Engineering Services for New Midtown Substation

The City of Fort Collins is requesting proposals for engineering services for the Midtown Substation, a new 115 kV electrical substation to be developed by City of Fort Collins Light & Power in partnership with Platte River Power Authority (PRPA), with proposals due August 14, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. Mountain Time.

The scope spans site planning, civil and structural engineering, geotechnical analysis, landscape architecture, architectural design, and navigation through the City's development review process to construction-ready drawings. The project is located on City-owned Lots 3 and 4 at the intersection of West Drake Road, McClelland Drive, and West Thunderbird Drive. A central design requirement is an engineered perimeter wall with artistic merit rated for 140-mph wind load while fitting urban character. The Professional must hold Colorado professional engineer licensure for each discipline and demonstrate prior multidisciplinary team management and municipal development review experience, preferably with multiple Fort Collins projects completed within the past ten years.

Compensation is on a time and reimbursable direct cost basis with monthly invoicing on Net 30 terms. The Professional must maintain errors and omissions insurance of $1,000,000 and comply with the City's Professional Services Agreement. The engagement covers a single, fixed-scope phase through Planning & Zoning approval, with potential additional construction-phase services available as separate requests.

Evaluation criteria by weighting factor: firm capability and assigned personnel (4.0), scope of proposal (3.0), cost and work hours (2.0), and sustainability and Triple Bottom Line methodology (1.0). Questions are due August 3, 2026. Interviews are anticipated the week of September 7, 2026, with contract award and commencement targeted for September and October 2026, respectively. Proposals are limited to 50 pages and must be submitted through the Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System. The City reserves the right to terminate the agreement at any time without cause upon ten days' written notice.