvement Program

The District consists of three colleges:  College of San Mateo located in San Mateo, opened in 1963; Skyline College, located in San Bruno, opened in late 1968; and Cañada College, located in Redwood City, opened in early 1969.   Together the Colleges serve approximately 50,000 students per year. 

In 2000, the District began planning its Capital Improvement Program, a comprehensive facilities renewal program intended to provide 21^st century learning environments at its three campuses.  In 2001, a Facilities Master Plan was developed by tBP/Architecture; this document is available at 2001 Facilities Master Plan.  In November 2001, the voters of San Mateo County approved Measure C, authorizing the District to issue $207 million in general obligation bonds to fund facilities capital improvements.  An additional $100 million in other funding was secured from various sources, including redevelopment funds, State Chancellor’s Office program funds, grants, donations, fees, and other miscellaneous funding sources, resulting in the first phase of our construction program valued at $307 million. 

Major projects completed or nearing completion in the first phase of the Capital Improvement Program (CIP1) include:

• New Library/Student Resource Center at Cañada College
• New Science Building, including a Planetarium and rooftop Observatory, at College of San Mateo
• New Student Union and Science Annex at Skyline College
• New law enforcement training facility at College of San Mateo
• Seismic upgrades and modernizations of three major instructional buildings at College of San Mateo and Skyline College
• Renovations and upgrades of classrooms, offices, central plants, mechanical/electrical/plumbing systems, energy efficiency projects, exterior campus quadrangles, building envelopes, accessible paths of travel (including elevators and lifts), fire/life safety systems, parking lots and roadways.

Earlier this year, the District’s 2006 Facilities Master Plan was developed by Steinberg Architects; this document is available at 2006 Facilities Master Plan.  In November 2005, the voters of San Mateo County approved Measure A, authorizing the District to issue an additional $468 million in general obligation bonds to continue to execute facilities capital improvements.  The District anticipates receiving an additional $40 million in State funding to supplement these local bonds, valuing the second phase of facilities renewal in excess of $500 million, and a total Capital Improvement Program (CIP) of over $800 million.

Major projects planned for the second phase of the Capital Improvement Program (CIP1) include:

• College of San Mateo CIP2 Design-Build Project, including construction of 4 new buildings, demolition of 5 existing buildings, and a comprehensive site work solution.
• Skyline College CIP2 Design-Build Project, including construction of 3 new buildings, demolition of 6 existing buildings, and a comprehensive site work solution.
• At Cañada College, renovation of existing buildings 1, 5, 6, 8, 13, 16, 17 and 18.
• At College of San Mateo, renovation of existing buildings 1, 2, 4, 8, 9, 12, 14, 16, 19, 20 and 30.
• At Skyline College, renovation of existing buildings 1, 2, 5 and 7.
• A new Facilities Maintenance Center (Building 7) at Cañada College.
• A replacement Facilities Maintenance Center (Building 30) at Skyline College.
• A comprehensive site design solution at Cañada College (this project).

Cañada College Gateways/Circulation/Parking Project

The District is issuing this RFP to four architectural firms.  The firms that wish to participate in this selection process will be scheduled for interviews on Thursday, January 11, 2007.  Pre-interview conferences may be scheduled, at the firm’s discretion, prior to January 11^th.

Jennifer James (Construction Planning Department’s Project Coordinator for this project) will contact you to schedule your interview and, if desired, a pre-interview conference.  You may contact Jennifer at 650.358-6733 or jamesj@smccd.edu.

Interview Protocol:

• When you arrive for your interview, please check in at the District Administration Building, 3401 CSM Drive, San Mateo, and advise the front desk person that Jennifer James is expecting you.
• Jennifer will escort you to your conference room, show you where the restrooms are, and assist you in other ways as needed.

• You will have access to your conference room15 minutes prior to the beginning of the interview, in case you want to set up audio/video equipment, or presentation materials, or just want to get into the room and get oriented before the interview panel arrives.
• The interview will be one hour in duration.  The 60-minute interview is an opportunity for your firm to articulate to the panel your firm’s approach, process, potential timeline and fee to provide design services for this project.  While we do not have a prescribed format for the interview, we would like you to leave the final half hour for a question/answer/discussion period.  If you plan to prepare written or projected materials for your presentation, please bring a CD of the materials that we can keep on file.
• After the interview, please plan to remove your presentation materials in a timely manner, so that the next firm can prepare for their interview.

Pre-Interview Conference

• At the firm’s discretion, a pre-interview conference may be scheduled with the Project Coordinator and the Executive Director of Construction Planning between January 3^rd and 10^th.  The intent of the pre-interview conference is to review background materials provided as part of this RFP, to discuss the College’s vision for this project, and to provide any other information that might help the firm prepare for the interview.

Background Materials: located at  http://www.smccd.edu/portal/CPD/default.aspx

Double click on the Canada Gateway folder.  

• The College’s 2006 Facilities Master Plan.
• The Cañada College Exterior Wayfinding Signage design (never executed).
• Canada College Topographic Survey
• Boundary Survey of Cañada College, describing property boundaries and easements.
• Drawings for renovation of the central quadrangle (currently under construction)
• The Cañada College Campus Exterior Design Standard (draft)
• Images of the Cañada College Building 9 Library/Student Services Center
• ADA Transition Plan for Cañada College (partial, site related architectural barriers only).
• Fall Semester 2006 Traffic Counts.  We have traffic counts for our two campus entrances (Farm Hill Blvd. and Cañada Road) from August 15, 2006 through September 27, 2006.
• Canada College Aerial Photograph can be viewed at http://www.smccd.edu/accounts/facilities/Canada_Aerial.htm

Selection Criteria

Inasmuch as the short-listed firms have previously expressed the possession of the knowledge, skills, abilities and relevant experience required to provide landscape architectural services, the following criteria will be used to evaluate the architectural firms:

1.      Demonstrated ability to lead constituent groups through programming activities.  Those constituents include faculty, staff, students, administrators, and other members of the community.

2.      The ability to begin work within 30 days of contract award.

3.      Experience of personnel proposed for the project(s).

4.      Results of reference checks from previous clients and other information sources.

5.      Assessment of the approach the firm plans to utilize in developing the design solution and construction documents, obtaining approval from authorities having jurisdiction (including but not limited to Division of the State Architect, Woodside Fire Department), providing bid assistance and construction administration activities.

6.      An evaluation of the architectural firm’s proposed fee.

7.      Commitment to a collaborative working style that demonstrates sensitive, respectful and effective interaction with people who are diverse in their interests, cultures, language groups, and abilities.

8.      The firm’s ability to execute the District’s standard Professional Services Agreement.

Request for Best & Final Proposal

Following the interviews, one or two firms will be asked to submit a best and final proposal for the work.  The final selection of the firm will be based on a combination of the interview, reference checks, and the firm’s best and final proposal.

The District reserves the right to waive any irregularities or required formalities or to amend or cancel, in part or entirety, this request for information if it is in the best interest of the District.

Cost of Participation in Selection Process

Costs for developing responses to this RFP are entirely the responsibility of the firm and shall not be chargeable to the District.

District Contact for Questions Concerning this Request for Proposal

Please direct any questions concerning this Request for Proposal to Jennifer James, Project Coordinator, Construction Planning Department, San Mateo County Community College District, 3401 CSM Drive, San Mateo, CA 94402, 650.358.6733, jamesj@smccd.edu.

End of Document