Category: 
RFQ


Location: Providence, RI

Woonasquatucket River Greenway & Francis Street Gateway Professional Placemaking Design Services

Full RFQ: https://www.bidnetdirect.com/rhode-island/wrwc

Closing: August 27, 2025

Description
This project seeks professional placemaking design services to enhance the user experience along the first mile of the Woonasquatucket River Greenway in Providence by:

  • Transforming the connection between the Woonasquatucket River Greenway and Downtown Providence (i.e., the Francis Street Gateway) into a welcoming, and curiosity-sparking space that encourages movement between Downtown and the Greenway; and
  • Creating a unified experience along the one-mile Promenade Street & Kinsley Avenue section of the Greenway to serve as a standalone destination while enhancing connections to the surrounding cultural, environmental, and community assets.

Design Objectives
The project team must embrace a set of interconnected design objectives to achieve its goal of creating a cohesive, welcoming, and engaging experience along the project corridor. These objectives are rooted in the desire to celebrate cultural and historic identity, enhance ecological systems, support recreation, and ensure comfort and safety, and each one contributes to making the corridor a vibrant and destination-worthy experience for residents, visitors, and tourists alike. These design objectives, which apply both the Francis Street Gateway and the Greenway along Promenade Street and Kinsley Avenue, are:

  • Artistic lighting at the Francis Street Gateway that enhances safety, sparks curiosity, and attracts people
  • Infrastructure for rotating art installations to support ongoing community engagement
  • Outdoor exercise equipment to encourage the use of the Greenway as a recreational asset
  • Interpretive artistic historical markers that draw awareness to local culture and heritage
  • Wildlife-themed murals that highlight local ecology while helping users navigate the Greenway
  • Wayfinding measures promoting the Greenway strategically placed at locations in Downtown (e.g., train station, Waterplace Park, Track 15)
  • Shade structures and other amenities in pocket parks to enhance comfort and usability
  • Noise abatement measures in areas where people are most likely to gather
  • Temporary programming infrastructure, such as power hookups and anchor points for tents

How to Apply
Sealed responses will be received by the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council (WRWC), 45 Eagle Street, Suite 202, Providence, RI 02909 until 2:00PM on August 27, 2025. Responses received after this time will be rejected.

Specifications are available at no cost at BidNet Direct (https://www.bidnetdirect.com/rhode-island/wrwc). Questions are to be submitted through this platform using the "Ask a Question" feature by August 13, 2025. Questions, if any, and responses will be posted as an addendum by August 20, 2025. Respondents are responsible for checking BidNet Direct for posted addenda. A link to BidNet Direct is also available on the WRWC website at https://wrwc.org/wp/about/request-for-proposals-and-more/.

If assistance is needed accessing the specifications, please contact BidNet Direct Support at 800-835-4603 Opt. 2 -or- Mark Pereira, PE at WRWC at 401-861-9046 or mpereira@wrwc.org.