City of Graham Seeks Designers to Relocate Sesquicentennial Park Behind Historical Museum

The City of Graham is soliciting professional design firms to relocate Sesquicentennial Park from its long-standing position at the northwest corner of Court Square to a site behind the Graham Historical Museum at 135 W. Elm Street. The official notice, posted to the City of Graham Bids & RFPs page, requests firms to provide both design and construction administration services and sets a firm submission deadline.

“The City of Graham is requesting qualified professional design firms to submit a statement of qualifications to provide services for the design and construction administration services of relocating the City’s Sesquicentennial Park from its current location on the northwest corner of Court Square to behind the Graham Historical Museum at 135 W. Elm Street.”

The notice lists the submittal deadline in clear terms: “SUBMITTAL DUE DATE & TIME February 3, 2026, AT 12:00 PM.” The RFQ was posted on January 27, 2026 and appears under the Request for Qualifications listings on the city’s procurement page.

For downtown residents, business owners and historic stewards, the relocation represents a tangible change to Court Square’s footprint and the public landscape immediately adjacent to the Graham Historical Museum. The city’s direction to hire design professionals signals that the project will move beyond concept and into formal design and construction phases once a firm is selected. The firm chosen will be responsible not only for plans but also for construction administration, indicating city oversight through installation.

The posted notice provides essential project identifiers but omits several operational details. The public posting does not include the full RFQ document in the supplied text, a named city contact for questions, submission logistics such as delivery method or number of copies, evaluation criteria or a project budget. It also does not specify whether existing park elements - trees, plaques or monuments - will be moved intact or replicated at the new site.

Next steps for stakeholders include obtaining the full RFQ from the City of Graham Bids & RFPs page, seeking the designated point of contact for procurement questions, and checking City Council records for any formal authorization or funding action. Designers considering a response must submit a statement of qualifications by the stated deadline to be eligible.

The relocation process could reshape how Court Square functions as a civic and commercial center and how the Graham Historical Museum frames local history. City officials will determine the schedule, funding and community engagement as the procurement and evaluation proceed.