East Valley Business - 09.27.20

east valley

Volume 3 Issue 11 Mesa, AZ

September 27, 2020

Online consignment shopping surges here

BY KRISTINE CANNON Tribune Staff Writer

S

IN THE BIZ

hoppers may not be keen to rummage through racks at secondhand stores for clothing, but used furniture sales and consignments are going through the roof.

Shoppers are also spending more time shopping high-end, luxury secondhand treasures online and on social media, two Scottsdale-based consignment store owners report.

“My Sister’s Attic, which is our furniture and home furnishing store, is doing really well. It actually beat last year’s comp sales, which in a time like this is unheard of,” said Ann Siner, CEO and cofounder of consignment retail stores My Sister’s Closet, My Sister’s Attic and Well Suited.

Less than a mile south of My Sister’s Closet’s Lincoln Village store, To Be Continued has also seen success amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Since pivoting to Instagram and turning its brick-and-mortar store into a hybrid online destination, the luxury consignment store at the Shops at Hilton Village has seen a 57 percent year-overyear growth since the onset of the pandemic and a monthly increase of 1,000 followers on Instagram.

“At the onset of the pandemic in March, everything came to a screeching halt as we were suddenly unable to service our client base who regularly traveled to our brick-and-mortar locations to buy Public Notices ............... page 2 © Copyright, 2020 East Valley Tribune

Scottsdale-based luxury consignment store To Be Continued saw 57 percent year-over-year growth since the onset of the pandemic, thanks to its social media and online presence. (Special to the Tribune)

and sell their luxury goods. So, we had to think quickly and strategically,” said Chrissy Sayare, co-owner of To Be Continued.

That meant focusing on their digital presence and offering virtual styling sessions through Instagram Stories in order to consign their designer handbags, apparel, shoes, accessories and more to those shopping from home.

“We’ve been able to access clients from all over the world that are purchasing our products in real time,” Sayare said. “Over the last few months, we’ve shipped Louis Vuitton and Prada bags to the beaches of Turk and Caicos, Hermes handbags to (USPS 004-616) is published weekly

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Hong Kong and a Karl Lagerfeld vintage handbag to the head handbag designer for Chanel in Paris. It’s truly amazing to see the demand during these times.”

According to research from Future Market Insights, a retail analytics firm, online resellers – think Poshmark and Thredup – are expected to jump from $30 million in sales in the United States in 2020 to $70 million by 2027.

Traditional in-store thrift and resale, however, are expected to drop from $57 million in 2020 to $50 million by 2027.

As Siner embraced social media and expanded their virtual presence, offering FaceTime shopping for their customers, Subscriptions are $26 for 2 years, $14 for one year.

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in-store shopping boomed – specifically at her My Sister’s Attic stores in Scottsdale, Chandler and Encinitas, California.

“We’re up 25 percent in Arizona and 14 percent in California. That’s just for the month of August,” Siner said.

People are not only spending more money, but they’re also consigning more items than ever before — and quality furniture and decor at that.

“We’ve always gotten really nice things but the quality of the furniture right now is just craziness: a lot of Restoration Hardware, Roche Bobois, good basics like Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn. Everything’s in great condition or we won’t take it; and it’s coming in so fast and furious,” Siner said, suggesting this spike is likely the result of cabin fever.

“I think because people were stuck at home and they looked around their house, ‘I need a new dining room.’ Or, they moved their office home and need some new office things. Or, they weren’t modeled, or they got a divorce,” Siner surmised. “It was life-changing, for so many people to be at home for so long.”

Unlike To Be Continued, clothing sales at Siner’s My Sister’s Closet stores were a different story: Arizona Closets was down in August compared to last year by 20 percent – and that’s considered their best month since the shutdown.

Why aren’t people buying used clothing?

“People have nowhere to go,” Siner

Public Notice CITY OF MESA, ARIZONA ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ) NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City of Mesa is seeking a qualified Consultant for the following: SIGNAL BUTTE WATER TREATMENT PLANT EXPANSION 10950 E. Elliot Road PROJECT NO. CP0372 The City of Mesa is seeking a qualified Consultant to provide design services for the Signal Butte Water Treatment Plant Expansion Project. All qualified firms that are interested in providing these services are invited to submit their Statements of Qualifications (SOQ) in accordance with the

said simply. “You’re not going to a cocktail party.

You’re really not going out to a restaurant very often. And you have no galas, no fundraisers, no social events. You’re not even going to meetings in person, so you don’t need new party clothes or even new work wear.”

According to a July survey from Mintel, 33 percent of people have stopped buying clothes entirely while 32 percent have concerns about shopping for clothes in a store.

Over the past two weekends, however, Siner did see glimmers of hope: Their Fall Unveiling event, where more than 100,000 fall items were unveiled, saw nearly 100 Chrissy Sayare is the co-owner of To Be Continued, a luxury consignment store people lined up in the located at the Shops at Hilton Village. (Special to the Tribune) heat to shop at their Linto its new trade program, which allows coln Village store. shoppers to trade in items at no addiCrowding isn’t an issue at My Sister’s tional cost.

Closet stores, either; both their flagship Once the deal has been negotiated, To store in Scottsdale and their store in Be Continued then authenticates, photoChandler are a staggering 15,000 square graphs and takes ownership of the new feet. items and sells them through its online While My Sister’s Closet stores may store for a profit. not be reporting strong consignment Information: mysistersattic.com and numbers, To Be Continued has – thanks tbcconsignment.com.

requirements detailed in the Request for Qualifications (RFQ).

The following is a summary of the project. The required tasks will be reviewed with the selected Design Consultant and defined to meet the needs of the project as part of the contract scoping.

• The Signal Butte Water Treatment Plant (SB-WTP) site is located at the northeast corner of Signal Butte and Elliot Roads in the City of Mesa. The City constructed a 24 Million Gallons per Day (MGD) plant, which was commissioned in 2018. With the rapid growth in southeast Mesa, the City plans to expand the plant from 24 MGD to 48 MGD. The project scope will include the addition of a new 8 MG buried concrete reservoir and expansion of the processes in the existing plant to meet the new capacity.

• The original Basis of Design

EAST VALLEY BUSINESS

Report (BDR) that covered all phases of the water treatment plant at this site was prepared in 2004 and was supplemented in 2010 and updated post construction in 2019.

The supplemented and updated BDR will be made available with the RFQ. All other records related to the SBWTP, including record drawings, design studies, etc., are considered sensitive and protected information will not be available to proposers.

• The project scope covered by this RFQ will consist of a Preliminary Design Report (PDR) which will build on the BDR to evaluate the current processes, look for opportunities to improve plant efficiencies, evaluate the regional growth impacts on the water demand, review new treatment technologies, and evaluate construction sequencing. This PDR will be used to optimize the scope

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of the Design to expand facilities at the site to the max design capacity of 48 MGD. • Following completion of the PDR, the design team will complete a detailed design. Design shall include 30%, 60%, 90% and 100% submittals, and be done in coordination with the CMAR contractor. Areas of consideration for design include full build out to 48 MGD, sizing of a second reservoir, improvements to existing plant systems, and improvements to plant redundancies, as determined in the PDR. • The City anticipates construction commencing in 2023.

An electronic Pre-Submittal Conference will be held on September 30, 2020, at 8 am through Microsoft Teams. At this meeting, City staff will discuss the scope of work and general contract

SEPTEMBER 27, 2020

issues and respond to questions from the attendees. Attendance at the pre-submittal conference is not mandatory and all interested firms may submit a Statement of Qualifications whether or not they attend the conference. All interested firms are encouraged to attend the Pre-Submittal Conference since City staff will not be available for meetings or to respond to individual inquiries regarding the project scope outside of this conference. In addition, there will not be meeting minutes or any other in-formation published from the Pre-Submittal Conference. Any parties interested in attending the Pre-Submittal Conference should re-quest a meeting invitation from Donna Horn (donna.horn@mesaaz.gov).

Contact with City Employees.

All firms interested in this project (including the firm’s employees, representatives, agents, lobbyists, attorneys, and subconsultants) will refrain, under penalty of disqualification, from direct or indirect contact for the purpose of influencing the selection or creating bias in the selection process with any person who may play a part in the selection process. This policy is intended to create a level playing field for all potential firms, to assure that contract decisions are made in public, and to protect the integrity of the selection process. All contact on this selection process should be addressed to the authorized representative identified below.

RFQ Lists. This RFQ is available on the City’s website at http:// mesaaz.gov/business/engineer-ing/ architectural-engineering-designopportunities.

The Statement of Qualifications shall include a one-page cover letter, plus a maximum of 10 pages to address the SOQ evaluation criteria (excluding PPVF’s and resumes but including an organization chart with key personnel and their affiliation).

Resumes for each team member shall be limited to a maximum length of two pages and should be attached as an appendix to the SOQ. Minimum font size shall be 10pt. Please provide one (1) electronic copy of the Statement of Qualifications in an unencrypted PDF format to Engineering-RFQ@ mesaaz. gov by October 15, 2020, by 2 pm. The City reserves the right to accept or reject any and all Statements of Qualifications.

The City is an equal opportunity employer.

Firms who wish to do business with the City of Mesa must be registered and activated in the City of Mesa Vendor Self Service (VSS) Sys-tem (http://mesaaz.gov/ business/purchasing/vendor-selfservice).

Questions. Questions pertaining to the Consultant selection process or contract issues should be directed to Donna Horn of the Engineering Department at donna. horn@mesaaz.gov.

BETH HUNING City Engineer ATTEST: DeeAnn Mickelsen, City Clerk Published: East Valley Tribune, September 20, 27, 2020/33217

Public Notice CITY OF MESA, ARIZONA ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ) NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City of Mesa is seeking a qualified firm or team to act as

the Construction Manager at Risk for the following: RED MOUNTAIN PARK EXPANSION 7745 E. Brown Road PROJECT NO. CP0932 The City of Mesa is seeking a qualified Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) to provide PreConstruction Services assistance and complete Construction Services as the CMAR for the Red Mountain Park Expansion Project.

All qualified firms that are interested in providing these services are invited to submit their Statements of Qualifications (SOQ) in accordance with the requirements detailed in the Request for Qualifications (RFQ).

The proposed project includes various park and sports facility improvements to the existing Red Mountain Park located at 7745 E. Brown Road in Mesa, Arizona. The project scope includes: • Improvements south of Brown Road include construction of up to ten (10) regulation-sized lighted soccer fields, LED-lighted parking lot expansion, increase irrigation capacity through a new pump, a new restroom building, rerouting the disc golf course lay-out, and additional landscaping improvements.

• Improvements north of Brown Road include four LED-lighted youth baseball/soft-ball fields, lighted parking lot expansion, and a new restroom building.

• Additional improvements include site furnishings and field/ site signage.

The estimated construction cost is $22,500,000. The City requires construction completion in the Fall of 2023.

An electronic Pre-Submittal Conference will be held on October 8, 2020 at 8 am, through Microsoft Teams. At this meeting, City staff will discuss the scope of work and general contract issues and respond to questions from the attendees.

Attendance at the pre-submittal conference is not mandatory and all interested firms may submit a Statement of Qualifications whether or not they attend the conference.

All interested firms are encouraged to attend the Pre-Submittal Conference since City staff will not be avail-able for meetings or to respond to individual inquiries regarding the project scope outside of this conference. In addition, there will not be meeting minutes or any other information published from the Pre-Submittal Conference. Any parties interested in attending the Pre-Submittal Conference should request-ed an invitation from Donna Horn (donna. horn@mesaaz.gov).

Contact with City Employees.

All firms interested in this project (including the firm’s employees, representatives, agents, lobbyists, attorneys, and subconsultants) will refrain, under penalty of disqualification, from direct or indirect contact for the purpose of influencing the selection or creating bias in the selection process with any person who may play a part in the selection process. This pol-icy is intended to create a level playing field for all potential firms, to assure that contract decisions are made in public, and to protect the integrity of the selection process. All contact on this selection process should be addressed to the authorized representative identified below.

RFQ Lists. The RFQ is available on the City’s website at http://mesaaz.gov/busi-ness/ engineering/construction-managerat-risk-and-job-order-contractingopportunities.

EAST VALLEY BUSINESS

The Statement of Qualifications shall include a one-page cover letter, plus a maximum of 10 pages to address the SOQ evaluation criteria (excluding PPVF’s and resumes but including an organization chart with key personnel and their affiliation).

Resumes for each team member shall be limited to a maximum length of two pages and should be attached as an appendix to the SOQ. Minimum font size shall be 10pt. Please provide one (1) elec-tronic copy in an unencrypted PDF format to Engineering-RFQ@ mesaaz.gov by October 22, 2020 by 2 pm. Refer to the City’s website for the most current information about how to submit Statements of Qualifications. The City reserves the right to accept or reject any and all Statements of Qualifications.

The City is an equal opportunity employer.

Firms who wish to do business with the City of Mesa must be registered in the City of Mesa Vendor Self Service (VSS) System ( h tt p : / / m e s a a z . g ov / bu s i n e s s / purchasing/vendor-self-service).

Questions. Questions pertaining to the Construction Manager at Risk selection process or contract issues should be directed to Donna Horn of the Engineering Department at donna.horn@mesaaz.gov.

BETH HUNING City Engineer ATTEST: DeeAnn Mickelsen, City Clerk Published: Mesa Tribune Sept 27 & Oct. 4, 2020 / 33300

Public Notice CITY OF MESA, ARIZONA ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ) NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City of Mesa is seeking qualified Consultants for the following: ON-CALL CONSULTING SERVICES FOR ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES The City of Mesa is seeking qualified Consultants to provide design services and/or construction administration services on an oncall basis in the following area/ category: Architectural Services. All qualified firms that are interested in providing these services are invited to submit their Statements of Qualifications (SOQ) in accordance with the requirements detailed in the Re-quest for Qualifications (RFQ).

From this solicitation, the Engineering Department will establish a list of on-call consultants for Architectural Services. This category is further defined below: The Architectural Services category refers to vertical construction projects, including construction of new buildings/ facilities/pools and/or remodels of existing buildings and facilities.

Building projects often include design disciplines or design elements such as architectural programming, architectural design, site planning, grading, drainage, demolition, site civil improvements, offsite street improvements, offsite utility extensions, site lighting, landscaping, landscape irrigation, survey, horizontal control, structural engineering, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, lighting, fire protection, special systems, security systems, data and telecommunications systems, systems furniture design, roofing, flooring, site amenities, etc. Architectural projects including buildings or facilities such as

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storage facilities, equipment rooms, electrical buildings and other facilities that may not be generally occupied by people during normal business hours. Projects in this category may include transportation improvements and/ or water/wastewater improvements associated with buildings, as supporting ancillary improvements.

A Pre-Submittal Conference will not be held.

Contact with City Employees.

All firms interested in this RFQ (including the firm’s employees, representatives, agents, lobbyists, attorneys, and subconsultants) will refrain, under penalty of disqualification, from direct or indirect contact for the purpose of influencing the selection or creating bias in the selection process with any person who may play a part in the selection process. This policy is intended to create a level playing field for all potential firms, assure that con-tract decisions are made in public and to protect the integrity of the selection process. All con-tact on this selection process should be addressed to the authorized representative identified below.

RFQ Lists. This RFQ is available on the City’s website at http:// mesaaz.gov/business/engineering/ architectural-engineering-designopportunities.

The Statement of Qualifications shall include a one-page cover letter that contains current company/firm contact information including a valid phone number and email address, plus a maxim-um of 10 pages to address the SOQ evaluation criteria (excluding PPVF’s and resumes but including an organization chart with key personnel and their affiliation).

Resumes for each team member shall be limited to a maximum length of two pages and should be attached as an ap-pendix to the SOQ. Minimum font size shall be 10pt. Please provide one (1) electronic copy in an unencrypted PDF format to EngineeringRFQ@mesaaz.gov by 2:00PM on Thursday, October 15, 2020.

Maximum file size shall not exceed 20MB. SOQ’s that are unable to be opened by City staff will not be considered for award. Submitters may request a single opportunity to verify that a test email and attachment are received and can be opened by City staff. Test emails must be sent to Engineering-RFQ@ mesaaz.gov. The City reserves the right to accept or reject any and all Statements of Qualifications.

The City is an equal opportunity employer.

Firms who wish to do business with the City of Mesa must be registered and activated in the City of Mesa Vendor Self Service (VSS) System (http://mesaaz.gov/ business/purchasing/vendor-selfservice).

Questions. Questions pertaining to the Consultant selection process or contract issues should be directed to Michele Davila of the Engineering Department at Michele.Davila@mesaaz.gov BETH HUNING City Engineer ATTEST: DeeAnn Mickelsen, City Clerk Published: East Valley Tribune, Sept 27, Oct 4, 2020/ 33317

SEPTEMBER 27, 2020

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