The City of Golden Valley, Minnesota, today released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for its Civic Center Campus Master Plan. Multi-disciplinary teams from across the United States are invited to respond by Oct 17, 2025 with qualifications to progress Golden Valley’s 1960s-era city center toward a 21st century community center that is welcoming, sustainable, and innovative—with a new City Hall, a new Public Safety Building for the Fire Department and Police Department, and a new Hennepin County Library at its core. The complete RFP can be found at https://bit.ly/GV-Civic-Campus-RFP.

Incorporated as a village in 1886, Golden Valley is a vibrant suburban city west of Minneapolis that borders the 740-acre Theodore Wirth Park. Its current population of approximately 22,000 is expected to grow to over 26,000 by 2050, fueled by the community’s unique relationship to urban nature, easy access to the larger seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area, and leafy residential neighborhoods, which include the largest stock of mid-century modern homes in Minnesota.

“This process is about planning Golden Valley’s future together,” says Mayor Roslyn Harmon. “As we explore options for the Civic Center Campus, our priority is making sure City services stay accessible, welcoming, and responsive to our residents, employees, and constituents. This Master Plan is an opportunity for the community to help shape what the next generation of civic spaces will look like.”

About The Civic Center Campus Master Plan And RFP

The Civic Center Campus Master Plan will lay out the City’s vision for a 14-acre campus that balances operational needs, community aspirations, private development opportunities, sustainability, innovation, and design excellence. The Master Plan will reimagine the relationship between key civic spaces, serving as the roadmap for future schematic design, detailed design, and construction for:

• City Public Safety (Police and Fire) facilities
• City Hall facilities, with services and amenities as directed by the City’s project manager
• Hennepin County Library facilities
• a public plaza

Design teams responding to the RFP should prepare a detailed proposal that demonstrates deep expertise in developing showcase projects that reflect a unique community’s signature character and values. In addition to detailing the design team’s approach to project management, the proposal should clearly outline how the team will deliver on:

• data gathering and data gap analysis
• community outreach and engagement
• strategic framework and conceptual design
• a comprehensive and actionable Master Plan

Complete proposal submission requirements can be found in the RFP. These include the requisite proposal format, content, and delivery method.

A team of City staff, Hennepin County staff, and City consultants will evaluate all proposals and select the proposal or proposals that best demonstrate the ability to reliably perform the work with integrity. A shortlist of finalists will be forwarded for interviews. The final evaluation of proposals will be based on the initial proposal, interview and additional questions, references, and final cost proposal.

“The right design team will help us bring to life this generational opportunity to reinvest in our vital civic center—connecting people with services and each other, revealing ecological functions, and enhancing resilience,” says Emily Goellner, the City’s community development director.

Civic Center Campus: Key Dates

The Master Plan design team is expected to be selected in December 2025, with work to commence in early 2026 and delivery of the completed Civic Center Campus Master Plan later next year. Once the Master Plan is complete, the City will release a separate RFP for schematic design by or before summer 2027. Following this schedule, principal construction could begin as early as 2028 or 2029.

More About The Project

The City of Golden Valley has a singular historic, geographic, and cultural foundation to build on. Originally Dakota land crisscrossed with trails to the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers, it was later settled and farmed by Europeans who in turn sold their products at the Minneapolis markets.

In the 20th century, the next major phase of development was dictated first by the introduction of the east/west rail line and then by the expansion of the highway system, with Highways 12 (now I-394), 55, 100, and 169 defining Golden Valley as both an accessible community and well connected to the larger region. During this time, Golden Valley was distinguished from among burgeoning suburbs across the nation by genuine design innovation and excellence, including:

• cutting edge corporate building architecture with the landmark General Mills offices designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) and the Michael Van Valkenburgh-designed General Mills Sculpture Garden
• Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board’s Theodore Wirth Park defining the eastern border, part of the nationally renowned Grand Rounds parkway system designed by Horace Cleveland
• City Hall (originally built in the 1950s and remodeled in the 1990s), an early public-private partnership with General Mills and Honeywell contributing half the building costs

“With this heritage of public-private partnership and civic leadership, the City’s reliable funding for community and civic investments, and with additional support and collaboration from Hennepin County, Golden Valley is ready to bring to life a renewed center of our community,” says City Manager Noah Schuchman.