Lexington, KY – Mayor Jim Gray and members of a selection committee appointed by Lexington Center Corp. have announced they’ve received bids from architectural and construction management teams to redesign and rebuild Rupp Arena and the convention center.
There are four teams bidding on Rupp and five architectural teams bidding to design the Convention Center. The committee has also received five bids from construction management teams to oversee the construction of both projects. All architectural firms have teamed with local architects, a release from the Mayor’s Office states.
The Selection Committee is made up of Brent Rice, the committee chairman and Holly Wiedemann (AU Associates, Inc), Royce Pulliam (founder of Urban Active Fitness), Ray Ball (Ball Homes), Cecil Dunn (McBrayer, McGinnis, Leslie & Kirkland) and Craig Turner (MedPro). The group will interview the firms in mid June before making its recommendations to the Lexington Center Board by the end this month.
“These are firms with the imagination to reinvent Rupp Area and ignite the surrounding blocks with a new level of excitement and activity,” Gray said in the release from his office.
Also this month, the Lexington Center Board is scheduled to receive a business plan from its four strategic financial consultants – Convention, Sports & Leisure International Inc., Legends, Live Nation Entertainment and HKS Architects – hired early this year to recommend the best way to finance both projects.
The four bids to design Rupp on its own are from: AECOM/Space Group/Omni - Kansas City/Sweden/Lexington; HKS/JRA - Dallas/Lexington; NBBJ/EOP - Los Angeles/Lexington; and Populous/Sherman Carter Barnhart - Kansas City/Lexington.
The five bids to design the Convention Center are from: M+G Murphy Graves/ Ratio - Lexington/Indianapolis; Populous/Sherman Carter Barnhart - Kansas City/Lexington; NBBJ/EOP - Los Angeles/Lexington; LMN/Omni Architects - Seattle/Lexington; and WORK/Epstein Architects - New York/Chicago.
The five bids to manage the construction of both Rupp and the Convention Center are: Hunt/Abel/Finch- Indianapolis/Lexington; Mortenson/Mathis - Minneapolis/Louisville; Skanska/Congleton-Hacker - National/Lexington; DW Wilburn - Lexington; and Turner/BD Global - National/Lexington.