Specifications include, but are not limited to: Orange County, North Carolina is releasing this Request for Qualifications (hereafter ‘RFQ’) seeking responses from qualified consultants to provide professional architectural, landscaping, and engineering services for the Historic Courthouse Square – Building and Grounds Improvement Project. The County is seeking firms whose combination of experience and expertise will provide timely, professional services to the County. The County reserves the right to enter into one or more contracts with any firm selected under this RFQ process. II. Project Overview: Orange County is initiating a major project to preserve and update the historic Orange County Courthouse and make improvements to the surrounding Courthouse Square, located in the heart of Hillsborough’s historic district. The Courthouse and Square are individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building is actively used for court functions and offices for district court judges and court staff. Architectural firms and engineering team members must demonstrate strong backgrounds in historic building preservation and restoration. The landscape architecture/site planning team must show extensive experience on comparable projects to preserve and enhance the site/setting of significant historic buildings. All 2 work must be planned to coordinate with the schedule and requirements of the courts. Proposed work must meet the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards. Plans must be reviewed and approved by the Town of Hillsborough Historic District Commission and the Orange County Historic Preservation Commission. This project consists of the following major components: Initial Assessment and Cost Estimating: • Gather enough information to develop a complete, comprehensive picture of the entire project, including building preservation needs, structural issues, general site improvements, and landscaping/planting. • Provide cost estimating by line item based on the initial assessment. Historic Courthouse Building: architectural and engineering services: • Exterior: preservation of historic brickwork, stone, and woodwork, including important structural issues in the tower and the brickwork at the southeast corner. • Interior Preservation and accessibility: preservation/restoration of historic features, enhancements to accessibility and safety, and upgrades to electrical, audio-visual, and lighting to meet court requirements while preserving its historic character
