Houston Parks Board
Request for Statements of Qualifications
Planning and Design Firm Services
GENERAL SCOPE
The Houston Parks Board (HBP) implements transformative parks and open green space projects
throughout the City of Houston and greater Harris County. HPB requests Statements of
Qualifications (SOQs) from professional planning, engineering, landscape architecture and
architecture consultants [Consultant] interested in providing consulting services for the Bayou
Greenways 2020 project and broader city wide open space planning and design initiatives.
HPB seeks Consultants with experience planning and designing major urban linear park systems
with extensive natural landscapes, shared use trails, pedestrian bridges and related amenities. It
also seeks firms that are able to plan and program open space initiatives at the city wide level. All
construction plans and specifications will need to be sealed and signed by a Registered
Professional Designer in the State of Texas. The Consultant must be skilled in community
participation and will be required to coordinate and seek approvals from various agencies including
but not limited to the City of Houston, Harris County Flood Control District, Harris County Precincts,
railroad and utility companies and the Texas Department of Transportation. The contracts for the
services requested in this SOQ will be awarded over the next 12 months. The first contracts are
anticipated to be awarded mid-2015.
GENERAL AND TECHNICAL SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS
Statements of Qualifications (SOQ) must be submitted electronically to Chip Place, Managing
Director of Capital Programs, via email to [email protected] by 11:00 AM CDT on
June 24, 2015. Each submission adhering to deadline and file size requirements will receive a
confirmation email.
Full SOQ Package and Guidelines are posted online at
http://houstonparksboard.org/projects/soq2015.
Questions relating to this Request for SOQ can be submitted electronically at the same email
address as above, on or before 11:00 AM CDT June 10, 2015. Responses to questions deemed
relevant will be posted to above website in an Addendum by June 17, 2015.
SOQ SUBMITTAL PACKAGE
An electronic copy (PDF) of the SOQ must be submitted as detailed above. Submittals received after the
deadline will not be considered. Once the submission deadline has passed no other SOQ submittal
package will be accepted. It is the responsibility of each firm to examine the entire Request for SOQ, seek
clarification in writing, and review their document for accuracy before responding. Upon submission, SOQ
packages become the property of HPB.
All firms who respond in accordance with the guidelines will be evaluated to determine if their
qualifications meet HPB requirements.
SOQ SUBMITTAL GUIDELINES
Each SOQ submittal shall adhere to the following guidelines and include the information requested below.
Please note that the HPB will not reimburse, or compensate in any manner, any firm or individual for the
effort expended to respond to this Request for SOQ.
1.
Required Information
1.1. SOQ Cover Letter (1 page maximum) indicating an understanding of the requirements of the SOQ
and the interest in performing consulting services for HPB.
1.2.
Statement of Interest including the following (maximum of 11 pages):
1.2.1. Summary of the items below:
1.2.2. Qualifications of Project Manager(s) and Task Leaders: Identify the name of the firm’s project
managers (no more than 2) and the names of any task leaders (no more than 4) along with their relevant
experience with similar projects and similar project-related experience of the task leaders during the past 5
years. For each similar project referenced, identify either the project manager’s or the task leader’s
specific role(s) and work contributed. Provide a statement certifying that all professional licenses and
certifications listed are valid and current. Resumes should be no more than 1 page in length.
1.2.3. Qualifications of firm: Include a statement of the history of the firm, the size of the firm and the
office locations.
1.2.4. Project Data Sheets: The firm shall demonstrate completion of three relevant projects that clearly
represent the firm’s area(s) of interest. Include the following information for three example projects: project
name, location and construction cost (if applicable), a description of the project and the specific work
performed by the firm’s staff (project manager and key task leaders), describe the initial planned schedule
versus the actual project schedule. Also provide the client agency contact name, address, telephone
number and email for each project. Project Data Sheets should be no more than 1 page in length for each
project.
2.
All submittals must be signed by an authorized representative of the firm attesting to the accuracy
of the documentation provided.
3.
The SOQ submittal package is limited to 12 pages, including the cover letter and statement of
interest, and must be less than 9MB in combined file size. The document should be in 8 1/2” by 11”
format.
4.
This SOQ evaluation is primarily based upon the submitting firms but submitting firms are also
encouraged to provide suggestions on how they might partner with other consultants to provide the full
scope of services required to implement large scale planning and design projects including: landscape
architecture, engineering, environmental, natural resources, community participation and urban planning.
Firms based outside the Houston area are encouraged to include local partners.
5.
No M/WBE or DBE certifications are required at this time though are encouraged and will be
considered in awarding individual projects.
QUALIFICATION EVALUATION METHODOLOGY
The following factors will be used for evaluating firms based upon the qualifications submitted:
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Experience in performing consulting services for relevant projects with extensive natural
landscapes at an urban scale.
Knowledge of and experience with Federal and State grant requirements.
Knowledge of and experience with local, state, and federal regulations and permitting
requirements.
Knowledge of the City of Houston, HCFCD, USACE or TxDOT criteria for the planning and
development of projects.
Experience and qualifications of the project and task manager(s).
Past performance on similar type projects.
Weighing of the responses, which will be reviewed by committee, will be as follows:
Staff Qualifications and Experience
Firm Qualifications and Experience
Project Data Sheets
Summary Sheet, cover letter and other
35%
30%
25%
10%
Following HPB's review of the SOQs submitted, each firm will be notified by HPB as to whether or not it is
considered qualified for the submitted service. A list of qualified consulting firms will be maintained by HPB
with the intent that consultants will be subsequently invited to submit fee proposals for specific projects as
projects are identified. The projects will be distributed among qualified firms in a manner that best meets
the needs of HPB.
NOTE: WHEN SENDING AN EMAIL TO THE ADDRESS LISTED, PLEASE PUT
THE FOLLOWING IN THE EMAIL’S SUBJECT LINE:
FOR A QUESTION
SUBJECT: Planning and Design SOQ– QUESTION – FIRM NAME
FOR A SUBMITTAL
SUBJECT: Planning and Design SOQ – SUBMITTAL – FIRM NAME