The City of Laredo recently selected 5 design/build teams to interview for their planned municipal golf course. Here is the article. Unfortunately we were not selected as one of the finalists.
What was notable about this request for qualifications?
31 teams in total submitted
Each team included a golf course architect and builder - it is a turnkey project including infrastructure and clubhouse.
The initial meeting was standing room only - there were more architects and builders than at the Golf Industry Show.
Above is the aerial of the site on the Rio Grande. The property was donated to the city by a local developer. The water rights are essentially free. The city has $6.6 Million to spend on the project - and that was including the bottled water we were given during the site visit - they had no room for over-spending.
It is a very cool site with lots of features - big arroyos, arid vegetation and good materials to build a course.
When the city announced that the $6.6MM included the clubhouse and infrastructure, there was an audible groan from the attendees. Most, if not all, thought it was way too low.
Our team thought it was more than enough. If I write more about the proposal I'll describe how our team was formed -- I think we were the best team for the city.
I wasn't originally going to submit, because of the difficulty in winning a municipal project -- the team was too good to not submit.
