The Landing could have its redesign firm by the end of the week.
Three finalists spent Friday afternoon touting their experience and making the case as to why the Downtown Investment Authority should consider them best suited to redesign the Landing to allow a better view of the river and to offer more public access.
Fourteen groups submitted proposals, but just three made the cut to interview with DIA CEO Aundra Wallace, board member Doris Goldstein and members of the city’s procurement department.
There were commonalities among all three.
Whatever is done to the site, the public will have to be engaged and its ideas incorporated. Budget and site specifics weren’t presented. Each had projects they could pitch as examples of why they’d be the best bet.
First up was Cooper Carry, an Atlanta-based full-service architectural firm. It’s being assisted by Denver-based Civitas, a landscape architectural firm that specializes in public-oriented design.
To their credit were projects like RiverPlace in Greenville, S.C., which incorporated the Reedy River in its development; upscale Mizner Park in Boca Raton; and the historic district in Larimer Square in Denver.
Next was New Orleans-based Eskew + Dumez + Ripple, a full-service architecture firm that is partnering with Hargreaves Associates, a landscape architecture firm.
They’re also being assisted by Springfield-based Baker Klein Engineering. The majority of those projects presented focused in and around New Orleans, where retail corridors were revitalized and dormant riverfront is being brought back to life as part of a “Reinventing the Crescent” plan.
Last to present was Ponte Vedra-based Wakefield, Beasley & Associates, which is being helped by Urban Design Associates. The local group talked extensively about the Landing’s history and their own experiences at the Downtown venue, while presenting projects that included areas of the St. Johns Town Center and SunTrust Park, future home to the Atlanta Braves, in Cobb County.
In all, each received time for a short presentation and questions and answers from the interviewers.
Wallace and Goldstein will be grading the three firms and submitting their scores to the city’s Professional Services Evaluation Committee to review. That group meets Thursday and, should all go accordingly, it could end up selecting the top-rated firm.
The board previously voted to allow Wallace to handle negotiations after the committee selects a firm.
Selected Landing developer Tom Senkbeil watched the interviews from the audience, but said afterward it would be inappropriate to comment about the groups during the procurement process.
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