Ready-to-Issue Residential Model Plan Library
Request for Informal Proposals: Ready-to-Issue Residential Model Plan Library
The City of Helena (City) is seeking original residential building design proposals from qualified architects, engineers, residential designers, design-build professionals, and other eligible design professionals to establish a Ready-to-Issue Residential Model Building Plan Library (Library). The Library is intended to reduce the time, uncertainty, and upfront design cost associated with constructing smaller-scale and infill housing in Helena.
A City selection committee will review submitted proposals and may select up to ten (10) model designs to advance to full construction-document review. Selected Designers will be invited to prepare and submit complete construction plans meeting the requirements of this RFIP and applicable City of Helena and State of Montana codes. Following successful building-plan review, at no cost to the Selected Designers, the approved designs will be designated as City of Helena Model Plans and displayed in the Library.
The Library will provide public-facing previews of approved designs, including floor plans, exterior elevations or renderings, approximate building area, bedroom count, accessibility and energy features, estimated construction-cost range, foundation/site options, and Designer contact information. Unless otherwise stated in the final program agreement, the Designer will retain ownership and copyright in the plans.
The City intends the Library to be a practical housing production tool. A Model Plan approval confirms that the base construction documents have been reviewed for the code edition and design assumptions identified in the approval. It does not constitute a site-specific building permit, zoning approval, subdivision approval, utility approval, floodplain approval, historic review, or warranty that the plan can be constructed on every parcel without modification.
SUBMITTAL METHOD: All submittals must be electronic. Each design proposal must be submitted as a separate, clearly labeled PDF package. The City has established a file transfer folder for large plan or rendering files. To request a link to the file transfer folder, please email the City Contact identified below. A link to a submittal specific folder will be emailed to you and you will need to upload all the documents listed in Section 11 of this RFIP to that folder.
Proposals must be received no later than 12 pm (MST) on December 3, 2026. Written questions must be received no later than 12 p.m. (MST) on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026.
Click here to view the RFIP document with complete details.(PDF, 180KB)
CONTACT
The city contact for the purposes of this RFIP is:
Christopher Brink
Community Development Director
City of Helena Community Development Department
316 North Park Avenue, Helena, MT 59623
406-447-8490
citycommunitydevelopment@helenamt.gov