Architectural and Engineering Professional Design Services Request for Proposal (“RFP”) for Walter Library Toaster Space Expansion

The Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota is requesting proposals for architectural and engineering professional design services for the Walter Library Toaster Space Expansion on the Twin Cities campus in Minneapolis, with proposals due August 27, 2026 at 2:00 PM and a mandatory pre-proposal meeting on August 7, 2026 at 9:00 AM.

The scope encompasses comprehensive design services for an approximately 8,100 square-foot sub-basement expansion including class workshops, flexible speaker event areas, expanded makerspace, virtual reality and podcasting spaces, team meeting rooms, and flexible study and event space. Design work also includes potential new staircase connection between existing and expanded spaces, reconfiguration of current basement-level areas, and transformation of the VR space into a more dynamic teaching environment. Required design services span programming and pre-design, furniture/furnishings/equipment design, audio-visual design, schematic design, design development, construction documents, and procurement and construction administration phases. The selected team must include a qualified construction firm for cost estimating at pre-design and schematic design phases and must coordinate with Capital Project Management's Interior Designer for furniture specification and procurement.

The estimated design fee is $140,000, and the estimated construction cost is $1.3 million in current dollars with no escalation. Compensation is fixed lump-sum including all costs, overhead, profit, and reimbursable expenses as defined in the contract. The University anticipates authorization to proceed on September 17, 2026, with pre-design completion required by December 1, 2026, schematic and design development occurring in 2027, and construction documents completion by October 15, 2027.

Evaluation criteria are weighted: Respondent Team Qualifications (35 points), Project Work Plan (35 points), Project Schedule (10 points), and Project Fee (20 points). The University will use the AIA B101-2017 Owner and Architect Agreement as modified by the University on January 1, 2026, with no exceptions or deviations permitted. RFP questions are due by August 13, 2026 at noon.