Professional Practice
RFP: Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy Seeks Design Firm for Arboretum Nursery Project
Date: 2/15/2023 - 4/10/2023
Description:
RFP Pre-Proposal Site Visit: March 2, 2023, at 2:00 pm
RFP Due Date: April 10, 2023, at 1:00 pm
Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy (BOPC) has issued a Request for Proposals for conceptual design work for the proposed South Park Arboretum Nursery Complex. The awarded design firm’s work will contribute toward BOPC’s vision of restoring the South Park Arboretum while creating a new community gateway to South Park on the Ridge Road corridor.
The South Park Arboretum Nursery Complex will welcome the public into the Arboretum and will include a tree and woody shrub container nursery, equipment storage, educational spaces, and offices for the Curator, operations staff, and future team members. The development of the South Park Arboretum Nursery Complex is part of a comprehensive, long-term 11-phased project. The project will see the historic Arboretum restored to a significant cultural landscape with a design inspired by the original plans of Frederick Law Olmsted.
The selected design team will develop and produce conceptual design plans, a facility assessment, and a general cost estimate for the 1-acre Nursery Complex. It will re-establish an arboretum nursery, necessary to care for and protect new plant accessions, by growing the collections sustainably. Further, the Buffalo Olmsted Parks System is listed on the National Register for Historic Places, therefore all proposed structures will align with the historic context of the site. The current proposed location shares in the history of a prior facility which housed the park’s groundskeeper in the 1900’s and was home to the original on-site nursery.