This RFP requests bid proposals from qualified parties presenting their qualifications, capabilities and costs to provide historic landscape design and build services for the Muscatine Art Center. The Muscatine Art Center’s property, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was originally owned by Laura Musser McColm who had a Japanese Garden installed on the grounds around 1930. 

The historic Japanese Garden occupies approximately 0.35 acres and features three tiers, a system of water features, and extensive rockwork. In 2019, a Historic Landscape Preservation Plan for the Japanese Garden was developed to serve as the guiding document for returning the garden to its historic condition. 

The Muscatine Art Center is seeking a landscape design-build firm or project team to carry out the historic landscape plan. This project is funded in part by federal funds from the Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Project and must follow federal preservation guidelines for cultural landscapes. 

The selected contractor will collaborate with the Muscatine Art Center staff and preservation consultant Heidi Hohmann, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at Iowa State University, to protect and repair historic features, remove inappropriate vegetation, replace structures, reconstruct rockwork, and introduce new trees, shrubs, and plants. Proposals must take into account the nature of this project including advance planning, communication with the consultant and staff, and the review process associated with the grant and the historic nature of the landscape. 

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

HISTORIC LANDSCAPE PRESERVATION PLAN