Consultant Services Summary
The Village prepared a Request for Proposals which was distributed to interested firms specializing in parking garages. The purpose of the Request for Proposals is to perform a conceptual review and feasibility study for possible expansion of the Village’s North Parking garage. The overall objective of the conceptual review and feasibility study is to evaluate the structural feasibility of a vertical expansion and possible horizontal expansion to the North garage, an evaluation of conceptual parking concepts and development of project cost estimates for each option.
Background
The Village of Arlington Heights has a flourishing Downtown which includes retail space, condominium units, theaters, a vibrant streetscape, a train station and a substantial amount of public parking. The Downtown promotes a pedestrian friendly environment. To facilitate past and future redevelopment of Downtown Arlington Heights, the Village designed and built four public parking garages. The first two garages built were the Vail Avenue Garage and the North Garage. Both garages were approximately 800 spaces upon completion. In 2006, the Vail Avenue Garage was expanded, both vertically and horizontally to increase its parking capacity to approximately 1,200 spaces. The North parking garage bounded by Arlington Heights Road, Eastman Street, Evergreen Avenue and Miner Street is at or beyond capacity from a demand perspective. Additional businesses and other customers requesting to park in the North Garage cannot be accommodated. Village Staff have developed some preliminary concepts to evaluate a possible vertical expansion of the North Garage under three options; Option 1, a one bay expansion; Option 2, a three bay expansion; Option 3, a full on level addition. The Village currently has awarded a contract to Walker Parking to perform maintenance work on the roof and other portions of the North Garage. The Village is seeking the services of a well-qualified parking consultant to evaluate these concept and any other options that the consultants believes would be more financially and structurally feasible for consideration.
Scope of Study and Services to be Provided
The following is a summary of the scope of the study and services to be provided by the selected Parking Garage consultant.
1. Review existing parking space layout and identify any possible modifications to re-stripe more efficiently. Due to scheduled maintenance work on the roof of the garage, an approved re-stripping plan will be needed by early July.
2. Review the structural feasibility of adding an additional level or partial level to the North Garage.
3. Evaluate the three options developed by Village Staff for possible expansion of the North Garage:
Option 1 - 1 bay, 48 spaces
Option 2 - multiple bays, 120 spaces
Option 3 - full level - 175+spaces
4. Develop refined concept plans for three options to add additional parking capacity to the North Garage.
5. Prepare detailed budget estimates for each option and concept that is agreed upon with Staff.
6. Additional scope of work item: Evaluate the feasibility of a horizontal expansion to the north.
Request for Proposal (RFP)
On May 5, 2015 a Request for Proposals was issued to select Consultants that specialize in parking garage, design, construction and renovation. The consulting firms were required to outline their ability and approach to the project and specifically address the scope of work. The firms were also required to provide background information on similar projects, their approach to the project and caliber of the principals that would be engaged in the Arlington Heights North Parking garage project.
Selection Process/Selection Criteria
A Staff Committee comprising of the following representatives were involved in reviewing the Request for Proposals and submittals from the firms:
Charles Witherington-Perkins, Director of Planning & Community Development
Diana Mikula, Assistant Village Manager
Scott Shirley, Director of Public Works
Cris Papierniak, Assistant Director of Public Works
The Committee considered the factors listed below when deciding which team to recommend to the Village Board:
Approach to project in general
Approach to task outlined in the Scope of Work
Adherence to the Intent of the Request for Proposal
Responsiveness and comprehensiveness of submission to RFP
Firm qualifications and reputation in general
Qualification of Staff
Direct experience in Parking Garage additions/renovations
Related experience of the project manager and team members
Project scheduling
Information gained from references
Objectivity of Proposal
Cost of Consultant Services
Parking Garage Consultant Proposals
On May 26, 2015 the Village received responses to the Request for Proposal from the following firms:
Walker Parking Consultants $52,972 (excludes Geotechnical review)
Carl Walker Inc. $29,374 (plus $8,000 to $12,000 if Geotechnical soil testing is necessary)
Budget Project #BL15-20 $80,000
Both cost proposals are under budget.
Carl Walker, Inc. cost proposal is under budget by $50,626 or $38,826 under budget if Geotechnical soil testing is necessary.
On June 9, 2015 the Committee interviewed Carl Walker Inc. and discussed the scope of the project and the consultant firm’s experience to perform these tasks. During the interview the feasibility of a horizontal expansion to the north was discussed. Carl Walker Inc. was requested to modify their cost proposal to also include evaluating the feasibility of expansion to the north. Carl Walker Inc. has designed 1,500 parking structures and performed 40 parking structure expansion projects comparable to the scope of work outlined for the North Parking garage. Carl Walker Inc. is well known in the parking garage industry and is a well respected firm. While Walker Parking is also extremely well qualified and currently under contract with the Village to design and manage parking garage maintenance improvements on all of the parking garage facilities, the committee felt that the proposal and cost presented by Carl Walker Inc. met the needs of this study for a future planning tool in the most cost effective way.
Recommendation
It is recommended that the Village Board authorize the Village Manager to execute a contract with Carl Walker Inc. in the amount of $29,374 plus up to $12,000 if Geotechnical soil testing is necessary. Funded from account # 235-7101-571-5020 BL15-20 from the Village Parking Fund.