Project Description

In partnership with the City of Minneapolis and Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB), the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) is seeking a qualified consultant team to provide engineering, landscape architecture, and construction oversight services for a stormwater treatment and restoration project at the intersection of Cedar Avenue and Minnehaha Parkway.

MCWD and its partners are pursuing the Cedar Avenue Stormwater and Restoration Project to improve water quality, increase flood storage, and enhance recreation. An approximately 10-acre area of open space along the Parkway, this site is prone to localized flooding and drains currently untreated stormwater runoff to Minnehaha Creek, which ultimately flows to impaired Lake Hiawatha. The project is planned to include the creation of a stormwater wetland, which will capture and treat runoff from 114 acres, streambank restoration, relocation of sanitary sewer, and community placemaking elements, such as a boardwalk system and new access to Minnehaha Creek.

MCWD is advancing the project in partnership with the City and MPRB as part of the Minneapolis Thriving Waters Partnership (MTWP). Established in 2024, the Partnership represents a joint effort to improve water quality, mitigate flooding, and enhance natural resources in and around Minneapolis waterbodies within the District.

This is the first MTWP project the partners are implementing, and was part of a feasibility study that analyzed water improvement opportunities at three project sites identified in MPRB’s 2020 Minnehaha Parkway Regional Trail Plan. The project was chosen to advance into design based on its combination of water quality, flood storage, and public realm benefits.

How to apply

Proposals should be submitted via email to Gabriel Sherman (gsherman@minnehahacreek.org) and Michael Hayman (mhayman@minnehahacreek.org) no later than 4 PM on Monday, September 14, 2026. For the purposes of this design effort, MCWD will administer the consulting contract. City and MPRB staff will actively participate in consultant selection.

Each proposal should include the following items:

• Cover letter
• Project understanding
• Approach and methodology
• Budget, schedule, and level of effort
• Qualifications and experience
• References
• Partner resources
• Subcontracting

Please see the RFP below for more information and submittal guidance.

Timeline

An optional virtual informational meeting on this RFP will be held via Zoom on August 25, 2026, at 3 PM. Preliminary questions regarding the RFP must be submitted via email by 4 PM on August 21, and will be answered at the informational meeting. Following the meeting, MCWD staff will post responses to questions on this page. If you plan to attend the meeting, please RSVP to the MCWD staff contacts below by August 21.

The anticipated timeline for the proposal review process, which is subject to change, is as follows:

• Submit preliminary RFP questions: August 21, 2026
• Optional RFP informational meeting: August 25, 2026
• Submit final RFP questions: August 26, 2026
• Deadline to submit proposal: September 14, 2026
• Interviews: September 28-29, 2026
• Consultant selection: October 8, 2026

Contact