The City of Cleveland ("City"), owner and operator of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport ("CLE" or “Airport") through its Director of the Department of Port Control ("Director"), invites written Statements of Qualifications (“SOQ” or “Statements”) in response to Request for Qualifications (“RFQ”) from qualified firms Firm(s) with demonstrated competence and experience in, and thorough knowledge of, providing professional design/build services including a full range of architectural/engineering services and general construction for the construction of a new Terminal Parking Garage, Ground Transportation Center (“GTC”), and Regional Transit Authority Station (“RTA”), (collectively, the “Project”), as required by the various divisions of the Department of Port Control (“DPC” or “Department”) and described more fully in this RFQ.

Qualified firms either singly or in joint venture or other legal arrangements (collectively, the "Firm", “Contractor” or “Consultant”) must have the requisite, demonstrated competence and experience in, and a thorough knowledge of, the services required for the Project. 

This Project falls under the larger Terminal Modernization Development Program (“TMDP”).  The successful Firm will be required to operate under the Governance Program approved by the stakeholders and has been incorporated into daily operations. The Firm shall adhere to the day-to-day operational policy and procedures which are designed for each team member to provide full support and documentation as required for the Governance Program to make decisions. The selected Firm will provide Design/Build Services to the Department and will report to the Executive Program Manager ("EPM") and designated members of the TMDP Program Management/Construction Management (“PM/CM”) Team.  Firm will be responsible to work at the direction of, and report to, the City's third-party Project PM/CM.

A pre-qualification meeting and site-visit will be held on Friday, July 18, 2025 at 10:00a.m. local time in the CASU Conference Room at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. 5301 W. Hangar Rd, Cleveland OH 44135 and via WEBEX:

https://clevelandairport.webex.com/clevelandairport/j.php?MTID=m4d1584972defe270d0356c0714399a5d

Although attendance is not mandatory, firms are strongly encouraged to attend in-person to network and collaborate. Those planning to attend the pre-qualification conference and/or site-visit must register by 12:00 noon Monday, July 14, 2025, utilizing the RSVP function in OpenGov. Please select the appropriate option for in-person or virtual.

Interested parties may submit or ask questions pertaining to this RFQ and the services desired. Questions should be submitted online, in the Q&A section of the OpenGov Platform. Only questions answered publicly via OpenGov will be deemed official.

This RFQ is an invitation to experienced Design/Build Firms to submit Statements, to the Department outlining, in detail, their ability to provide Design/Build services and management, for the design and construction, of the Project.

On July 1, 2025, CLE celebrated its centennial anniversary. During its first 100 years, the Airport has been at the forefront of several innovations that are now commonplace. It was the first airport with an air traffic control tower, and a two-level terminal design separating arrivals from departures. It was also the first airport in North America to be directly connected with a rail transit line.

As Ohio’s busiest airport, CLE plays an important role in Cleveland’s, and the Northeast Ohio region’s, economy and success. CLE has seen tremendous growth in recent years, including an estimated 3% growth annually, surpassing pre-pandemic travel years. Most recently, CLE is forecasting approximately 10,400,000 origin and destination passengers in 2025.

CLE is the primary commercial service airport for northeastern Ohio. The Airport is located approximately ten miles southwest of the City’s downtown, and encompasses approximately 2,045 acres of land, with three air carrier runways, a large terminal complex, three active concourses, on-site parking, off-site consolidated rental car facility, and various cargo maintenance facilities. According to statistics compiled by the FAA, CLE was the 46th busiest airport in terms of total enplaned passengers for U.S. airports in 2023 and 2024. The Airport had approximately 5.1 million enplaned passengers in 2024, representing a 3% increase in enplanements from the prior year. CLE serves a significant origin-destination market, with original-destination passengers typically accounting for more than 99% of annual enplaned passengers at the airport.

In 2021, the Department completed a Master Plan to provide guidance for future airport terminal and landside development to meet the forecasted demand, and to replace aging airport infrastructure and facilities. The Master Plan has been revisited and adjusted in 2024 based on more current Design Day Flight Schedule ("DDFS") information.

Due to this growth in passenger demand and its aging infrastructure and facilities, the Department has advanced the TMDP which identifies the airport’s short-term and long-term needs and goals for its facilities and operations, keeping in mind all stakeholders, tenants, and other users. The TMDP captures those needs and goals, as well as addresses many competing passenger and operational priorities, such as programming, operational needs, amenities, user experience, and construction phasing within the Airport. Additionally, the TMDP identifies solutions to maintain and enhance current Airport prosperity and future opportunities.

The TMDP incorporates changes to many landside and airside program elements and facilities, as well as improvements that will enhance the passenger experience. With CLE’s significant growth, the Airport has experienced more local travelers. Local travelers have different travel needs from pass-through travelers, such as requiring more parking, drop-off spaces, security screening and other similar services.

To address these needs, the TMDP will provide more efficient passenger flow throughout the Airport and terminal including enhanced parking and roadway access, expansion of the ticketing and gate areas, new customs and security areas, and better functioning support spaces for operations.

The construction phasing is of utmost importance. The TMDP is proposed to be implemented in two major phases. Phase 1 focuses on landside development. Projects shall include a new eight-story 6,000 space parking garage, underground train tunnel and station platform development, and new GTC. Future phases may include a new terminal head house, new arrivals/departures roadways, new roadway system throughout airport property, new infrastructure, new pedestrian bridges and connectors between buildings, airline fueling system upgrades, a Phase II parking garage addition, demolition of existing structures, and some air side paving. The future Phase 2 of the TMDP will replace the concourses and will complete the modernization of CLE providing the City with a world-class airport experience.

Due to current customer demands for on-site airport parking, the initial focus will center around parking with new parking garage facilities. The Project will include the following elements:

1. Complete design and construction of a new RTA tunnel segment and new rail station and platform under the new garage footprint with connecting underground pedestrian walkway
2. Complete design and construction of a new parking garage
3. Complete design and construction of a new adjacent ground transportation center

The Department intends to utilize a design-build delivery method for the Project and select the Firm providing the best value, according to the requirements stated herein. In determining “best value” CLE will evaluate Statements using established criteria related to Firm qualifications considering such factors as project approach; prior relevant skills and experience; key personnel skills, knowledge, experience, and committed availability; project community impact and economic engagement plan; sustainability experience and approach; and “Wrap-up” insurance programs experience and approach.  Project is to be completed by February 28, 2029, at the latest, although Firms are invited and encouraged to propose an alternate shorter duration schedule as part of their project approach.

The Department will review and evaluate Statements received pursuant to this RFQ and recommend the selected Firm to the City for award of the design-build contract. If an award is made, the Department intends to enter into a design-build contract with the selected Firm for the design and construction of the Project and to negotiate a scope and price for design and Preconstruction services and work with the selected Firm to develop the Guaranteed Maximum Price (“GMP”) for the base Project scope and identified alternates.

Firms shall possess demonstrated skills, detailed knowledge, and applied experience in the areas pertinent to the Project elements as described in the RFQ.