"We are excited to be moving forward on the Outer Harbor," said ECHDC Chairman Jordan Levy. "We hope to duplicate the successes that we have already achieved on the Inner Harbor with Canalside, and to open up new waterfront access to the public."
ECHDC issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) in September, seeking to retain an architectural engineering firm or team with specific experience in architecture and engineering. Three bids were received by the October 11th submission date and a selection committee consisting of ECHDC employees reviewed the proposals based upon four factors; the firm demonstrated experience in completing projects of a similar nature, they had the ability to successfully complete projects of this type on schedule and within budget, their cost of consultant services, and their references.
LiRo Engineers Inc. have met all of the criteria and will receive an amount not to exceed $272,312 plus a 20 percent contingency for design and engineering services with respect to the outer harbor property.
The ECHDC Public Art Advisory Group also announced that it will re-open the procurement process for public art, in order to generate submissions for an iconic artwork that will grace the new public spaces being developed on the "Aud Block" (former location of the Aud).
"Great public art can be as important to shaping the identity of a place as the landscape or the architecture," said Louis Grachos, chair of the Public Art Advisory Group. "And we felt that by broadening the scope, we increase the likelihood that our waterfront will be identified with a world-class work that visitors will seek out when they visit Buffalo."
The process will be similar to the one that was initiated in September: three to five artists will be shortlisted based on their submitted qualifications and will receive a $10,000 stipend to develop a proposal for the new proposed locations. The goal of the procurement is to attract artists of international critical acclaim who have demonstrated the ability to design and implement large scale, complex, public art commissions. The official process will be announced in the upcoming months. Artists who are interested in submitting qualifications for the revised project will be asked to submit their qualifications.
It's great to see ECHDC leading the development of the Outter Harbor. They have done a great job with Canal Side and the Outter Harbor has sat vacant and overgrown for too long. Now all we need is for the Harbor Bridge to be built so we can actually get out there to whatever it is that ECHDC builds. Does anyone know the progress of this actually getting done?
(My two cents: A modern, white Bascule bridge at Erie street. It should be a progressive work of art to serve as the Gateway to the Buffalo Harbor. Let this be our Signature Bridge.)