In 2023, with support from the Scottish Land Fund, Applecross Community Company took ownership of a Church of Scotland building at the heart of our community to convert it into the Applecross Community Hub, An Tobar. Currently the building houses ACC’s office and we are progressing towards full conversion of the building.
Invitation to Tender –
Design Team to Prepare the Design and Construction Documentation for the conversion of a former church into a multi-purpose community hub.
We are excited to launch the Invitation to Tender (ITT) for the appointment of a Design Team to lead the transformation of a former church into a dynamic, multi-purpose community hub. This ambitious project will revitalise the historic building, turning it into a flexible, accessible, and inclusive space that meets the evolving needs of the local community. We are seeking proposals from RIAS and/or RIBA-chartered architectural practices with demonstrated expertise in heritage-sensitive design, adaptive reuse, and community-led developments. The appointed team will be responsible for the full design process—from concept development, to technical documentation, though to preparation for construction. Full details, including the project brief, submission requirements, and evaluation criteria, are available in the ITT document and Commercial Template, which can be downloaded below. The deadline for submissions is Wednesday 13th August 2025. We look forward to partnering with a creative and committed design team to bring this transformative vision to life.
Questions arising from the ITT
Questions from prospective design teams and ACC’s responses are anonymised and shared in this section in order to maintain a transparent tendering process. This section will be added to up until the deadline for questions about the ITT on 22nd July 2025.
Would it be possible to get a copy of the feasibility document and business plan for the project to ensure that we fully understand the wider context of how the building is to work within the community?
Answer: Here are links to the feasibility study and business plan, which were completed in 2022. Please note these were completed for the purpose of achieving funding to purchase the building.
How many are tendering the project?
Answer: We don’t know how many agencies will submit a tender. The tender was circulated widely on social media, and we have also sent the ITT to a number of practices that submitted tenders to us for previous projects.
Are you able to advise who has been asked to tender, really just in regard to logistics. localities etc?
Answer: The tender was circulated widely on social media, and we have also sent the ITT to a number of practices that submitted tenders to us for previous projects.
Could you please confirm if this is an open invitation and how many practices have been invited?
Answer: This is an open invitation. The tender was circulated widely on social media, and we have also sent the ITT to a number of practices that submitted tenders to us for previous projects.
Could you please confirm the estimated construction budget?
Answer: We expect tenderers to estimate the construction budget, and be guided by square meter footprint, costs of converting a heritage building, and other relevant costs.
In light of the Chief Executive of the RIAS speaking out about public procurement in Scotland last week and the RIAS’s concerns over cost versus quality, would ACC consider reviewing the 60% technical 40% price weighting for this tender and consider an 80 technical/20 price weighting instead?
Answer: ACC has carefully considered the weighting of the technical and commercial proposals. We decided to give a higher weighting for the quality of the offer (60%) and a lower weighting for the commercial proposal. (40%). As a charitable organisation, ACC has to consider cost as an important element for its developments.
We cannot see an Indicative Construction budget for the project in the Tender Document. Could this be confirmed to ensure that all tenders are based on the same initial guidance and they can be assessed on the same criteria?
Answer: We expect tenderers to estimate the construction budget, and be guided by square meter footprint, costs of converting a heritage building, and other relevant costs.
Are you expecting to appoint a QS for the project separately?
Answer: We would expect that tenderers include a QS as part of their design team.
