Landscaping Services (Best Value Invitation to Bid)

Location:	Texas
Posted:	May 4, 2026
Due:	Jun 3, 2026
Agency:	Houston First
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	S - Utilities and Training Services
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

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LANDSCAPING SERVICES

BEST VALUE INVITATION TO BID

ISSUE DATE:

April 28, 2026

DUE DATE:

11:00 A.M. on June 3, 2026 (“Submission Deadline”)

INSTRUCTIONS: Bidders must timely submit five (5) paper copies and one (1)

electronic copy of their bid (on a flash drive) in a sealed envelope

labelled “Landscaping Bid” to the following address:

Houston First Corporation, Attn: David Stephenson, 701

Avenida de las Americas, Suite 200, Houston, TX 77010

Bids must be delivered by mail, courier, or in person. Submittals

received after the Submission Deadline, by email, or unsealed, will

be rejected without further review or consideration.

QUESTIONS:

Any questions concerning the form or content of this Invitation to Bid

must be submitted by email to bids@houstonfirst.com no later than

11:00 a.m. on May 20, 2026. All materials questions will be

answered collectively, rather than individually, in the form of a Letter

of Clarification available at www.houstonfirst.com/do-business.

Questions received may be edited or combined with similar

questions for clarity or length at the discretion of HFC.

BID OPENING:

Bids timely received will be opened and publicly announced at 3:00

p.m. on the Submission Deadline at 701 Avenida de las Americas,

Suite 200, Houston, TX 77010.

OVERVIEW AND SCOPE

Houston First Corporation (“HFC”) requests bids from experienced landscaping

maintenance contractors (each a “Bidder” and, collectively, “Bidders”) to provide

landscape servicing on an as-needed basis to produce and maintain healthy and

aesthetically pleasing lawn, groundcover, annual and perennial plants, shrubbery, and

trees throughout landscaped areas of its facilities in Houston, Texas.

Landscaped areas to be serviced include the George R. Brown Convention Center,

Wortham Theater Center, Miller Outdoor Theatre, Partnership Tower, Lynn Wyatt Square,

Lots C and H, Root Memorial Square Park, Sweeney Clock Triangle, TBH; and Tundra

Garage.

Services are to commence on or about July 1, 2026 and continue, on an as needed basis,

for a term of five years.

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BACKGROUND

HFC is a local government corporation created by the City of Houston to facilitate

economic growth through the promotion of the greater Houston area and the business of

conventions, meetings, tourism, and the arts. HFC is the primary entity responsible for

marketing Houston and increasing awareness of its many attractions and amenities.

BID FORMAT

Although HFC prefers substance over form, to be considered responsive, Bidders are

asked to review the following criteria/information requests and respond, in order, to the

best of their ability:

a. Pricing Form: Bidders are required to provide comprehensive pricing for services,

as the first substantive page of their bid, using the Pricing Form available online at

www.houstonfirst.com/do-business.

b. Experience: Describe Bidder’s experience generally in providing landscaping

services similar in scope to the services described in this Invitation to Bid. Explain

how services are typically scheduled, and how quickly service schedules can be

adjusted due to increased or reduced service needs. Introduce the primary point-

of-contact for services and summarize their qualifications.

c. Diversity Commitment: Bidders should indicate how they intend to make good

faith efforts to utilize diverse companies to meet the Diversity Goal for the services.

Bidders are asked to avoid excessive graphics, title pages, or other extraneous

information in their bid.

MANNER OF SELECTION

Each bid timely received will be evaluated utilizing the following criteria: Pricing Form (50

points); Experience (40 points); and Diversity Commitment (10 points).

HFC reserves the right to interview the top-ranked Bidders, not to exceed five, prior to

selection. If interviews are scheduled, then such top-ranked Bidders will be evaluated

based on their engagement and responsiveness during the interview and awarded 1-25

points. Interview scores will not be combined with bid-evaluation scores.

HFC intends to award the contract to the Bidder who offers the best value to HFC, as

measured by utilizing the foregoing evaluation criteria, including the right to award the

contract by criteria other than the lowest price bid. HFC reserves the right to select or

reject all or part of any bid, waive minor technicalities, and select one or more bids in the

manner and to the extent that they serve the best interests of HFC.

This Invitation to Bid does not commit HFC to award a contract, issue a purchase order,

or enter into an agreement. HFC will not pay any costs incurred in the preparation of a

bid or in connection with any in-person interview arising out of this Invitation to Bid. HFC

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reserves the right to request bid clarifications and/or additional information from some or

all Bidders.

LETTERS OF CLARIFICATION

Responses to all material questions timely submitted by potential Bidders, as well as any

revisions incorporated into this Invitation to Bid, will be confirmed collectively, rather than

individually, in a letter made available online at http://www.houstonfirst.com/do-business/

(each, a “Letter of Clarification”). When issued, Letters of Clarification become part of this

Invitation to Bid and automatically supersede any previous terms, conditions,

specifications, or provisions in conflict therewith.

By submitting their bid, Bidders shall be deemed to have reviewed all Letters of

Clarification, considered all responses, as well as any revisions, and incorporated them

into their submittal. Verbal responses by any HFC officer, director or employee cannot

alter the terms, conditions, specifications, or provisions as stated herein. It is the

responsibility of Bidders to monitor the foregoing link and ensure they review any such

Letters of Clarification and incorporate them in their bid.

DIVERSITY PARTICIPATION

The Bidder selected will be required to use good-faith efforts to award subcontracts to

diversity participants certified by any of the identified certification agencies as defined in

the HFC Diversity Program. HFC has established the following goal for these services:

25% of the total value of the Agreement. Bidders should note if they are certified as a

diversity participant in their submittal; however, such certification shall not lessen or

otherwise alter the requirement to use good faith efforts to award subcontracts to diversity

participants.

FORM OF AGREEMENT

By submitting a response to this Invitation to Bid, Bidder agrees, upon notice of selection,

to promptly enter into the Landscaping Services Agreement provided below. Any requests

for clarification or modification to the terms of such agreement must be timely submitted

by email to bids@houstonfirst.com, and responses to material questions and issues will

be included in a Letter of Clarification. Bidders are advised that additional or conflicting

terms, alternative pricing bids, pre-printed forms, or other objections submitted by a

Bidder with their bid shall be disregarded and may result in a bid being deemed, in HFC’s

discretion, as non-responsive.

RESTRICTIONS ON COMMUNICATIONS

Throughout the selection process, commencing with the Issue Date, Bidders are directed

not to communicate, directly or indirectly, with any HFC employee, officer, director, or

selection committee member regarding their bid, or any matter relating to this Invitation

to Bid, other than through bids@houstonfirst.com, or in response to a direct inquiry from

the HFC General Counsel Department or Procurement Division. Bidders who disregard

the Restrictions on Communications provision do so at their peril, as HFC shall have the

right to reject any bid due to violation of this provision.

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REQUIRED DISCLOSURES

Bidders must disclose if they have, within the past five (5) years, been party to a service

contract terminated for cause, or received material, adverse findings from any

governmental authority having regulatory oversight of services similar to those required

under this Invitation to Bid.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Bidders are advised that they have an affirmative obligation to disclose any affiliation or

business relationship with an HFC employee, officer, or director creating (or appearing to

a reasonable person to create) a conflict of interest. Bidders who need the disclosure

form may find it online at https://www.ethics.state.tx.us/data/forms/conflict/CIQ.pdf. By

submitting a bid, Bidder represents to HFC that they have complied with the requirements

of Chapter 176 of the Texas Local Government Code.

PROTEST PROCEDURES

Any protest relating to the form, terms and conditions, selection criteria, specifications,

exhibits, or any other material bid content must be filed by the actual or potential Bidder

with the Purchasing Agent no later than five (5) business days prior to the Submission

Deadline. If the protest consists of a dispute regarding the Bidder recommended by the

selection committee, or otherwise relates to the alleged misapplication of selection

criteria, then the Purchasing Agent must receive the protest from an actual Bidder after

the Submission Deadline, but at least three business days prior to consideration of a

contract resulting from this Invitation to Bid by an HFC committee or Board of Directors,

whichever is earlier.

All protests must be made in writing and delivered to Houston First Corporation, Attn:

Purchasing Agent, 701 Avenida de las Americas, Ste. 200, Houston, TX 77010. To be

considered by HFC, protests must be timely received and include, at a minimum, all of

the following information: (a) The name, address and contact information of the Bidder,

with sufficient information to establish that a bona fide Bidder is the person or entity filing

the protest; (b) The full title of the Invitation to Bid; (c) Material grounds for the protest,

including the provisions of the Invitation to Bid and the applicable law or regulation that

serves as the basis for the protest; (d) A statement of the specific relief requested by the

Bidder; (e) Reference to and attachment of any pertinent documents or sources relied

upon by the protestor that the protesting party wishes to have HFC consider; and (f) An

affidavit attached to support any factual allegations stated in the submission.

INVITATION TO BID PACKETS

A complete copy of this Invitation to Bid, including exhibits, necessary forms and other

relevant information, is available on-line at www.houstonfirst.com/do-business. This

Invitation to Bid provides the information necessary to prepare and submit a bid for

consideration and ranking by HFC.

PUBLIC INFORMATION

As HFC is subject to the Texas Public Information Act (“TPIA”). Information submitted by

Bidders is subject to release under the provisions of the TPIA set forth in Chapter 552 of

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the Texas Government Code, any page including confidential or proprietary information

appears must be labeled as such clearly and unambiguously. Bidders will be advised of

any request for public information that implicates their materials and may, in accordance

with applicable law, elect to assert objections to disclosure with the Texas Attorney

General at their cost and expense.

WITHDRAWAL; ERROR

Bids may be withdrawn due to errors or for any other reason by a written request received

by bids@houstonfirst.com prior to the Submission Deadline.

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

Project	Project Document	Due	Addenda
Active Landscaping Services (Best Value Invitation to Bid)		6/3/2026	Pricing Form Maps of Service Areas

Landscaping Services (Best Value Invitation to Bid)

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See also