REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Action on an Agreement for Design Professional Services with SmithGroup for Consulting Services Associated with the City of Santa Clara Civic Center Concept Plan and Utility Building Project
Report
BACKGROUND
The Civic Center is the administrative core for the City of Santa Clara and is home for City Hall and several satellite office buildings, landscaped areas, and a public plaza, with on-site and on-street parking to support staff, visitors, and nearby businesses. Two City parks are a short walking distance from City Hall. Most of the buildings in the Civic Center were built in the 1960s when the workforce and residential population were much smaller. As the population of the community has grown, so has the demand for City services and the City’s office space needs.
Managing this growth has been challenging and any new attempts to reimagine the office spaces to accommodate more staff and services are now blocked by the confines of the existing building shells. Among the City departments with a large workforce, the Electric Department (dba Silicon Valley Power) (SVP) maintains a fragmented workplace and workforce. For over twenty years, SVP has been leasing office building space and is currently leasing at a business park along Martin Avenue housing SVP’s Resources, Customer Service & Marketing divisions, including some of the Capital Projects Engineering personnel while the Administration and Customer Development Engineering services division occupy space in City Hall.
On June 21, 2016, the City Council approved the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) project budget that included appropriations for a new Silicon Valley Power Utility Building. The funds are used to design and prepare for a new utility center using green-building technology that will be capable of housing both the Electric and Water & Sewer Utilities Departments. The benefits of a new utility center include eliminating offsite leases and increasing lease payments, making space available in City Hall for other uses, and creating appropriate work spaces and consolidating personnel from multiple work sites for increased work efficiencies.
On January 31 and Feb 1, 2019, the City Council and staff held Operational and Strategic Priority Setting Sessions. The City Manager reported that, included in the list of public facilities and other infrastructure projects that are known to be unfunded or underfunded are 1) the New Utilities Building and Civic Center Campus, and 2) Civic Center Repairs. These needs, along with all the other unfunded projects and infrastructure, are part of the City’s work in the short- and long-term and require dedicated capacity to develop realistic work plans.
DISCUSSION
In April 2019, the City issued a request for Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) for consulting services associated with the City of Santa Clara Civic Center Concept Plan and Utility Building Project Downtown Precise Plan Consultant Services, using the City’s e-procurement system. The City received seven proposals by the May 15, 2019 deadline from the following firms:
• Anderson Brule Architects (San Jose, CA)
• Dahlin Group Architecture Planning (Pleasanton, CA)
• Gensler (San Francisco, CA)
• Group 4 Architecture, Research + Planning, Inc. (South San Francisco, CA)
• Hawley Peterson Snyder (Sunnyvale, CA)
• SmithGroup (San Francisco, CA)
• Woods Bagot (San Francisco, CA)
Evaluation: A four-member evaluation team with representation from SVP, Community Development Department, Public Works Department, and Finance Department was formed to evaluate the proposals. Each team member independently evaluated and scored the proposals against the criteria as shown in the summarized table below.
The evaluation results are summarized in the table below.
|
Criteria |
Weight |
Smith Group |
Anderson Brule |
Gensler |
Group 4 |
|
Proposal Responsiveness |
Pass/Fail |
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
|
Proposal Quality and Presentation |
10 |
8 |
8 |
9 |
8 |
|
Firm Qualifications |
20 |
17 |
17 |
16 |
14 |
|
Staff Qualifications |
40 |
37 |
32 |
29 |
33 |
|
Client List / References |
10 |
7 |
9 |
8 |
7 |
|
Project Approach / Understanding of City’s Requirements |
20 |
19 |
18 |
16 |
13 |
|
Total Score |
100 |
88 |
84 |
78 |
75 |
|
Criteria |
Weight |
Woods Bagot |
Hawley Peterson Snyder |
|
Proposal Responsiveness |
Pass/Fail |
Pass |
Pass |
|
Proposal Quality and Presentation |
10 |
6 |
7 |
|
Firm Qualifications |
20 |
10 |
8 |
|
Staff Qualifications |
40 |
24 |
21 |
|
Client List / References |
10 |
6 |
6 |
|
Project Approach / Understanding of City’s Requirements |
20 |
10 |
9 |
|
Total Score |
100 |
56 |
51 |
The four top scoring proposers were invited to participate in oral presentations to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the City’s requirements and introduce key personnel who would be assigned to the project.
Notice of Intended Award:
A Notice of Intended Award (NOIA) announcing the City’s recommended consultant was published on August 13, 2019. The SOQ process included a ten-day protest period; no protests were received.
Recommendation:
Staff recommends award of agreement to the SmithGroup. The evaluation team unanimously agreed on the selection. The consultant’s team is comprised of industry experts in civic center master planning, urban design, real estate & market analysis, community engagement, economic development, and environmental analysis, utility administration building design, landscape architecture and sustainability.
Upon selection of the SmithGroup, a detailed scope of work was developed for the SmithGroup as the prime architect and each subconsultant with specific scope of work and deliverables. The professional services provided by the SmithGroup is comprised of several interconnected areas of work:
• City Hall Project Financial Feasibility - Planning team will assess previous plans, reports, investigate existing site for an urban or campus design strategy and prepare a Site Financial Feasibility and Economic Analysis Report with rough order of magnitude cost. A key outcome of this process will be to determine if there is financial feasibility to reconstruct all of the Civic Center Campus or if a phased implementation will be required.
• Comprehensive Community Engagement - Engage with the Santa Clara community to elicit feedback for the future of the Civic Center & Utility Building and make recommendations
• Market Analysis - Identify the opportunities and barriers to economic development in the Study Area
• Architectural & Space Planning - Provide recommendations on space needs and provide conceptual studies for building and site development
• Phasing Approach - develop an approach to phasing, including identification of relocation sites, both temporary and permanent, which are relevant to the proposed scenarios.
Pending Council’s approval, the Agreement shall be executed to provide the required consulting services for the City of Santa Clara Civic Center Concept Plan and Utility Building Project. The initial term of the Agreement shall be for three years ending on December 31, 2021.
Scope of Work Summary:
The Scope of Work is structured as a three-phase process to develop the planning strategy for the Santa Clara Civic Center Concept Plan. Community engagement will be an integral part of the process through all three phases, including three public workshops (community open house meetings) to elicit community input and feedback as well as several commission meetings as noted in Attachment 2 (Project Schedule).
• Phase One - Define the Problem: The planning process will commence with an analysis and strategy phase wherein the consultant will listen, assess the previous plans, reports, establish planning objectives, investigate existing site and contextual conditions and patterns, assemble zoning and regulatory items and uncover meaningful relationships for both on and off-site elements. The City Hall Financial Feasibility Report is a strategic level concern that needs immediate attention, while allowing concurrent, detailed analysis of other aspects. The consultant will engage with a core project team and project leadership to ensure effective, efficient decision making. Community and stakeholder engagement will also commence during this phase. This phase will culminate in a financial and economic assessment and analysis of the existing conditions, funding limitations and implementation options, and a statement of Vision and Goals emanating from the engagement process.
• Phase Two - Set a Strategic Direction: Following definition of the problem and analysis of the existing physical information, previous planning studies, zoning and regulatory issues, demand analysis, and the testing of early ideas, the consultant will continue with an iterative problem solution phase to test alternative concepts. This phase will illustrate multiple ways to achieve the vision and goals identified in phase one, within the identified sustainable, physical, and financial constraints. During this phase, the consultant will present the alternative ideas and develop two alternative plans with initial ideas regarding design guidelines and implementation. Interim Phase 2 is to obtain City Council Strategic direction by end of February 2020. This phase will culminate in a strategic direction and the selection by City Council, of one preferred planning option with a draft cost estimate upon which the project budget will be based.
• Phase Three - Framework Plan, Implementation Strategy & Program Level EIR: Phase 3 emphasizes the evolution of the master plan concepts and development of conceptual floor plans, landscape plans, sustainable design features, and construction sequencing for the Civic Center and Utility Buildings. The consultant will bring a holistic perspective on sustainability that is not a separate task, but rather woven through our entire process and deliverables. The consultant will define appropriate sustainability targets during Phase One and work with the City to look for opportunities to push traditional limits as part of a design that is truly regenerative and net positive. This phase will culminate with a final adopted master plan report which includes an updated cost estimate.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The action being considered does not constitute a “project” within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15378(a) as it has no potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
FISCAL IMPACT
The consultant’s proposal for the scope of work requested by the City has a cost of $1,803,344. In addition, the consultant proposed optional tasks that the City recommends totals $172,365. With the added optional tasks, the total cost of the consultant services is $1,975,709. Sufficient funds are available in Silicon Valley Power Utility Center project budget (project number 2126 in Electric Utility Capital Fund).
COORDINATION
This report has been coordinated with the Finance Department and the City Attorney’s Office.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council agenda on the City’s official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall Council Chambers. A complete agenda packet is available on the City’s website and in the City Clerk’s Office at least 72 hours prior to a Regular Meeting and 24 hours prior to a Special Meeting. A hard copy of any agenda report may be requested by contacting the City Clerk’s Office at (408) 615-2220, email clerk@santaclaraca.gov <mailto:clerk@santaclaraca.gov> or at the public information desk at any City of Santa Clara public library.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Authorize the City Manager to execute an Agreement for Design Professional Services with SmithGroup to provide Civic Center Concept Plan and Utility Building Project Consultant Services for a maximum compensation not to exceed $1,975,709.
Staff
Reviewed by: Manuel Pineda, Chief Electric Utility Officer
Approved by: Deanna J. Santana, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Agreement for Design Professional Services
2. Project Schedule