Corridor Area Plan

The full RFP document and requirements can be found at: https://www.worthington.org/492/RFP-Bid-Postings

INTRODUCTION:

The purpose of this Request for Proposals is to solicit competitive proposals from qualified consultants to assist the City in undertaking a Corridor Area Plan to guide redevelopment opportunities in the City. The City of Worthington is seeking a multidisciplinary consultant team (which may be a single firm or a consultant team consisting of individuals and/or firms with specialized expertise) to create a vision of this corridor for the future. One of the recommendations in the Comprehensive Plan Update & 2005 Strategic Plan for Worthington was to undertake an industrial corridor plan. This plan will provide elected and appointed officials, city staff, city residents, businesses, and the development community with a comprehensive, consistent, community centric, and culturally relevant plan to guide the City's decision-making and development in this area over the next 10 to 20 years.

BACKGROUND:

The City of Worthington has a population of 14,786, was founded in 1803 and is a first-ring suburb of Columbus, Ohio. The heart of Worthington is its historic district with a traditional village green, a small, but vibrant downtown central business district and many well-maintained historical homes. The City's commercial and industrial corridors are home to many important businesses that comprise most of the City's tax base. Worthington's location in the region and easy access to great transportation options make it an easy option for those wanting to locate in the region. The City has highly desirable residential neighborhoods, excellent schools, an award-winning library, and is characterized by strong civic partnerships. The City's departments include Police, Fire & EMS, Planning & Building, Economic Development, City Administration, Service & Engineering, Parks & Recreation, Law and Finance. More information on the City's history and services can be found at www.worthington.org .

Worthington is a fully developed land locked community with few options for new development, thus economic growth occurs through redevelopment. Worthington's existing Industrial zoned property represents approximately 11% of the land in the City and is important to the City's economic base. The proposed study area represents approximately 13% of the land in the City. Because of the age and types of uses located here, this compact area is experiencing significant change and has the opportunity to reinvent itself. The City's dependence on payroll (income) taxes has grown to 75% of all City revenues, increasing the need to keep and attract businesses to the area. Worthington is in a highly competitive market for office, commercial, and industrial users and there is often a need to renovate, redevelop or find creative ways to compete.

2005 Comprehensive Plan – Goals

Worthington's current Comprehensive Plan – Strategic Plan was adopted in 2005 with the following goals:

• Assist the community in refining its vision for the built and natural environment.
• Improve Worthington's economic base by encouraging appropriate redevelopment.
• Ensure that redevelopment enhances and compliments Worthington's character and quality of life.
• Promote the provision of housing types to attract and accommodate all age groups
• Maintain and build upon the success and vitality of Old Worthington.
• Promote Worthington's strengths and enhance the City's identity in the region.
• Maintain the quality of Worthington's existing housing stock.
• Continue efforts to create and improve pedestrian and recreational park connections

In 2005, the main focus was on opportunities to enhance the Worthington community in its built and natural environment that looked out 15-years into the future. The critical need for the City is to remain competitive in the region and focus on redevelopment while maintaining its strong community, unique qualities, and high level of services. The City anticipates launching a process to update the Comprehensive Plan in the next year, however it wants to get started on a focused corridor plan for the Northeast Area in advance of the broader Plan update.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

City leadership recognizes that this is the time to undertake a corridor area plan to better guide redevelopment and to capitalize on the investment of Intel's $20 billion semiconductor fabrication plant being constructed 20-minutes to the east in New Albany, Ohio and other investment associated with Intel that is coming to the central Ohio region. The City aspires to make decisions about this and other issues facing the City with the long-term interests and desires of our residents, property owners, business owners and workers in the City in mind.

A corridor area plan focusing on the Northeast Gateway/Huntley Road/Proprietors Road corridors should be developed that makes recommendations for repositioning it in the marketplace to make it attractive and competitive in the region. Several issues need to be addressed, particularly what this corridor can and should become (i.e., research and development center, technology park, business incubator, corporate office park, light manufacturing center, etc.) in the future. Issues such as building renovation, aesthetics, lot size and coverage, stormwater impacts, and possible road and infrastructure improvements should also be addressed as part of this process.

For this corridor area plan, Worthington is anticipating a greater exploration into the existing plan's recommendations for the corridor while providing an updated market analysis and focus on updating the goals, policies, and the creation of an implementation strategy to better enhance the potential redevelopment opportunities in the area as well as drafting recommended changes to the Planning & Zoning Code.

The consultant team should possess outstanding public engagement talents on all platforms, as well as zoning, legal, technical, and planning skills. The consultant team should possess the necessary staffing capabilities to provide exceptional services to the City in the creation of an area plan. This plan should build upon a variety of existing goals, plans and areas of interest including:

• Comprehensive Plan Update & 2005 Strategic Plan for Worthington
• 2021 Vision Worthington
• Planned Infrastructure Investments
• Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan
• Complete Streets Policy
• Economic Development Needs and Strategies
• Branding/Wayfinding Plan
• Sustainability initiatives

The corridor plan should include recommendations related to detailed land use, zoning, fiscal and environmental sustainability, and other implementation elements to facilitate the planned future redevelopment of this area. The corridor plan needs to be a living document for day-to-day planning and budgetary guidance.

DELIVERABLES OF THE PLAN:

• Format shall be text (MSWord & PDF) and Maps (ArcGIS format for most maps as well as graphical PDF format for presentation).
• 8 ½ "x 11" vertically oriented.
• Maps shall be standardized in format and size as directed by the City during the final scoping. All maps to be delivered in separate high quality PDF format.
• Hard copy and digital formats (including PDF & Word versions). Final number and quantities to be determined with final scoping. These shall be in formats acceptable to the city to enable low-cost reproduction, revision, and direct web and social media posting. High resolution versions shall also be expected.
• The consultant shall facilitate the process and prepare materials throughout the process to support the intended civic engagement and plan development process outlined in the final scope.
• Maps, input data, and new GIS layers (incorporating selected maps from existing work) are expected and shall be produced in ArcGIS format.
• Preparation of the Corridor Area Plan:
  
  • Produce all materials for public presentations
  • Provide digital, web and social media ready updates and drafts for posting – may include separate Plan web site.
  • Produce final copies for review and recommendation by Planning Commission and approval and adoption by City Council. Attendance expected at these hearings.

PROPOSAL CONTENT & SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS:

Proposers shall submit 10 sets and one electronic PDF format copy. Proposals shall be made in 8 ½ "x 11" size. The proposal shall be organized into the following sections:

1. Technical Understanding and Approach This section describes the consultant's understanding of the work to be accomplished and the approach proposed for completing the work. The City is seeking both innovative ideas as well as proven approaches for completing the proposed work. This section will include the consultant's understanding of the work being solicited by the City, identify issues that may need to be addressed during the project; problems that may arise in completing the work; and how such issues should be addressed.

This section will also include how the consultant proposes to complete the project with detailed descriptions of the tasks to be accomplished. The deliverables that will result from this work will be identified within the appropriate tasks.

2. Available Resources

This section will identify the personnel to be assigned and other resources available for the project. Information needs to be provided for both the main consultant and any subconsultant or associated consultants. The roles of the personnel to be assigned to the project (e.g., principal, project manager, task leader, senior planner, junior planner, market analysist, etc.) need to be identified along with the relevant background experience of the individual, the number of hours each person is expected to work on the project and their relative availability during the course of the work, including other known or anticipated commitments of staff.

This section will also identify other resources available to support the project including materials and equipment. Where resources cannot be directly provided by the consultant, a description of how such resources will be obtained needs to be presented. The geographic locations of the offices from which staff will be assigned to this project need to be identified.

3. Past Experience

The consultant will present their overall capabilities for conducting this project by describing the current capabilities of the firm and its past experience in working with municipal governments and in completing similar work to that being requested. Specific descriptions of past assignments relative to the proposed work will be included in this section and need to identify the client, the work accomplished, the project manager for the work, the total cost for completing the work, and a client contact including name, address and telephone number.

This section also needs to identify any projects during the past five years where the consultant has been issued a stop work order or has had a project terminated. For such projects, a client contact including name, address and telephone number needs to be provided.

4. Project Management, Schedule & Cost:

This section will describe the project management structure including project manager and task leaders. The procedures that will be followed to ensure completion of the work on time and within budget need to be described along with quality assurance and control procedures that will be used. Also, the consultant should identify how continuity of support from key personnel will be maintained, including how personnel may be replaced or substituted.

This section will also include a schedule for completing the work and a detailed budget. The scheduled completion date for each phase of the work and for each deliverable must be identified, along with timeframes for public and other meetings. The budget should identify hours by individual and task, the hourly billing cost structure, estimated cost for each task, and guaranteed maximum total fee for project. Cost proposals must be valid for a minimum of ninety (90) days from receipt of proposals.

City staff and resources will be available to work with the consultant on this project. The consultant should identify City resources that it expects to be available to support the work. Additionally, the consultant is encouraged to provide suggestions on how the City could most effectively utilize its services to reduce professional fees or increase the overall efforts of the project.

PROJECT TIMELINE:

• Issue RFP Tuesday, January 3, 2023
• Questions are due to the City by 12:00 PM EDT, Wednesday, January 25, 2023
• RFQ Submittal Deadline of Friday, February 3, 2023, at 12:00 PM EDT
• Project Team Review – Week of February 6, 2023 & February 13, 2023
• Interviews with 3-5 selected firms – Weeks of March 6, 2023, and March 13, 2023

Contact InformationWebsite Contact Email