North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources – Division of Parks and Recreation

The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation is soliciting design services for the Wilderness Gateway State Trail Initial Development project, a competitive procurement published on May 4, 2026 with a deadline of May 28, 2026 at 4:00 PM. The project involves comprehensive design services for three new access areas and trailheads located in Catawba County, North Carolina, specifically the City of Hickory WGST State Trail Trailhead, NC State Property Hiking and Mountain Bike Trailhead, and Finger Bridge Road Trailhead. Each access area will include a gravel parking lot accommodating approximately 70 vehicles, entry drives, two canoe launches, and three vault toilets. Qualified firms must be properly licensed to practice architecture, engineering, or landscape architecture in North Carolina through the appropriate state licensing boards. The selection committee will evaluate proposals based on ten criteria: specialized expertise in the project type, past performance on similar projects, adequate staffing and proposed design team composition, current workload capacity, design approach quality, cost and schedule experience, construction administration capabilities, proximity to and familiarity with the project area, record of successfully completed projects, and other appropriate factors. Interested firms must submit three copies each of a Letter of Interest not exceeding ten single-sided pages or five double-sided pages and the current Standard Form 254 (SF 254) via mail to the NC Division of Parks and Recreation, Attn: Clark Jenkins, 1615 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1615, or hand-delivered via FedEx/UPS to the Nature Research Center, 121 West Jones Street, Raleigh, NC 27603; email and fax submissions will not be accepted. Contact for the solicitation is Clark Jenkins at 919-526-8232 or Robert.jenkins@ncparks.gov.

The solicitation does not identify any set-aside designations or restrictions limiting response to specific types of organizations or disadvantaged enterprises based on the available documentation. No incumbent vendors or current contractors are referenced in the solicitation materials. The project is funded through the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF) under OC-25 approval number 202748903418, with a total project budget of $2,545,000, representing the anticipated award value for the selected design firm.