Request for Proposal - Pro Forma Development for the Sicangu Innovation Center
PUBLISHED: October 2, 2024
DUE DATE FOR PROPOSALS: Friday, October 11, 2024, 5 pm CT
RFP CONTACT (for questions or clarifications):
Barbara Dills
RFP Coordinator barbara.dills@gmail.com 503-709-1534 (cell)
BACKGROUND
The Rosebud Economic Development Corporation (REDCO) is seeking proposals from consulting organizations to lead the development of an operational Pro Forma for the proposed Sicangu Innovation Center (SIC), to be located just west of Mission, South Dakota on the Rosebud Reservation. The SIC will be situated at the heart of the 590-acre Keya Wakpala Regenerative Development, encompassing an anticipated 400+ units of residential housing, as well as light industrial, and commercial development.
REDCO is one of three partner organizations working together within the Sicangu Co ecosystem to address economic development, affordable housing, food sovereignty, and other community needs. The other two organizations are the Sicangu Community Development Corporation (SCDC) and Tatanka Funds, Inc. (TFI), a Native CDFI.
More information about the ecosystem is available at www.sicangu.co.
PROJECT PURPOSE & GOALS
The SIC will be an approximately 75,000 square foot combination business incubator/workforce development center and cultural anchor space. A Feasibility Study for this project was completed in early 2023, incorporating the vision and input of a wide range of stakeholders (copy attached to this RFP). Based on that study, as well as follow-up programming priorities identified by the Keya Wakpala team, architectural partner Brunton Architects & Engineers has completed an initial schematic design for the SIC building and site. Those drawings can be made available to respondents upon request. Brunton is now focused on preliminary costing estimates for construction of the project.
The Pro Forma covered by this RFP will focus primarily on the long-term sustainability of
the project operationally, based on recommendations contained in the Feasibility Study and informed by further, more targeted outreach to specific stakeholders, which will be undertaken as part of this project. The main goal is to assess and determine what mix of long and short-term tenants, event space use, enterprise revenue generation, and other potential income sources will best support the ongoing costs associated with operating such a facility once it is fully up and running. A data-driven analysis of the local need/market for leased space, which we know anecdotally, is high, and what sort of rates are attainable, will be foundational to achieving this goal. A secondary goal is to identify revenue/funding gaps during the 5-year start-up phase that could be filled by grants and impact investments to enable Sicangu Co to identify and cultivate those sources (any suggestions from the chosen firm will be welcome, but providing recommendations for philanthropic funding sources is not a requirement of this engagement).
PROJECT BUDGET AND SCOPE
The preliminary design work led by Brunton is funded by a predevelopment grant from the Economic Development Administration (EDA). That grant also includes funds for the development of the operational Pro Forma that is the focus of this RFP.
The budget for this project is $42,150, inclusive of all costs, including any travel and incidentals.
The selected firm will be responsible for directing and supporting the research phase of this project and for developing a detailed operational Pro Forma that will be used to inform future design and planning decisions. The Pro Forma will also inform future fundraising and capitalization planning for construction of the SIC by addressing the viability and sustainability of the project long-term.
Anticipated tasks include but may not be limited to the following:
Creating a project roadmap and timeline for milestone completion to reach the project goals.
Meeting with internal Sicangu Co stakeholders to acquire a first-hand deeper understanding of unique community priorities, the Pro Forma project, and its goals
Acquiring familiarity with the schematic design of the SIC building and the programming that informs it
Working with designated Sicangu Co staff to identify key local programs (Tribal, Indian Health Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Sinte Gleska University, and others), and possible other anchor tenants (credit union, branch post office) that can be surveyed to assess their unmet office and event space needs and possible interest in locating at or utilizing the SIC to meet those needs
Working with designated Sicangu Co staff to identify local businesses that can be surveyed for any short-term, long-term, or periodic space needs the SIC might be able to meet
Creating survey and interview tools for staff to use in outreach efforts to all types of prospective stakeholders (anchor tenants, leasees, as well as other paying users) for survey/interview data gathering
Analyzing the revenue generating potential of several Sicangu Co owned or managed enterprises planned for the SIC based on available Economic Development/Market data provided by the Sicangu Co economist (coffee bar/bistro, food court, farmer’s markets, apartments for rent or sale, art supply store)
Projecting annual or monthly operating and maintenance costs for the first 10 years
Developing financial analysis tools for meaningful review and presentation of data
gathered
Developing up to three potential models to achieve break-even operations by year 5
Presenting findings and recommendations in a final Pro Forma report and a summary PowerPoint presentation for use by Sicangu staff for a variety of research, outreach, and funding efforts.
Travel to Mission for an in-person meeting at the start of the project is preferred but not required. Such a meeting, as well as all subsequent meetings, can be conducted online over Zoom or Microsoft Teams.
Deadline for completion of this project is: January 31, 2025.
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS
The selected candidate must obtain a business license from the Rosebud Sioux Tribe.
Firm must also have an active SAM.gov account by the start date. The contract must go through a review and approval process and receive final approval from EDA before REDCO can execute/sign.
EVALUATION & SELECTION CRITERIA
The ideal consultant:
Has led or collaborated on prior projects in Native communities; or, if not, can demonstrate experience working with other BIPOC communities, especially rural ones
Has demonstrated experience leading and creating this type and scope of operational Pro Forma for similar community-based projects (i.e. community centers; recreation centers; business incubators; etc.)
Has worked on other federally funded projects
SUBMISSION CRITERIA
A submission must, at a minimum, include the following:
Description of the firm that includes a general overview, names and credentials of any members of the team who will be directly involved in the project
A one-page narrative outlining the firm’s strengths and distinguishing skills or capabilities as they might relate to this specific project
A representative example of a work product created in a similar project (ok to delete or black-out specific client identifiers), including financial analysis tools incorporated into any narrative report; tools can be in template form and do not need to be populated with data