Asheville Housing Authority Request for Qualifications and Proposals Co-Development Team for Lee Walker Heights The Housing Authority of the City of Asheville (HACA, Owner) seeks qualified development teams with demonstrated excellence in master planning, neighborhood design and multifamily housing development and construction, for the redevelopment of Lee Walker Heights, 50 Wilbar Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801. The successful team will include professionals with expertise in development, construction, affordable housing finance, urban planning, architecture, and landscape architecture. We seek to transform the existing community into a vibrant and innovative mixed-income, multigenerational rental community that features superior design, high quality housing opportunities. The property consists of approximately 11.5 acres located adjacent to downtown Asheville and the Mission Health System complex. It includes 96 dwelling units approved for a CHAP under the HUD Rental Assistance Demonstration Program. HACA does not currently have site control of any neighboring street frontage parcels on the market, but is open to negotiation of opportunities for co-development of a multi-parcel mixed-use development. The Owner’s objectives are to – 1. Develop a high quality mix of market rate, affordable and assisted rental units that reflect the desires and needs of residents while avoiding permanent involuntary displacement of existing residents and allowing for the retention of mixed-income households in perpetuity; 2. Encourage environmental sustainability through the use of green design and construction practices, optimal energy efficiency including on-site renewable energy, and adherence to LEED or Enterprise Green Communities certification standards; 3. Maximize the creation of employment and training opportunities for current HACA residents in all aspects of planning, design, construction, and operation of the development; 4. Assist the City of Asheville in meeting its goals for expansion of high quality affordable housing opportunities in and near downtown. 5. Establish an accessible, pedestrian-oriented environment that can serve as a model of effective accessibility through quality streetscape, open space and design and promote community interconnectivity between residents and the surrounding community; 6. Feature context-sensitive universal design consistent with the architectural heritage of Asheville; 7. Increase the Owner’s inventory of one-bedroom assisted units to help serve the overwhelming demand for such units by current applicants; 8. Retain ownership of all residential components of the redeveloped property (or a right of first refusal after 15 years if Low Income Housing Tax Credits are used) to diversify its inventory and reduce the long term need for federal subsidies. 9. Share development responsibilities and build capacity for future work, including a reasonable share of the development fee. HACA initially seeks qualifications from a broad range of development teams and expects to short-list a limited number of teams to engage in a conceptual design competition prior to final selection. Interested teams need to submit: 1. A cover letter or executive summary identifying the team leader, team members and summarizing the strongest aspects of the team’s proposal; 2. A detailed statement of each development team member’s experience and qualifications, with at least three successful examples of similar work completed within the last 10 years, including project identification, brief description, duration, total development cost and current status. 3. Evidence of the financial capacity of the development team as demonstrated through the projects outlined above. 4. Reference letters and contact information from the owners of those projects. 5. A conceptual design and development plan demonstrating how your team will address the Owner’s goals and demonstrating your understanding of the Asheville housing market, including at least two pro forma options on the Excel spreadsheet provided with this RFQ. The first pro forma should be based on the assumptions set forth in the spreadsheet (complete green fields only). For the second, teams are invited to modify the assumptions (including without limitation overall size, affordability mix, etc. so long as the number of RAD units remains the same). 6. A list and brief description of all legal actions in the past five years in which any of the development team members or their principals have been involved. The initial evaluation of proposals based on the following criteria: 1. 2. 3. 4. Past experience and qualifications (35%) Financial ability as demonstrated by past performance (20%) Clarity and quality of the proposed development plan and pro formas (40%) Small, minority, women-owned or Section 3 business certification (5%) There will be a pre-submission conference and site inspection opportunity on July 24, 2014. Preregistration is required. Complete qualification submissions must be received by 5:00 pm on Tuesday, August 5, 2014. Form HUD 5369-C must be included. This is a request to submit qualifications, not an offer to contract. HACA reserves the right to request additional information, to allow correction of minor technical errors or omissions, to accept all or part of a team’s proposal and to reject all submissions and seek new development partners. The contact person to register for the pre-submission conference, submit questions and submit final proposals is Brooke Smith, Executive Assistant Asheville Housing Authority 165 S. French Broad Avenue Asheville, N.C. 28801 Phone: (828) 239-3510 Email: bsmith@haca.org