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From Farmland to Parkland FROM FARMLAND TO PARKLAND Florence Fields Recreation Area Request for Proposals Design, Specifications, Estimates & Contract Documents Submitted to: Submitted by: City of Northampton Office of Planning & Development October 21, 2010 October 21, 2010 Mr. Wayne Feiden, FAICP Director of Planning and Development City of Northampton 210 Main Street, Room 11 Northampton, MA 01060 Re: “An opportunity to enhance our community” Florence Fields Recreation Area Dear Mr. Feiden and Members of the Selection Committee: It is with great excitement that The Berkshire Design Group, Inc. submits this proposal for site design services for the City’s newest park - The Florence Fields Recreation Area. Creating a recreational place of this importance that will enhance the Northampton community represents an opportunity that The Berkshire Design Group feels particularly well suited. Our parks and recreational experience is very diverse covering New England for over 26 years. The City has the opportunity to choose a local, experienced firm that has designed, engineered, permitted and overseen construction on over 500 recreational facilities for 50 municipalities throughout the Commonwealth. Landscape Architecture Park and Recreation Design is what we do best! Civil Engineering Partial List of Local Recreational Projects: Planning • School Street Park, Agawam • Williams Park, Chicopee Land Surveying • Arcanum Field, Northampton • Dana Park, Chicopee • Maines Field, Northampton • Szot Park, Chicopee • Groff Park, Amherst • Elm Park, Worcester • Ray Ellerbrook Park, • Plum Brook Recreation Area, Northampton Amherst • Unity Park, Turners Falls • Holyoke Heritage State Park • Kiwanis Park, Amherst • Mackenzie Field, Holyoke • Rohan Park, Holyoke • Kennedy Park, Holyoke • Veteran’s Field, Northampton • Wisniowski Park, Chicopee • Nonotuck Park, Easthampton • Springdale Park, Holyoke 4 Allen Place Northampton, Massachusetts 01060 Telephone (413) 582-7000 Facsimile (413) 582-7005 E-mail [email protected] Florence Fields Recreational Area October 21, 2010 Request for Proposal Our professional reputation and experience has earned The Berkshire Design Group, Inc. 28 design awards. As you are wading through the proposals and selecting your consultant – remember that most, if not all, consultants are technically qualified to do the “standard” work. And, as stated in the enclosed reference letters, our standard for services are set quite high. It’s a rare opportunity that a project of this importance is proposed in the City we call home. And when we are selected for projects in Northampton, you can be assured of our constant commitment, communications and creativity. We can’t let you down…we live here! In the spirit of service, Peter H. Wells, Principal 4 Allen Place Northampton, Massachusetts 01060 Telephone (413) 582-7000 Facsimile (413) 582-7005 E-mail [email protected] We Design For Communities Table of Contents Existing Farmland……………………………………………….Proposed Parkland YOUR PROJECT TEAM FLORENCE FIELDS RECREATION AREA………………….……..………..2 ENSURING QUALITY PROJECTS EXTENSIVE LOCAL EXPERIENCE……………………………………........3 CREATIVE APPROACH & DELIVERABLES………………………………10 PROJECT SCHEDULE……………………………………………..………...17 FEE STRUCTURE……..……………………………………………..………..17 OUR GURANTEE……..……………………………………………..………...18 WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY APPENDIX – ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS: BDG Firm Description Design Techniques Awards and Honors Relevant Projects Resumes The Berkshire Design Group – Florence Fields Recreation Area Proposal 1 Your Project Team for Florence Fields Recreation Area “I highly recommend The Berkshire Design Group, Inc to effectively create, plan, and oversee construction of municipal parks and playgrounds. Their expertise in Landscape Architecture cannot be surpassed by even the largest of firms anywhere in New England. Their proximity to my project made them readily available and they were on site sometimes within the hour of an emergency.” Christopher M. Sparks, Director of Parks & Recreation Town of Agawam, MA The bottom line for successful planning-client relationships is delivering results, particularly when it counts. Experience, education, qualifications and organization are vital for quality work – but it’s the project team that performs on-time, on-budget and on-target that keeps its clients and excels. Our successful project team consists of the following Berkshire Design Group members: 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. Peter Wells, Principal Landscape Architect 2. Mike Liu, Project Landscape Architect 3. Mark Darnold, Principal Civil Engineer 4. Marc S. D’Urso, Project Civil Engineer This group of talented and dedicated professionals is one of BDG’s most talented and successful park and recreational design teams. Their award winning projects have been creatively designed, community generated, completed on-time and within budget. They are looking forward to providing you with the energy and enthusiasm necessary to design and engineer a successful recreational complex. Please visit their resumes for a detailed history of each team members’ experience. The Berkshire Design Group – Florence Fields Recreation Area Proposal 2 Ensuring Quality Projects Extensive Local Experience “From the design phase, implementation, construction oversight and finished product, Peter Wells has been dependable and always willing to go the extra mile to ensure a successful project. The public meetings with neighbors and constituents were always professional and well put together. It is a pleasure to recommend Berkshire Design Group, and think your project would benefit from their involvement.” Ann-Marie Moggio, Director of Recreation Northampton, MA Our office has operated out of Northampton for 26 years, and in that time we have completed in excess of 500 recreational projects and have worked for over 50 municipalities throughout the Commonwealth. We have 6 registered landscape architects (and 7 total) and 2 professional engineers (4 total) on our staff of fifteen. The majority of the park projects are public projects that our office has taken from conception through construction. Our in- depth project experience includes everything from state parks to skateboard parks, playgrounds to passive recreation areas. We know parks and recreation! The Berkshire Design Group – Florence Fields Recreation Area Proposal 3 Budget Awareness The reason for the continued success of Berkshire Design Group is the firm’s policy and practice of not compromising the design of a project because of budget constraints. Instead we find innovative ways to construct the most attractive and feasible design within the given budget. We further insure working within our given budget by producing plans and specifications that are done thoroughly and in detail. This allows the contractors to give accurate and competitive bids for the project, while assuring the highest quality of materials and workmanship. The key personnel of our project team have extensive experience in construction cost estimating and also in construction project management, assuring the following: • Cost estimates will be accurate because we maintain and continually update our estimated construction costs using figures from contractors working on similar projects within similar regions. • The final material selected for construction will be easy to maintain, thus minimizing maintenance costs and helping assure the long-term success of this important public playground. Westford Recreation Area Master Plan The Berkshire Design Group – Florence Fields Recreation Area Proposal 4 Just in the past few years…. Town of Amherst Parks and Recreational Areas Over the past five years we have worked on 4 separate park and recreational projects within the Town of Amherst. We developed design and construction plans for a new playground at Groff Park. The playground structure was installed by the community during a two weekend time frame. Using CPA funding, the Plum Brook Recreation Area was completed in 2009 and consist of 3.5 regulation soccer/multi-purpose fields including on-site irrigation, walking trails, picnic areas, and a 100 car parking area. The site design includes (5) five different field layouts in order to rotate the goal mouths thus allowing proper regeneration of the turf. If you have any questions regarding our design, engineering and dedication to this project please contact Linda Chalfant, Director of Leisure Services at (413) 259-3103. Plum Brook Recreation Area Grand Opening – September 2009 The Berkshire Design Group – Florence Fields Recreation Area Proposal 5 City of Northampton Parks We have designed and provided construction administration services for 5 recent parks for the City of Northampton Parks and Recreation Department, Ann Marie Moggio, Director, (413) 587-1040 and Ray Ellerbrook, Director – Look Park (413)584-5457. These parks include Arcanum Field, Veterans Field, Ray Ellerbrook Park, Maines Field and Sheldon Field. Facilities in these parks include softball and baseball fields, soccer and multi-use fields, playgrounds, skateparks, basketball courts, lighting, irrigation, and parking. Ray Ellerbrook Park – Northampton, MA Veteran’s Field– Northampton, MA Maines Field, Northampton, MA The Berkshire Design Group – Florence Fields Recreation Area Proposal 6 City of Chicopee Parks Over the last fourteen years we have master planned and designed 6 parks in Chicopee, MA. We have provided full services for the construction of many of these recreation areas. The contact person is Mr. Stanley J. Walczak, Superintendent, Department of Parks and
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