Brand Development Services for 1075 Washington Street, Baldwin MI

Location:	Michigan
Posted:	Nov 3, 2025
Due:	Dec 1, 2025
Agency:	Lake County
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

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Lake County Land Bank Authority

800 10th Street, Suite 210

Baldwin MI 49304

231-745-4622

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (“RFP”)

Brand Development Services for

1075 Washington Street, Baldwin MI

Submission deadline: December 1, 2025 by 5:00 pm EDT

Lake County Land Bank Authority (“LCLBA”) is accepting Proposals from experienced

companies for Brand Development services for the commercial property located at:

 1075 Washington Street, Baldwin MI

Recitals:

1. On March 11, 2021, the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (“SLFRF”)

were established, as part of the American Rescue Plan Act ("ARP”), to support the response

to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

2. The purpose of the State Land Bank Association (“SLBA”) Blight Elimination Program

(“BEP” or “Program”) is to respond to the public health emergency or its negative

economic impacts by promoting health and safety and addressing blight in

disproportionately impacted communities around the State of Michigan by investing in

projects that result in the demolition or stabilization of public or privately-owned

structures, as well as environmental remediation of public or privately owned properties,

or the renovation of publicly-owned structures.

3. Pursuant to the SLFRF, funding was directed to the State of Michigan which appropriated

a portion to the SLBA for purposes of creating a Program to address the impacts of COVID-

19.

4. The Lake County Land Bank Authority (LCLBA) was awarded a Blight Elimination Grant

by the State Land Bank Authority (SLBA) for the Rehabilitation of the commercial

building located at: 1075 Washington Street, Baldwin MI

In accordance with Grant Requirements, the Federal and State provisions listed on the

attached Exhibit A must be followed, included and incorporated into all applicable contracts with

contractors receiving Program Funds to ensure that the use of these federal funds complies with

SLFRF, Treasury’s Final Rule at 31 CFR Part 35 (January 6, 2022), Treasury’s Overview of the

Final Rule (January 2022), and Treasury Guidance on Recipient Compliance and Reporting

Responsibilities Version 3.0 (February 28, 2022).

Lake County Land Bank Authority

Request for Proposal – Brand Development Services

1075 Washington Street, Baldwin MI

Page 1 of 6

OVERVIEW

RFP TIMELINE

RFP Sent: November 3, 2025

Proposals due: December 1, 2025 by 4:00 pm EDT

Finalists notified: December 8 – 12, 2025

Meetings with finalists: December 15 – 19, 2025

Winner approved and contacted: January 15, 2026

Target brand launch date: April 2026

CONTACT INFORMATION

Please submit final proposal and direct all questions to:

KELLIE ALLEN

LAKE COUNTY TREASURER

LAKE COUNTY LAND BANK AUTHORITY CHAIRPERSON

and/or

KIM GUNNEMAN

LAKE COUNTY LAND BANK COORDINATOR

Email:

Phone: 231-745-4622

kallen@co.lake.mi.us

kgunneman@co.lake.mi.us

THE PROJECT

Budget: RANGE $15,000 - $20,000

Description: The Lake County Land Bank Authority (LCLBA) owns 1075 Washington Street,

Baldwin, Michigan. The property will complete a comprehensive rehabilitation in Spring 2026.

This RFP seeks a qualified brand development partner to craft a compelling, market-ready brand

for the property that resonates with a diverse range of prospective tenants and reflects the

community’s values and aspirations.

Objectives

 Develop a marketable property name that is memorable, distinctive, and aligned with the

site’s identity and community context.

 Create a visually cohesive brand system, including a logo, color palette, typography, and

usage guidelines, that communicates opportunity, stability, and community engagement.

 Design collateral and assets that support tenant recruitment and occupancy efforts (e.g., a

one-pager for each unit, fact sheet for building, presentation templates, digital assets).

 Ensure the brand speaks to current and prospective tenants across multiple sectors (e.g.,

small businesses, nonprofit organizations, makers/creatives, startups, and community-

oriented ventures).

 Embed community involvement and stakeholder input into the branding process, with

mechanisms for feedback and alignment with public and resident interests.

 Provide brand governance materials, including a brand style guide and a simple brand book

to ensure consistent application by internal teams and tenants.

Lake County Land Bank Authority

Request for Proposal – Brand Development Services

1075 Washington Street, Baldwin MI

Page 2 of 6

AUDIENCE OVERVIEW

The target audiences for this property will ultimately be those who become tenants. It is also

important that the community embraces the property as an asset that fits within the overall feel of

the community.

Target Audiences

Potential Commercial / Office / Restaurant tenants (based on recent downtown visioning)

 Gym, health services

 Eatery: Bakery/coffee/breakfast; salad/smoothie/healthy grab and go, family dinner

 Retail: outdoor gear, clothing, home goods

Potential customer base

 Visitors: Outdoor recreation enthusiasts (fishing, ORV, hunting, snowmobile), metro

travelers heading to ‘up north’

 Residents: seniors of all incomes; lower income families

 Downtown Workforce: administrative offices, hospitality/retail

NAMING & LOGO

Objectives

 Development of recognizable, memorable, distinctive marketable name(s) for commercial

property that reflects attributes described above, appeals to target audiences described

above and aligns with the site’s identity and community context.

 Create a visually cohesive brand system, including development of coordinating logo that

reflects attributes described above and appeals to target audiences described above that

communicates opportunity, stability and community engagement.

 Approved Name and Logo must be original and available for copyright/trademark

 Embed community involvement and stakeholder input into the branding process, with

mechanisms for feedback and alignment with community interests.

BRANDING & MESSAGING

Objectives

 Recommendation of features such as font, color, etc. for future development of marketing

tools such as signage, website, printed materials; including template for future signage.

 Development of tagline and associated key messaging for presentations and future

marketing campaigns.

PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

Please include the following in your proposal response:

A. Company Overview – Brief history, Team Structure, Team background and bios,

organizations you typically serve, etc.

B. How your company can help us achieve our objectives

C. Outline of your Naming and Branding Development Process

Lake County Land Bank Authority

Request for Proposal – Brand Development Services

1075 Washington Street, Baldwin MI

Page 3 of 6

D. Proposed Timeline

 Timeline from Bid Award to Final Deliverables ready for Marketing use

 Key Milestones, Review Periods & Anticipated Feedback Loops

 Dependencies or Assumptions that may affect schedule

E. Differentiation - What differentiates you from competitors?

F. Relevant Work Samples

 Recent logo design and brand development examples (minimum 3). (Outdoor

Recreation and rural commercial/downtown accounts that may be similar to ours,

if available.)

G. References (minimum 2)

H. Budget and Schedule

I. Terms and conditions

SUBMISSION PROCESS

Please submit completed Proposals electronically no later than December 1, 2025 by 5:00 pm

EDT to:

kallen@co.lake.mi.us

kgunneman@co.lake.mi.us

Timeline

RFP Sent: November 3, 2025

Proposals due: December 1, 2025 by 4:00 pm EDT

Finalists notified: December 8 – 12, 2025

Meetings with finalists: December 15 – 19, 2025

Presentation to Board: January 14, 2026

Winner approved and contacted: January 15, 2026

Target brand launch date: April 2026

Thank you for your interest in responding to this RFP. We look forward to your response!

Lake County Land Bank Authority

Request for Proposal – Brand Development Services

1075 Washington Street, Baldwin MI

Page 4 of 6

EXHIBIT A

FEDERAL AND STATE PROVISIONS:

RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS. The successful Respondent must maintain records

and financial documents related to this contract until at least December 31, 2031. U.S. Treasury

may request the transfer of records of long-term value at the end of such period. Wherever

practicable, such records should be collected, transmitted, and stored in open and machine-

readable formats. See generally, 2 CFR 200.334 through 200.338.

The successful Respondent agrees to provide or make available such records to Treasury upon

request, and to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Treasury’s Office of Inspector

General (OIG), and their authorized representative in order to conduct audits or other

investigations.

UNIFORM GUIDANCE. Under the Final Rule issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury

(“Treasury”) referenced at https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/SLFRF-Final-Rule-

FAQ.pdf, the contract with the successful Respondent is subject to the requirements set forth in

the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal

Awards, (the “Uniform Guidance”) at 2 CFR 200.317 through 200.327. All payments requested

under this program should be accounted for with supporting documentation. The successful

Respondent should maintain documentation evidencing that the Program Funds were expended in

accordance with federal, state, and local regulations.

TERMINATION/RECOVERY OF PROGRAM FUNDS. Treasury requires any Program

Funds received pursuant to this Agreement and any attachments that are expended in a manner

that fails to comply with SLFRF and all other applicable laws to be returned to Treasury. The

State reserves the right to monitor the Subrecipient and their contractors and subcontractors and

take such corrective action for noncompliance as it deems necessary and appropriate, including

but not limited to, termination of the Grant Agreement and return of Program Funds previously

provided thereunder.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY.

Successful Respondent shall comply with the Elliott Larsen Civil Rights Act, 1976 PA 453, as

amended, MCL 37.2101 et seq., the Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act, 1976 PA 220, as

amended, MCL 37.1101 et seq., and all other federal, State, and local fair employment practices

and equal opportunity laws. Respondent covenants that it shall not discriminate against any

employee or applicant for employment, to be employed in the performance of this Contract, with

respect to his or her hire, tenure, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, or any matter

directly or indirectly related to employment, because of his or her race, religion, color, national

origin, age, sex, height, weight, marital status, or physical or mental disability that is unrelated to

the individual’s ability to perform the duties of a particular job or position. In addition, as provided

in Executive Directive 2019-09, Respondent shall not discriminate against any employee or

applicant for employment with respect to his or her hire, terms, tenure, conditions or privileges of

employment, or any matter directly or indirectly related to employment because of religion, race,

color, national origin, sex, height, weight, marital status, partisan considerations, or a disability or

genetic information that is unrelated to the individual’s ability to perform the duties of a particular

Lake County Land Bank Authority

Request for Proposal – Brand Development Services

1075 Washington Street, Baldwin MI

Page 5 of 6

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