26-AA02 RFP for Land Use Study of Former Lester Park Golf Course (due 12/29)

Location:	Minnesota
Posted:	Dec 15, 2025
Due:	Dec 29, 2025
Agency:	City of Duluth
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	U - Education and Training Services
Solicitation No:	26-AA02
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

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CITY OF DULUTH and DULUTH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

Request Proposals for a

Land Use Study of Former Lester Park Golf Course

RFP NUMBER 26-AA02

Issued December 10, 2025

Proposals Due December 29, 2025 at 3:00pm Central Time

Submit Proposals To:

City Of Duluth

Attn: Purchasing Division

City Hall, Room 120

411 West 1st Street

Duluth, Mn 55802

I. Introduction and Project Speciﬁcs. The Duluth Economic Development Authority

(DEDA) and City of Duluth (City) seek qualiﬁed consultants to submit proposals for a Land

Use Study of the former Lester Park Golf Course in Duluth.

The former golf course is approximately 270 acres. 37.5 acres of the site has already been

rezoned to Mixed Use-Neighborhood. This land use study will predominantly focus on the

remaining area.

Goals for the property, as expressed by the City’s Planning Commission and City Council,

include:

• Increase the housing supply for residents across all income levels

• Identify locations for preservation of open space, as well as recreation and

connections to adjacent hiking, biking, and ski trails.

• Incorporate complementary neighborhood amenities such as neighborhood-

oriented commercial development.

The Land Use Study shall serve as a supplement to the City's Comprehensive Plan

and Parks Essential Open Spaces Plan; it shall speciﬁcally consider and seek to

balance parkland, housing, commercial, and permanently protected green space. The

study shall include, but not be limited to, the following components:

1. General Land Use Study Components:

a. Assessment of previous planning efforts, including the lower 37. 5 acres in which

DEDA has an agreement to develop, current conditions, and data analysis.

b. Clearly deﬁned objectives (Purpose for undertaking the plan).

c. Deﬁned geographic area (Project area).

d. History/background and past planning efforts.

e. Analysis of current demographics/trends/school district (population,

employment, housing) as well as housing and land-use market scan.

f. Current land use/zoning/transportation/trails/recreation areas and

environmental characteristics.

g. Short-term infrastructure and long-term infrastructure maintenance costs

associated with various development options.

h. Review the relevant Comprehensive Plan, Essential Spaces Parks Plan, policies,

and the Future Land Use Map.

2. Stakeholder Engagement Process:

a. Identify stakeholders (neighborhood, community groups,

commissions/authorities, DEDA, HRA, Non-Proﬁt Organizations).

b. Professionally facilitated education, outreach, and stakeholder engagement,

including multiple public meetings and open houses.

3. Plan Recommendations:

a. Development of a vision statement, goals, objectives, and strategies.

b. Deﬁne proposed future land use changes that balance housing, commercial,

and protected green space uses.

c. Consider development options that incorporate publicly available

recreational facilities, such as a pickleball court, dog park, neighborhood

playground, basketball court, hiking trails, biking trails, and ski trails; note

that exact planning for speciﬁc facilities will be conducted by the City’s Parks

department after locations for recreation spaces are identiﬁed.

d. Consider development options incorporating or preserving publicly available

golf or golf-centric recreational opportunities.

e. Determination of which portions of the property are developable, where

development is appropriate, and where a permanent conservation status is

appropriate.

f. Recommendations for transitions between land uses, preservation of high-

value open space, and improvements to transportation and utility

infrastructure.

The results and recommendations shall be subject to a Parks and Recreation Commission

review, a Planning Commission Public Hearing, and ﬁnal approval by the City Council prior

to the ﬁnalization of the closing of any transfer of property.

II. Project Schedule. This land use study must be substantially complete by July 2026 and

fully adopted by City Council by September 2026. Responding ﬁrms must have robust

staffing and capacity for signiﬁcant public involvement within this time frame.

For the purposes of preparing a proposal, the following items shall be assumed:

1. Biweekly meetings with internal project management team from late January

through September.

2. Monthly meetings with a steering committee from February through August.

3. Assessment and summary of previous planning efforts, existing conditions,

demographics, history of the site, and other available data.

4. Analysis of slopes, soil conditions, wetlands, ﬂoodplains, shorelands, signiﬁcant

habitat locations, or other conditions that may make areas not suitable for

development. Summarize and map this analysis.

5. Location of existing trails and recreation spaces in the area.

6. Identify relevant stakeholders and conduct a survey or web-based participation

opportunities to gather initial information about community priorities for the site.

7. Based on tasks completed to date, identify developable areas on the site as well as

available utility and infrastructure capacity. Create at least two land use scenarios

for evaluation. Each scenario must include areas for housing, commercial,

recreation, and preserved open space, and shall follow the Future Land Use Map

categories as shown in the comprehensive plan, Imagine Duluth 2035.

8. Conduct professionally facilitated public meetings and open houses to engage

stakeholders in evaluation of scenarios and feedback about future land uses for the

site. Assume a minimum of 3 public meetings during the planning process.

9. Based upon data and public input, prepare a vision statement and goals for the site

in conjunction with the steering committee.

10. Evaluate the options for future land uses based on the vision statement and goals

and identify ﬁnal recommendations for land uses for the site.

11. Identify ways and locations that recreation opportunities can be incorporated into

future development, with considerations for Parks Master Planning to incorporate

into detailed recreation planning.

12. Prepare a ﬁnal report that summarizes all public involvement, data collection and

analysis, development opportunities, ﬁnal recommendations for land uses, and

considerations for recreation planning. Include an implementation plan that

identiﬁes any needed investments in infrastructure.

13. Assist DEDA and City staff in meetings with Planning Commission, Parks

Commission, Natural Resources Commission, DEDA, and City Council to present

the ﬁnal plan for adoption. Assume four in-person commission meetings.

III. Proposal Requirements. To be considered, hard copies of the proposals must arrive at

the City Purchasing Office on or before the date speciﬁed on the cover page. The City will

not accept proposals via email or fax. The City reserves the right to reject or to deduct

evaluation points for late proposals.

Proposals must be signed by an authorized official. If the official signs the Proposal Cover

Sheet attached as Appendix A, this requirement will be met. Proposals must remain valid

for 60 days or until a contract is fully executed. Terms of the awarded proposal as stated

must remain valid for the project length of time.

Please submit one paper copy of the Technical Submittal and one paper copy of the Cost

Submittal. The Cost Submittal must be sealed separately from the Technical Submittal.

Include with your Technical Submittal (do not include any costs):

• A narrative that includes your approach to the land use study and to public

participation, and a demonstration of your ability to complete the work within the

strict timeframe required

• Project schedule

• Identiﬁcation of speciﬁc staff that will be involved in the plan, with resumes.

• Examples of similar work balancing development, open space, and recreation

Include with your Cost Submittal:

• Project budget by line item

All materials submitted in response to this RFP will become property of the City and will

become public record after the evaluation process is completed and an award is made.

IV. Criteria for Selection. Proposals will be reviewed by City and DEDA staff. The factors

and weighting upon which proposals will be scored are as follows:

• Demonstrated general technical planning ability for the required process and

products of this type, including ability to produce communication pieces and visual

graphics and maps. – 30%

• Demonstrated understanding of speciﬁc needs for a land use evaluation, including

local knowledge of this area of Duluth. – 25%

• Demonstrated success in working with public, elected and appointed officials,

agencies and staff in advancing a complex process, including excellent facilitation

skills. – 25%

• Proposed cost estimate – 20%

DEDA and the City anticipate making a quick decision on selection of a consultant. Please

submit your proposals no later than December 29, 2025.

V. Rejection of Proposals. The City reserves the right, in its sole and complete discretion,

to reject any and all proposals or cancel the request for proposals, at any time prior to the

time a contract is fully executed, when it is in its best interests. The City is not liable for any

costs the Bidder incurs in preparation and submission of its proposal, in participating in the

RFP process or in anticipation of award of the contract.

VI. Agreement. The award amount may be based on the time and materials submitted in

the proposal, but the award will be a lump sum, not to exceed agreement. The awarded

proposer will be required to sign the agreement attached as Appendix B. The awarded

This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.

26-AA02 RFP for Land Use Study of Former Lester Park Golf Course (due 12/29)

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