The Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority ("RCRRA") is in the process of a $243 million renovation of the Union Depot building in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota as part of the development of a Union Depot Multimodal Transit Hub.

The Union Depot project plan has identified shell space for a Bicycle Center prominently located on the ground floor of the Union Depot Building. The RCRRA is now seeking proposals from qualified bicycle center developers and operators to build-out, operate, and manage a full-service bicycle center in the Union Depot. The successful Operator will be responsible for the final Center design, interior construction, furnishings purchase and installation, and operation of the Center. The RCRRA intends to enter into a multi-year lease agreement with the selected Operator. The lease agreement will call for payment of a monthly rent as detailed in this Request for Proposals.

The $243 million renovation of the Union Depot began in January 2011, and is scheduled for completion at the end of 2012, when Amtrak's Empire Builder and local and intercity buses will begin to serve the building. The Central Corridor LRT, also currently under construction, is scheduled to open in 2014 at the doorstep of the Union Depot building, in front of a new one-acre public plaza. The Central Corridor LRT will connect downtown Saint Paul, downtown Minneapolis, the State Capitol complex, and the diverse ethnic populations of University Avenue, as well as several higher education institutions, including the University of Minnesota.

Plans are also being advanced for several other regional transitways as well as high speed rail service to Chicago to serve the Union Depot within the decade. The Union Depot building is expected to serve approximately 1,000,000 transit riders annually when the Central Corridor LRT opens, and several million more riders annually as other regional transit and intercity train corridors are developed.

Proposals are due February 21, 2012.

For additional information and links to the RFP document, please visit http://bit.ly/uniondepotsolicitations

This RFP is being issued concurrently with the issuance a Request for Proposals to identify a property management firm for the entire Union Depot site and a Request for Qualifications to identify organizations interested in providing services for the activation and development of the Union Depot site, primarily of the Union Depot Building.