Request for Qualifications for Affordable Housing Development Public Art
Whittier Alliance
Whittier Alliance, the Whittier neighborhood organization, owns a currently vacant lot at 2116 Nicollet Ave. We have entered a partnership agreement with Alliance Housing where Alliance Housing plans to build 53 units of deeply affordable housing on the lot, plus ground floor office space for Whittier Alliance and Alliance Housing, as well as a community event space.
The project is currently awaiting final notifications on funding, and we expect to hear by the end of this year if the project will be fully funded. If the project is fully funded, construction will begin in 2026.
There is space on the building for public art. The art would be on the walls and ceiling of the building’s terrace, which would face out onto Nicollet Ave. The terrace will be on the second floor of the building, so an eye-catching design will be needed for visibility from street level.
The space available is approximate 875 square feet. Preliminary renderings of the building and space for public art are included below.
The budget available is $38,000. The budget includes the cost of materials and installation.
This is a Request for Qualifications (RFQ), not a call for design proposals. Please do not create or submit proposed designs for this step. Instead, answer the questions below and upload materials as requested.
The RFQ will be open until December 29, 2025. When it closes, the 2116 Nicollet design team will review submissions and invite four artists to submit proposals. Artists selected will receive $500 for their proposal submissions. We hope to be able to install the art by Q3/Q4 2027.
We are particularly interested in artists with connections to South Minneapolis (and Whittier specifically) who have experience integrating community engagement into their artistic process.
