UPPER ARLINGTON CITY SCHOOLS
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS FOR PROFESSIONAL DESIGN FIRMS
TO PROVIDE MASTER PLANNING AND
FUTURE DESIGN AND RELATED CONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATION SERVICES
The Upper Arlington City School District Board of Education (“Board”) announces its intent to
contract for professional design services to provide (1) master planning services for the Upper
Arlington City School District’s educational programming and facility needs to implement the
educational program, including verification and expansion of the classroom facilities assessment
completed by the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (“OFCC”) in November 2014 (referred
to as “Master Planning Services”), and (2) design and related construction administration services
(referred to as “Design Services”) for improvements identified following the master planning
process as funds are available. Master Planning Services will begin immediately upon selection and
will continue through the 2016 calendar year. The Board wishes to retain the services of a design
firm to work with District administration and the community to develop a thorough and detailed
master plan for the next 30 years that identifies educational, instructional needs, co-curricular and
extracurricular needs, as well as related facilities that will allow the implementation of the
educational and instructional approaches identified, with services to continue, in the Board’s
discretion, for design and related construction administration for any facility improvements
identified during the master planning process. The Board is not participating in an Ohio School
Facilities Commission building program.
The Upper Arlington City School District (“District”) is a school district that values education and
strives to prepare its students to serve, lead, and succeed. The District serves approximately 5,900
students in grades PK-12 and includes nine school buildings (the Burbank Early Childhood Center,
Barrington Elementary School, Greensview Elementary School, Tremont Elementary School,
Wickliffe Progressive School, Windermere Elementary School, Hastings Middle School, Jones
Middle School, and Upper Arlington High School) and three other facilities (the Board of Education
Office, Transportation Services Center, and the Graf Center). Each of these buildings will be
included in the master planning process. OFCC consultants, Van Auken Aikens Architects, LLC and
Regency Construction Services, Inc., conducted an assessment of the District’s classroom facilities
and prepared a 3-volume written assessment of the conditions of these buildings, which is
available for review by any design professional upon request. Goals and guiding principles for
planning were established during the strategic planning process, and the Board is ready to
implement those goals through the master planning process to determine facility needs, develop
costs to implement those facility needs, and prioritize the improvements supported by the
community to be addressed through a yet to be determined funding source.
The Board invites design firms interested in providing the required Master Planning Services and
future Design Services to submit their qualifications for consideration and a proposed team (the
“Project Team”) to perform the services. Qualifications will be reviewed, evaluated, and ranked to
determine the project team best qualified to provide the needed services for the Project. The
Board has not determined what construction project delivery model it will use for any of the
improvements that may be included in the overall capital program and reserves the right to select
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the project delivery method for construction of the Project. The Board intends to use an owner
representative or a construction manager in an agency capacity to work with District
administrators during the initial master planning process and during design and construction of
improvements and will begin the selection process for an owner representative or construction
manager in an agency capacity in the near future.
The master planning process is viewed by the District as a critical component of the efforts to
identify educational and instructional needs to be implemented during the next 30 years and to
assess existing facilities and prioritize improvements needed to provide the educational and
instructional opportunities for District students and staff.
The master planning process is
expected to thoroughly address and include the following:
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Current Condition of Existing Buildings. The current state of all buildings must be
assessed from the perspectives of infrastructure, functionality and aesthetics.
Programming. Current versus Recommended Future Educational Programming.
Detailed programming for each building is to be developed taking into account current
and future “state of the art” education practices as these relate to facility usage.
Significant staff input and benchmarking to other facilities nationwide is expected to be
part of this process.
Stakeholder Involvement. Extensive involvement with District Staff, facility committee
members, and the public to vet programming and preliminary plans must be included
in the master planning process.
Concepts for Proposed Improvements. Conceptual/schematic plans for the proposed
improvements to each building (including all related site and MEP infrastructure) are to
be prepared to provide a visual context for reference. Multiple options may be
required for certain buildings, especially as it relates to renovation versus
reconstruction scenarios.
Quality and Aesthetics. For all buildings, whether a reconstruction or renovation, the
architectural quality and aesthetics (both interior and exterior) are very important to
the District.
Cost. Cost is a very important consideration, so good estimates of various design
scenarios must be prepared, including both hard and soft costs. In addition, operational
cost considerations must to be reviewed and evaluated to provide optimal operational
efficiencies.
Schedule to Implement Recommended Improvements. Master scheduling and phasing
of construction must be supported by thorough studies with appropriate
recommendations.
Because of the complexity of the overall master planning process for the District’s educational
programming and facilities, the District encourages a interested firms to propose a Project Team
with a broad range of talent and experience to address all of the important aspects of the study
outlined above. Firms are encouraged to propose additional or modified tasks to develop a
complete master plan that meets the District’s goals and expectations.
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Qualifications received from design firms will be retained in the file maintained by the District for
design professional qualifications, unless the firm specifically requests not to be included in this
file; each firm is requested to provide annual updates to the qualifications to keep them current.
The file will be used for projects or design needs for which design fees are estimated to be less
than $50,000.
Qualifications
Include the following in the Project Team’s statement of qualifications:
1. Information about the lead firm’s history and other members of the team;
2. Education, technical training, and experience of owners and key personnel, including
their history with the firm and past experience as it relates to the required Master
Planning Services and Design Services for this project;
3. The firm’s experience with master planning for school districts similar to Upper
Arlington City School District for educational programming and facility needs to address
those educational program needs in Ohio and elsewhere;
4. Ability of the firm to provide services on the time-line proposed; to assist the
evaluation of the firm's staff and resource availability, include a list of all current master
planning and design/construction of school facility improvements, including projects for
which the firm has submitted statements of qualification and is being considered to
provide design services, and the status of each (i.e., what stage of master planning
and/or design and/or construction, the estimated dates for completion of master
planning or design and construction, and the staff assigned to each of the listed
projects);
5. The firm’s equipment and facilities;
6. The firm’s financial solvency, including its apparent resources and capacity to meet the
needs of this project; (short-listed firms invited to interview will be asked to provide a
banking reference, a certificate of insurance showing coverages carried, including
professional liability insurance, and another form of financial viability as described in
the General Requirements section);
7. List of consultants used by the firm to provide services that are part of the Project
Team for both Master Planning Services and Design Services; (e.g., Civil Engineer,
Landscape
Architect,
Structural
Engineer,
Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing
Engineer/Interior Design; Technology)
8. Past performance as reflected in evaluations of previous and current clients with
respect to factors such as effectiveness of master planning, control of costs, quality of
work, and meeting deadlines. The firm should include a list of five (5) relevant projects
involving similar master planning work and design/construction for school districts of a
similar size to Upper Arlington City Schools, which the firm has designed during the past
five years. Include the following information for each project:
a. Project owner, name of project and location;
b. Brief description of the project;
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c.
d.
e.
f.
Year completed or anticipated completion date;
Construction cost;
Other relevant information about the project and the firm's services;
Reference contact person and phone number;
9. The firm's past experience with the Board, if any;
10. The ability of the individuals identified by the firm who will be responsible for
document production and communication with the Owner during the Project to
communicate with the Owner.
Additional Information Requested for the Project
The initial focus for services to be provided by the selected design professional is master planning.
Developing a thorough detailed master plan that defines the District’s educational programming
and instructional needs and addresses facility needs in terms of the educational programming and
instructional needs is critical to the success of the overall program. The master plan will provide
the basis for future capital improvements based upon the development of a prioritized list of
facility improvements with costs. In addition to the qualifications and information listed above,
include the following in the firm’s submittal:
Master Planning Services
1. Identify the partner or principal in charge of the overall master planning effort, as well
as any other personnel, including proposed consultants, who will participate in the
master planning process, together with the education, technical training, and
experience of these individuals, to the extent it has not been provided in the firm’s
qualifications. Provide resumes, preferably limited to 1 page, for each member of the
proposed team for master planning services. Firms invited to interview must bring the
members of the team who will provide master planning services to the interview.
2. Provide a flow chart showing each member of the master planning team and his or her
role and responsibilities and how these individuals coordinate and communicate with
District administration (including staff and teachers, students, and the community).
3. Describe the steps the firm will take to coordinate the master planning process with
District administration, staff and teachers, students, and the community, including a
preliminary schedule of activities for the master planning process, which addresses the
goals for the study outlined previously and any additional items proposed by the firm.
4. Include a proposed internal timeline for completion of the master planning process and
the various services to be provided by the firm during the master planning process.
5. Describe the type of report or deliverable that will be prepared to summarize the
master plan developed, including the educational program needs identified, the types
of facility improvements needed to address the educational program requirements, a
prioritized list of improvements, the estimated costs for facility improvements, and
scenarios for different schedules or approaches to implementing the facility needs
identified. Include options for presentation of the final master plan to the Board and
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the community, with recommendations for what has been effective in the firm’s past
experience.
Design Services
1. Describe the process the firm follows for design and work on any improvements
subsequently identified through the master planning efforts for which funding is
secured and how it will coordinate with the Board and District administration with
respect to scheduling the projects included in the capital program, maintaining the
construction schedule, and close-out of each stage of the capital program.
2. Describe the firm’s practices with respect to site visits and oversight of the Project.
3. Provide a proposed general internal timeline for completion of design/construction of
improvements identified through the master planning process and the various services
to be provided by the firm for pre-construction (programming and design),
construction, and close-out phases of improvements included in the overall capital
program.
4. Provide specific information on project budget development and the firm's experience
over the past 5 years with preparing project estimates for the project and construction
costs, monitoring project costs, and completing the project within the initial budget.
5. Explain the firm’s approach to incorporating energy efficiency into District
improvements that will enhance the design and contribute to energy savings and longterm maintenance and operations of systems for the capital program that aligns with
the overall strategic plan developed for the District.
General Requirements
1. List a maximum of four (4) specific and unique qualifies that set the firm apart from
others as it relates to the required services for master planning and
design/construction of school facilities and related improvements.
2. Provide specific information regarding any litigation that the firm has been involved
with during the last five (5) years, whether as a named party or as the design firm for a
school or other project owner that initiated a lawsuit related to a project issue or that
was named as a defendant in a lawsuit brought by another party.
3. Provide specific information about any claims asserted against the firm or its
professional liability carrier within the last five (5) years, including the resolution of the
claim.
4. Provide information about the insurance coverages carried by the firm, including
professional liability insurance.
5. Firms that are short-listed and invited to an interview must provide, if requested, one
of the following: (1) annual financial statement prepared within 12 months prior to the
time for submitting qualifications by an independent licensed accounting firm; or (2) a
financial report generated within 30 days prior to the time for submitting qualifications
from Standard and Poor, Dun and Bradstreet, or a similar company acceptable to the
Board documenting the financial condition of the firm. Any financial statement or
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report provided is not a public record under Ohio Revised Code 149.43 and will remain
confidential, except as required by a proper order of a court.
6. Provide references from a minimum of three (3) school district clients for which the
firm has provided Master Planning Services, including the name and contact
information for the Superintendent of the school district and any members of the
District’s administration actively involved in the master planning process.
Firms submitting statements of qualifications for the available contract will be evaluated and
ranked in order of their qualifications. Following this evaluation, the firms determined to be most
qualified will be asked to meet with the Superintendent’s Selection Team and/or the Board to
present the firm’s qualifications and proposed approach for the requested Master Planning
Services and future Design Services for District improvements before final selection is made. Upon
selection of the firm determined to be most qualified to provide the requested services, an interim
services agreement will be negotiated and prepared for Master Planning Services; when funds are
available to move forward with some or all of the improvements identified through the master
planning process, and if the Board chooses to use the firm that provided the Master Planning
Services for future Design Services, a professional design services agreement for all or a portion of
the improvements to be implemented will be negotiated and prepared based upon an American
Institute of Architects form, most probably AIA Document B101-2007 or B104-2007, and modified
for Ohio public construction, depending upon the project delivery method to be used.
The Board wishes to select a design firm and present a recommendation to the Board as soon as
possible and to then begin working immediately with the firm selected to implement the master
planning process. Design professionals wishing to submit a statement of qualifications and other
information for the required Master Planning Services and future Design Services must do so in
writing before 4 p.m. on Friday, March 26, 2015. Three (3) paper copies and one electronic copy
of the firm’s qualifications and related information must be submitted to:
Chris Potts, Executive Director of Business Services
Upper Arlington City School District
1950 North Mallway Drive
Upper Arlington, OH 43221
T: 614.487.5007; email: cpotts@uaschools.org
Direct any questions concerning the Project to Mr. Potts.
The proposed timeline and tasks for the facilities planning process is outlined below, but the
District is open to suggestions to improve the process:
ASSESSMENT PHASE
Receive qualifications from design firms
March 26, 2015
Interview short-listed design firms and select most qualified firm
April 1-10, 2015
Issue RFP for owner representative or RFQ for construction manager
in an agency role, evaluate, select, and negotiate agreement with
selected firm/individual
March/April 2015
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Review and verify OFCC facilities assessment report; expand to
include other facility needs at those locations and to add the Board
office and District Service Center
June 2015
Form 9 building teams (1 for each school building) and a separate
building team for the non-school facilities
 Meetings open to staff and parents
 Process led by building principal and design firm
 Determine how buildings are serving student needs
 Identify the educational positives of each building
 Identify problem areas and issues in each building
August 2015
Determine cost of current path (maintenance and on-going
improvements)
August 2015
Schedule community event to share and explain process
September 2015
Share building team reports with the Facility Task Force
November 2015
Administrators report to Board on results of the initial assessment
phase
January 2016
SOLUTION/OPTION PHASE
Develop possible solutions for facility needs
 Brainstorm with Facility Task Force on solutions and options
 Conduct facilitated community design workshops
 Schedule public form to share options with the community
 Conduct facilitated community forum for feedback on
options
 Prepare and conduct an online poll about the options
 Conduct scientific survey about options
 Finalize the master facilities plan recommendation for
presentation to the Board
February through June
2016
Administrators report to the Board
November 2016
Board acts on master plan recommendation
November 2016
DECISION PHASE
Create Financial Advisory Panel
December 2016
Financial Advisory Panel explores timing and funding of the master
facilities plan
January through April
2017
Financial Advisory Panel presents recommendation for timing and
funding of the master facilities plan to the District Administrators
and the community
May 2017
Administrators report to the Board based upon the recommendation
from the Facilities Advisory Panel, and the Board acts on the timing
and funding for the master facilities plan
May 2017
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