CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
DATE: JANUARY 14, 2026 CONSENT CALENDAR
SUBJECT: APPROVE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT NO. 25Q441
WITH GLOBALMELK LLC FOR URBAN DESIGN SERVICES AND
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT NO. 25Q442 WITH
MULTISTUDIO, INC. FOR BRANDING AND MARKETING FOR THE
CONVENTION CENTER CONNECTOR PROJECT
FROM: Scott C. Stiles, City Manager
BY: Wayne Olson, Economic Development
SUMMARY:
This action will award professional services agreements with Globalmelk LLC for urban design services for an amount not to exceed $1,500,000 and Multistudio, Inc. for branding and marketing services for an amount not to exceed $572,250 for the convention center connector project.
RECOMMENDATION:
1. Approve Professional Services Agreement No. 25Q441 (Attachment A) with Globalmelk LLC to provide urban design services for the convention center connector project for a term commencing on January 1, 2026, and continuing through December 31, 2028, for an amount not to exceed $1,500,000;
2. Approve Professional Services Agreement No. 25Q442 (Attachment B) with Multistudio, Inc. to provide branding and marketing services for the convention center connector project for a term commencing on January 1, 2026, and continuing through December 31, 2028, for an amount not to exceed $572,250;
3. Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute all necessary documents.
BUSINESS PRINCIPAL DISCLOSURE:
According to the Public Integrity Disclosure forms (Attachment C) submitted in October 2025, Globalmelk LLC is registered in the state of New York and Multistudio, Inc. is registered in the state of California.
City Council Staff Report
January 14, 2026 -- Page 2
Branding and Marketing Services for the Convention Center Connector Project BACKGROUND:
The Palm Springs Convention Center (PSCC), a cornerstone of the city’s hospitality and tourism economy, has served as a premier venue for conferences, exhibitions, and community events since its original construction in 1984. A major expansion and modernization effort was completed in 2005, significantly increasing the facility’s capacity and enhancing its amenities. Despite these improvements, many of the Convention Center’s core systems, finishes, and functional spaces now require further upgrades to meet current industry standards and user expectations.
In response to evolving market demands and the need to maintain competitiveness in the regional convention landscape, the City of Palm Springs is initiating a comprehensive renovation and expansion of the PSCC. The City, together with its hospitality stakeholders, has expressed the intent to establish an identifiable, branded convention district that links the PSCC with adjacent properties and the downtown core while enhancing the pedestrian experience, resolving traffic conflicts, and providing graphic continuity through placemaking and wayfinding.
The City of Palm Springs solicited qualifications from urban design and landscape architecture teams, along with branding and marketing teams, to lead the planning and design of a district scale urban connectivity strategy that links the PSCC with adjacent properties and the downtown core and identifies the PSCC District in harmony with the world class destination of Palm Springs. This work will be a critical component of a broader PSCC Renovation and Expansion Project for the Convention Center.
On September 10, 2025, the City Council unanimously authorized staff to advance the Palm Springs Convention Center modernization and connectivity project. The award of the urban design and branding and marketing agreements are a milestone and reflective of months of planning, engagement, and fiscal diligence, and the dedication of the City Manager’s Stakeholder Group. A subset of Urban Planning working group participated in advisement to City staff of the goals of the RFQ, reviewing and scoring of written statements of qualifications and scoring of interviews.
STAFF ANALYSIS:
On September 25, 2025, the Procurement and Contracting Department issued Request for Qualifications 14-25 (RFQ 14-25) for Urban Design Services for Convention Center Connector project to be completed in tandem with the renovation and expansion project for the Economic Development Department. RFQ 14-25 was advertised in the local newspaper, published on the PlanetBids website with notification to 540 registered vendors, 490 vendors through Bid Broadcast, and citywide notification through the Department of Communications. This extended outreach resulted in 54 attendees at the Pre-Qualification Conference on October 8, 2025, and the submission of 12 Statements of Qualifications (SOQs) for Urban Design and 11 SOQs for Branding and Marketing services.
City Council Staff Report
January 14, 2026 -- Page 3
Branding and Marketing Services for the Convention Center Connector Project The following firms submitted SOQs for consideration by the October 30, 2025, deadline.
Urban Design – Part 1
CMG Landscape Architecture – San Francisco, CA
Design Workshop Inc. – Stateline, NV
First Forty Feet LLC – Portland, OR
Globalmelk LLC – New York, NY
Munden Fry Landscape Associates – San Francisco, CA
MIG, Inc. – Berkeley, CA (Non-Responsive)
Multistudio, Inc. – San Francisco, CA
Perkins Eastman Architects, D.P.C. – Los Angeles, CA
RC Design Collaborative, LLC dba SITELAB urban studio – San Francisco, CA Stantec Architecture, Inc. – Santa Monica, CA
Surface Design, Inc. – San Francisco, CA
TDG Engineering, Inc. – Silver Springs, MD
Branding and Marketing – Part 2
JNS Next – Palm Desert, CA
Johnnie Studio LLC – Dallas, TX
LMNL LLC – Mill Valley, CA
MIG, Inc. – Berkeley, CA (Non-Responsive)
Multistudio, Inc. – San Francisco, CA
Perkins Eastman Architects, D.P.C. – Los Angeles, CA
RC Design Collaborative, LLC dba SITELAB urban studio – San Francisco, CA Stantec Architecture, Inc. – Santa Monica, CA
Surface Design, Inc. – San Francisco, CA
TDG Engineering, Inc. – Silver Springs, MD
Voyager Group, Inc. – San Juan Capistrano, CA
An evaluation committee consisting of City staff from Economic Development, Planning Services, as well as external committee members representing Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and Urban Design Stakeholder Group, PS Resorts representative, Chair of the Public Art Commission and Chair of Planning Commission reviewed and scored the statements of qualifications received against the criteria published in the Request for Qualifications. Criteria included the firm’s experience, references, staff’s experience, understanding the scope of work and demonstrated understanding of City goals and values, local tourism marketing organizations, and economic value of a branded district.
Globalmelk LLC – Urban Design
Globalmelk is an internationally recognized design practice specializing in landscape architecture, urban design, and public realm placemaking. The firm is known for delivering City Council Staff Report
January 14, 2026 -- Page 4
Branding and Marketing Services for the Convention Center Connector Project innovative, climate-responsive, and highly crafted environments that balance conceptual rigor with constructability and long-term performance. Globalmelk’s work spans civic districts, waterfronts, cultural destinations, convention centers, parks, and complex urban infrastructure, with projects completed across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America.
The Globalmelk-led team is senior, nimble, and directly engaged throughout all phases of work. Each discipline—urban design, landscape architecture, civil engineering, lighting design, and cost management—is represented by experienced professionals accustomed to working in complex public-sector environments and challenging climatic contexts, including Southern California and desert regions. The team emphasizes early technical coordination, clear communication, and hands-on leadership, ensuring accountability, efficiency, and design excellence from concept through delivery.
Jerry van Eyck, ING, RLA, ASLA – Design Lead / Principal-in-Charge, is the Founder and Design Principal of Globalmelk. With more than three decades of international experience, Jerry provides overall design vision, creative leadership, and quality oversight. His work is defined by a rigorous exploration of form, materiality, craft, and cultural identity, resulting in distinctive public spaces that are both innovative and deeply rooted in place. Jerry remains closely involved in all phases of design, ensuring continuity and integrity across scales.
Ian Hampson, RLA, ASLA, CSLA – Project Manager, serves as the connective lead between design vision and day-to-day delivery. With nearly 20 years of experience, Ian manages coordination across disciplines, schedules, and deliverables while maintaining design intent. His work integrates science, fabrication, and emerging technologies into practical, buildable solutions, and he brings extensive experience leading multidisciplinary teams on complex civic and urban projects.
Savina Romanos, Assoc. ASLA, ULI – Urban Designer, supports project coordination and design development, with a focus on public realm and urban-scale interventions. She brings experience in master planning, civic plazas, and streetscapes, ensuring consistency across design deliverables and engagement materials while supporting collaborative workflows.
Multistudio, Inc., – Branding and Marketing
Multistudio, Inc. is a full-service, multidisciplinary design firm with more than two decades of experience delivering integrated brand identity, communications, environmental graphic design, signage, wayfinding, urban design, and experience design solutions for public-sector, institutional, and community-focused clients. The firm is nationally recognized for its ability to align strategic thinking with design excellence, translating complex civic goals into cohesive, place-based brand systems that enhance identity, connectivity, and user experience.
City Council Staff Report
January 14, 2026 -- Page 5
Branding and Marketing Services for the Convention Center Connector Project Multistudio brings a seasoned team with deep expertise working with municipalities, government agencies, cultural institutions, and community stakeholders. The firm emphasizes collaborative, schedule-conscious processes, strong inter-team coordination, and continuity of staff throughout the project lifecycle. Their approach is rooted in user-centered and community-driven design, ensuring outcomes that are authentic, inclusive, and reflective of local values.
Amanda Harper, Principal-in-Charge and Project Manager, provides overall leadership, project management, and quality control. With more than 19 years of experience, she has led complex branding, placemaking, and experience design initiatives for cities, districts, and institutions nationwide. Amanda oversees project vision, schedule, budget, and coordination across parallel teams, ensuring alignment from early engagement through implementation.
Cady Beansmith, Project Designer – Brand and User Experience, serves as the creative and user experience lead. With a background in experiential design, Cady focuses on translating community input into meaningful brand and visitor experiences. Her work emphasizes clarity, inclusion, and equity, with extensive experience in signage, wayfinding, museum and visitor environments, and mixed-use redevelopment.
Nicole Norgren, AIGA, SEGD, Project Designer – Brand and Signage, leads brand identity, signage, and wayfinding efforts. With over 16 years of experience, Nicole specializes in integrating graphic design with built environments and digital platforms. She is responsible for translating design strategy into clear, compelling visual systems and ensuring alignment across multiple media and project phases.
To support communications strategy and community engagement, Multistudio partners with David Perry & Associates, a Palm Springs–based marketing and public relations firm with deep local knowledge and regional reach. David Perry, Founder and CEO, brings extensive expertise in marketing strategy, public relations, crisis communications, and community relations. His firm provides direct access to local networks, media, and stakeholders, strengthening outreach, trust-building, and two-way engagement throughout the project.
Multistudio does not anticipate forming a formal joint venture for this effort and intends to serve as the prime consultant, engaging subconsultants as needed through standard contractual arrangements. The firm coordinates closely with partners and parallel project teams to ensure seamless integration, consistent communication, and a unified project foundation.
Based on the review of the statements of qualifications, interviews and scoring, staff recommend approval of professional services agreements with the highest scoring firms, Globalmelk LLC, for urban design services for a contract amount not to exceed $1,500,000 and Multistudio, Inc. for branding and marketing services for a contract amount not to exceed $572,250 for the Convention Center connector for terms City Council Staff Report
January 14, 2026 -- Page 6
Branding and Marketing Services for the Convention Center Connector Project commencing on January 14, 2026, and continuing through December 31, 2028.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT:
The requested City Council action is not a “Project” as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Pursuant to Section 15378(a), a “Project” means the whole of an action, which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. The requested action is to approve contracts for the above-mentioned services, and is exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 15378(b), in that a “Project” does not include: (5) Organizational or administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment.
ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PLANNING:
This item aligns with the following City Council Strategic Plan Foundation: Economic Development.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Measure J Commission approved expenditures up to $9.9M in design costs related to the Palm Springs Convention Center Modernization. The approval was conditioned by reimbursement to Measure J from debt proceeds issued when the capital project begins later in 2026. Therefore, this initial $2M not to exceed will be funded entirely by Measure J funds, with reimbursement to Measure J once debt is issued. The award of these contracts will result in a total expense not to exceed $2,072,250.
REVIEWED BY:
Department Director: Wayne Olson
City Manager: Scott Stiles
ATTACHMENTS:
A. Professional Services Agreement Global Melk
B. Professional Services Agreement Multistudio
C. Public Integrity Disclosure