The Banks
Cincinnati, Ohio
Request for Proposal:
Event Programmer
Proposal Deadline and Place for Submission of Proposals:
Please submit RFP response to: Tracy Schwegmann and Laura Griffin Cloud
Tracy Schwegmann
Jeffrey R. Anderson Real Estate, Inc.
The Rookwood Exchange
3825 Edwards Road, Suite 200
Cincinnati, Ohio 45209
Email: tschwegmann@anderson-realestate.com
Laura Griffin Cloud
Nicol Investment Company, LLC
1033 Demonbreun Street, Suite 630
Nashville, TN 37203
Email: laura@nicolinv.com
Electronic version (in PDF format) of the response is due no later than
5:00 PM, EST, JANUARY 8, 2019.
CONTENTS
- Introduction
- Project Background and Description
- Scope of Services
- Inclusion Proposal
- Fee Proposal
- Relevant Experience
- Contract Information
- Selection Process
- Submission Instructions and Conditions
- Confidentiality
- Additional Information
EXHIBITS
- Site Plan
- Renderings
- Form of Agreement
A, Introduction
The Banks is a public improvement and private mixed-use development project in Cincinnati, Ohio on the southern edge of downtown along the Ohio River. The site is situated between Paul Brown Stadium to the west and the Great American Ball Park to the east and includes the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. At full build out, the public Improvements at the Banks Project will include the completion of Cincinnati’s Central Riverfront street grid and the completion of a +/- 7,000 space Central Riverfront Intermodal Parking Garage. The private development of The Banks has been occurring in multiple phases and is now comprised of numerous property owners. At completion, the private mixed-use development of The Banks Project will potentially include as much as 2.8 million square feet of useable space consisting of up to 1,800 residential units, up to 1 million square feet of office space, up to 400,000 square feet of retail, and up to 400 hotel rooms when completed. The purpose of this RFP is to solicit proposals from qualified Event Programmers for the Banks project. The selected Consultant or Consultants will serve as an integral part of the New Community Authority to provide expertise as defined in this RFP.
- Project Description and Background
Since the initial delivery of the first phase of the Banks in 2011, there has been desire to create sustainable programming. The Banks has fantastic, supportive anchor assets in The Reds, The Bengals, US Banks Arena, The Parks, and NURFC who drive a tremendous amount of traffic to the District. However, it is well acknowledged and recognized that there are significant gaps in programming and activation throughout the year. Programming is expensive, and The Banks has lacked a sustainable source of funds to underwrite such programming. It also has lacked a coordinating mechanism/entity that engages neighborhood stakeholders, directs activities, and produces events to the benefit of the District.
In June of 2018, City Council approved the formation of a New Community Authority (“NCA”) at the Banks. The NCA will essentially serve a sustainable funding mechanism focused on the programming of events and activation of the development. The NCA will impose a 1% community development charge on food and beverage sales at Banks establishments. This will be collected by each individual retailer upon consumption and funneled into a fund for programming efforts. NCA’s can be amended and in The Banks’ case, this offers the flexibility for future developed parcels to become part of The Banks Community Authority, if/when the timing is determined to be appropriate.
NCA’s are governed by a Board of Trustees, the majority of which are assigned by City Council. The balance of Board members are appointed by the private property owners within the NCA. This board is the decision-making body for the use of funds and any subsequent changes to the NCA boundaries, charges and uses of revenue.
One of the first charges of the NCA Board is to conduct a selection process for an event programmer that will run point on the Banks events and placemaking initiatives. The following request for proposal addresses the desired scope of work and selection process.
- Scope of Services
We are seeking to activate the Banks based on 12 month programming schedule. We envision these activities to be diverse and may vary in scale, scope and frequency. The Board is open to considering proposals for either a portion of the scope of services outlined below or for the entire scope of services.
The Event Programming scope of services shall include the following:
- A comprehensive Needs Assessment including a review of the facility and potential venue locations including analysis for storage, electricity, plumbing, etc.
- A month by month event calendar for the 2019 calendar year. Please note, we anticipate there will be a variety of different scale of events including small, medium and large ‘signature type’ events. The goal of the programming is to drive track to the site and fill the gaps on those non-activated days which will include both regular, reoccurring type events and special, large scale events.
- Solicit stakeholder feedback (especially tenants) to support the programming efforts, i.e. how to learn from patrons and businesses what works well, what doesn’t work well and what we need more of.
- Research the major events in Cincinnati and when those events take place including the existing events at the Banks. The purpose of this exercise is twofold: We want to understand which events are already “claimed” in Cincinnati and where those opportunities lie for the Banks to host their own signature type events. We also would like to get a picture of the existing events down at the Banks based on a calendar year and fill in the gaps, particularly in the winter months. Also, please elaborate where there are opportunities to supplement or enhance existing events or programming at the Banks.
- Events must speak to the diverse patron base drawn to the Banks from age to interest.
- Must include a brief description of each event and classify if the event will be reoccurring or a special signature type event.
- A comprehensive budget based on the estimated revenue from the New Community Authority in year 1 of $400,000.
- Please address any additional potential revenue sources (sponsorship, F&B sales, etc).
- Budget must include both event related and non-event related expenses including insurance, consultants, legal, production rental/equipment rental, marketing/advertising, etc.
- Budget must include recommendations and estimates for capital purchases
- Provide a detailed staffing plan.
- Describe how the potential for Open Container could be utilized at the Banks and your firms thought process of how this could be integrated into the event programming.
- Describe how sponsorship could be leveraged to augment the NCA budget, i.e. where do you see opportunities for sponsorship, in what orders of magnitude and what role can you firm play in solidifying sponsorship dollars. There are some existing sponsorship relationships with the individual retail tenants that will need to be taken into consideration once a consultant selection is made.
- Inclusion Proposal
Please provide your firms inclusion plan and strategy to meet the inclusion goals for The Banks. Inclusion goals can be found at: http://thebankspublicpartnership.com/wp-content/uploads/Appendix-A-The-Banks-Joint-Policy-and-Responsible-Bidder-Requirements.pdf
- Fee Proposal
Please provide your firms fee structure based on the assumed budget of $400,000 and the above scope of services.
- Relevant Experience
Please provide at least three examples of projects with similar scope.
- Contract Information
A copy of the standard form of agreement is included in the exhibits. By submission of a proposal, each firm acknowledges and accepts this contract as the basis of the agreement. Please review and offer any questions or issues as part of the RFP response.
- Selection Process
- Based on evaluation of the information provided in the event programming proposals, follow up questions and potential interviews will be conducted. A final selection will be made after the interviews and follow up questions are concluded.
- Preliminary Schedule:
- Proposals Due January 8, 2019
- Interviews January 18, 2019
- Final Selection January 18, 2019
The schedule above is preliminary and subject to change.
- Submission Instructions and Conditions
Your proposal should address the following areas related to event programming scope associated with Banks project:
- Identify the proposed staff for the project, please include experience or resume.
- Identify any competing engagements with other properties or clients that may create a conflict of interest.
- Please include two references with contact information.
- Confidentiality
All proposers are advised that proposals received by the Authority in response to this RFP may constitute public records as defined by Ohio Revised Code Section 149.43. If your proposal contains material that you deem confidential and exempt from disclosure under Ohio Revised Code Section 149.43, it should be clearly identified and marked confidential, and should be accompanied by an explanation stating the basis for claiming confidentiality.
Any confidential material that is properly designated shall be removed from the proposal prior to release of the proposal to the public. The determination as to the exemption from public records law of any material stamped as confidential by a proposer shall be made by the Authority. The Authority shall assume no risk, nor shall it be held liable by any proposer for the release of any material, which proposer may designate or deem confidential. Submittal of a proposal to the Authority shall be deemed acceptance of this covenant not to sue.
J Additional Information
- Costs – Proposers shall be responsible for all costs associated with responses to this RFP, including but not limited to travel costs.
- Rejection of All Proposals – the Authority reserves the right to reject any and all responses and reissue the RFP at any time prior to execution of a final contract if, as determined by the Authority, it is in the Authority’s best interest to do so. The Authority further reserves the right to reject the response of any proposer that, as determined by the Authority, has been delinquent or unfaithful in the performance of any other agreement or interaction with the Authority (including delinquent taxes or withholding), or is not financially or technically capable, or otherwise is not a responsible proposer.
- Rejection in Part – the Authority reserves the right to accept or reject any or all items in a proposal and award the contract in whole or in part if, as determined by the Authority, it is in the Authority’s best interest to do so.
- Retention of Responses – the Authority reserves the right to retain all responses submitted regardless of whether the response is selected.
- Waiver – the Authority reserves the right to waive any informality, defect, non-responsiveness or deviation from this RFP that, as determined by the Authority, is not material to the proposal.
- Amendment and Additional Information – the Authority reserves the right, as determined by the Authority, to request that some or all proposers amend responses or provide additional information.