The Crookston Housing and Economic Development Authority (CHEDA) Board met on Wednesday, August 19, in a special session to review four requests for proposals (RFPs) they received for civil engineering services on a CHEDA-owned property behind Casey’s on North Broadway.
Community Development Director Taylor Wyum presented the RFPs to the board for further review and discussion. Following the review, the board gave their thoughts on the positives and negatives of each proposal and unanimously approved the proposal submitted by Freeburg and Grund for $49,000. Wyum was pleased with the RFP process and thanked the representatives from the participating firms for attending the meeting and answering questions from the board. “I think that we got four really strong proposals from four really great firms who submitted to our RFP, and so we’re really grateful to them for taking the time to make a submission and express interest in working with CHEDA,” Wyum said. “I think our board did a great job of really thoroughly reviewing the proposals that we received and doing a great job scoring and evaluating those proposals, and ultimately, I think the board came to a really good decision.”
Freeburg and Grund’s proposal does include some construction administrative management as a line item, but they will work with the selected architect on construction details once the project receives full approval from the Planning Commission and the City Council. Several board members, including Morgan Hibma, liked Freeburg and Grund’s proposal for its size compared to the other submitted proposals as well as their project flexibility.
Wyum explained to the board that the next steps would include a vote to execute the contract at their next meeting, allowing them to begin the civil engineering process immediately. The goal of the project is to build multiple owner-occupied homes on the 3.5-acre parcel, with construction expected to begin in 2027. “Once the contracts are signed and in place, we’ll be able to get started working on the site civil engineering design for our twin home project just south of Casey’s here in Crookston, and we’ll be able to move that project forward,” said Wyum. “So, as with anything that’s going to require a plat or new infrastructure, like roads and water utilities, they’ll have to go before the planning commission and get their recommendation. We’ll get council’s approval, and then we’ll keep moving this project forward, and we’re hoping to start construction sometime in 2027 on the first phase.”
The next CHEDA Board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, August 27, at 7:00 a.m. at Valley Technology Park.
