1524 South 16th Street
Wilmington, North Carolina 28401
____________________________________________________
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)
CONSULTANT ASSISTANT
FOR: CHOICE NEIGHBORHOOD INITATIVE PROGRAM
CNG13.05
PROPOSALS DUE – Monday, January 5, 2015 @ 3:00 p.m.
Local Eastern Standard Time
Laurette Corbyons, Procurement Manager
Contract/Purchasing/Division
(910) 341-7700, extension 247
E-mail address: l.corbyons@wha.net
Paul D’Angelo, Planning Manager
Choice Neighborhood Initiative
(910) 341-7700, extension 264
E-mail address: pdangelo@wha.net
Page 1 of 12
INDEX
ISSUED DATE: December 22, 2014
PUBLIC ADVERTISEMENT ……………………………………………………………
OVERVIEW ………………………………………………………………….…………
ORGAINZATION BACKGROUND ……………………………………………..………
CHOICE NEGHBORHOOD INIITIVE GRANT ……………………………………………
SOUTHSIDE HISTORY ……………………………………….…………………………
SCOPE OF WORK ………………………………………………………………………
EVAULATING FACTORS …………………………………….…………………………
SUBMISSIONS AND RECEIPT OF PROPOSAL ………………..
PROPOSAL FORMAT.……………………………………….
VENDOR SELECTION……………………………………….
EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS ……………………………
PROJECT COMPLETION REFERENCE FORM……………
REQUIRED SIGNATURE FORMS




2992 – DEBARMENT SUSPENSION
92010 – EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYMENT
5369B – RESPRESENTATION AND CERTIFICATION
Section 3 Certification
INFORMATION FORM(S)
HUD5369C
Page 2 of 12
ADVERTISEMENT
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)
CNG13.05
HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF
WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA (WHA)
CONSULTANT ASSISTANCE FOR
CHOICE NEIGHBORHOODS IMPLEMENTATION GRANT
In compliance with 24 CFR § 85.36, Housing Authority of the City of Wilmington,
North Carolina (WHA) is inviting statements of proposals from experienced
Planning Consultants to actively participate in the submission of a Choice
Neighborhoods Implementation Grant, with the winning application being awarded
up to $30M for redevelopment and revitalization of a severely distressed public
housing community located in Wilmington, North Carolina, and the surrounding
neighborhood.
Proposals to perform these services will be received by Housing Authority,
1524 South 16th Street, Wilmington, NC 28401, until 3pm Eastern Standard Time,
on Monday, January 5, 2015. Our objective is for the contract to begin on Monday,
January 12, and end February 9, 2015. Proposals will be held in confidence and
not released in any manner until after the contract award. All proposals should be
clearly marked as “RFQ Consultant for Choice Implementation.”
Proposal documents, including Scope of Services and Proposal Details, may be
requested from the Contract Department by e-mailing l.corbyons@wha.net or
downloading from our website at www.wha.net, beginning 8am, Monday,
December 22, 2014. Questions pertaining to this project should be e-mailed no
later than 12:00 noon Monday, December 29, 2014 to Paul D’Angelo at
p.dangelo@wha.net.
WHA reserves the right to reject any/or all proposals, make the determination as to
what is equal to the specifications, or to waive any informality in the proposals
received, and to accept any proposal, which, in its opinion may be in the best
interest of WHA.
Page 1 of 12
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)
- PLANNING CONSULTANT TO ASSIST WITH A CHOICE NEIGHBORHOODS
PUBLISHED IMPLEMENTATION GRANT APPLICATION
FOR
THE REBUILDING OF THE HILLCREST REAL ESTATE PROPERTY AND THE
REVITALIZATION OF THE SOUTHSIDE COMMUNITY
OVERVIEW
The Wilmington Housing Authority (WHA) is seeking Statements of Proposals
from experienced planning consultants with thorough knowledge of the
Wilmington area and Wilmington Stakeholders for the assistance in the
creation of a winning Choice Neighborhood Implementation Grant. The goal
will be to submit a successful application on February 9, 2015, and be awarded
$30M to build an affordable housing Mixed-Finance Development community
for the Hillcrest Public Housing Community in conjunction with the FY 2010
Choice Neighborhoods Initiative (CNI) Planning Grant guidelines and the FY2014
Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Implementation Grant.
WHA was awarded a CNI planning grant from the U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development (HUD) to support the development of a
comprehensive neighborhood “Transformation Plan” for the Dry Pond
neighborhood and the surrounding area, identified as the SouthSide. The Plan
will rebuild Hillcrest’s 256 public housing units and transform the Dry Pond
Neighborhood and the surrounding SouthSide area into a Neighborhood of
Opportunity.
The Choice Neighborhood Planning process has supported the development of
a comprehensive neighborhood revitalization, which focuses on directing
resources to address three core goals:
HOUSING: Transform distressed public and assisted housing into energyefficient, mixed-income housing that is physically and financially viable over the
long term;
Page 2 of 12
PEOPLE: Support positive outcomes for families who live in the target
development(s) and the surrounding neighborhood, particularly outcomes
related to residents’ health, safety, employment, mobility, and education; and
NEIGHBORHOOD: Transform neighborhoods of poverty into viable, mixedincome neighborhoods with access to well-functioning services, high quality
public schools and education programs, high quality early learning programs
and services, public assets, public transportation, and improved access to jobs.
The successful respondent must demonstrate the ability and experience to
review and submit winning federal grant applications that involve community
engagement and revitalization. The selected Consultant Team, working in
concert with WHA, the City of Wilmington NC, and a wide-range of community
stakeholders, will be responsible for the review, content, overall message and
scoring of the Implementation Grant.
ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND
The Housing Authority of Wilmington NC was created under the Housing Act of
1937 for the purpose of providing decent, safe and sanitary housing to the low
and moderate-income residents of Wilmington. Currently, WHA owns and
manages 1164 units of public housing and administers 1958 Section 8 Housing
Choice Vouchers.
A nine-member Board of Commissioners, authorized by laws of the State of
North Carolina and appointed by the Mayor of Wilmington, is responsible for
the development of housing policy and the authorization of expenditures.
Organizational operations and planning strategies are the responsibility of the
Chief Executive Officer.
As with many urban public housing authorities, WHA has encountered the
difficulties of managing poorly designed, high density, low quality, multi-family
housing developments. In an effort to change the face and character of public
housing in Wilmington, the Housing Authority has embarked on an aggressive
plan for the revitalization of its most undesirable properties. The
redevelopment of the Hillcrest neighborhood represents a comprehensive
Page 3 of 12
approach to creating new viable affordable housing opportunities for residents
of Wilmington.
WHA is an award-winning housing authority with many examples of quality selfdeveloped properties. Most recently, WHA was recognized by the American
Planning Association for its self-developed revitalization efforts on the
Northside of the City of Wilmington as its HUD Secretary’s Opportunity and
Empowerment Award winner last year. That development is also recognized
by HUD as a national best practice. The final phase of that development was a
48 unit LEED platinum/silver certified public housing community. As part of our
substantial development experience (most of which occurs through our notfor-profit instrumentality, Housing and Economic Opportunities, Inc.) we have
prepared mixed finance proposals, operating subsidy only proposals and
subsidy layering review proposals, among others. We have an excellent resume
of successful tax credit applications and have been recognized by the North
Carolina Housing Finance Agency for our efforts. This list is available upon
request.
THE WHA CHOICE NEIGHBORHOOD INITIATIVES PLANNING GRANT
The Housing Authority of Wilmington was awarded a Choice Neighborhoods
Initiatives Planning Grant in March, 2011, in the amount of $200,000. With the
use of the CNI grant, the Housing Authority of Wilmington, along with key
community stakeholders, developed a “Transformation Plan” to be used as a
guiding document for the redevelopment of the Hillcrest Community and the
revitalization of the SouthSide area of Wilmington. The Transformation Plan
was accepted by HUD in the Spring of 2013. Since its acceptance, WHA has
worked diligently to build a Foundation for Investment for the SouthSide to
attract public and private dollars to the area, including infrastructure, economic
development and new residents.
The selected Consultant will become an integral member of this team of
stakeholders and be expected to take a lead role, working closely with WHA,
key partners and residents, in the review of the Implementation Grant.
Respondents are strongly encouraged to become familiar with the goals and
Page 4 of 12
requirements of the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Planning and
Implementation Grant Programs. The CNI program focuses on a holistic
approach to neighborhood revitalization, which includes housing, education,
healthcare, recreation, jobs and transportation, all leading to self-sufficiency
and ending the cycle of generational poverty
HISTORY OF THE SOUTHSIDE
The Southside section of Wilmington, North Carolina, is a neighborhood rich
with history. Located just south of Downtown, the area first began to develop
more than 150 years ago. In the mid-19th Century, Wilmington – at the time,
emerging as North Carolina’s largest city and a major commercial center – saw
the beginnings of an influx of foreign immigration and domestic workers.
Many of the new residents settled in SouthSide, not far from the Cape Fear
River. Though the area rapidly took on the reputation as an “undesirable” part
of town, it was in fact a vibrant – if lower income – community that thrived
along with the rest of the City during the post-war boom. Its northern
boundary, Castle Street, was a commercial core populated by local and national
retailers. The Hillcrest site was constructed in 1941 to accommodate a growing
population of workers, before conversion to public housing in the 1950s. For
the next decade, the entire area hummed with families and community.
Unfortunately, the SouthSide – like many working class communities –
struggled as the 20th Century waned, and in the 1960s the district began a
prolonged period of economic decline and social disinvestment. Vacant and
dilapidated houses and storefronts are common throughout the SouthSide.
The poverty rate is almost 45%. The schools that serve the residents – from
elementary through High School – are all in some form or fashion persistently
underperforming. The Hillcrest Community, in particular, occupies housing that
suffers from poor design and structural deficiencies. These buildings have long
outlived their useful life.
Page 5 of 12
SCOPE OF WORK:
 Thorough reading and comprehension of the Choice Grant
 Understanding of WHA Revitalization background, including the
winning Choice Neighbourhoods Planning Grant application and the
HUD approved Transformation Plan
 Coordinated work with WHA Planning Manager and Partners
 Review of application materials provided by WHA Planning Manager
 Responsible for overall message and story of the Implementation
Grant application
 Identifying gaps in the application with solutions to overcome any and
all shortfalls
 Scoring the application, identifying any and all solutions to increase
total scoring of the application
EVALUATION FACTORS:
Overall experience as a Planning Consultant
10 pts.
Strong and extensive experience in Wilmington, NC, as a Planning
Consultant, with knowledge of local officials, stakeholders, non-profits,
and other governmental agencies
40 pts.
Experience in submitting winning Federal Grants
20 pts.
Overall price to assist WHA with the Choice Implementation application, broken
down by hours and hourly rate
20 pts.
How can you assist WHA is submitting a winning CNI $30M application 15 pts.
*** NOTE *** Please submit a White Paper of at least 2 pages, not to exceed
4 pages, with answers to the above evaluation Factors. Winners will be
scored by a WHA Team based on your answers to the Evaluating Factors.
Our objective is for the contract to begin on Monday, January 12, and end
February 9, 2015, with the submittal of a successful application, a full 4 weeks
of assistance.
Page 6 of 12
In order to be considered, all proposals must be delivered to WHA, addressed to:
Laurette Corbyons, Procurement Manager
Contracts Division
Wilmington Housing Authority,
1524 South 16th Street
Wilmington, NC 28401
Proposals must be conspicuously labeled “RFQ CNI CONSULTANT”. An unbound
original and three bounded copies of the proposal must be received no later than
3:00 pm. (Local Eastern Standard time), Monday, January 5, 2015.
Proposals sent by U.S. Mail, Overnight Delivery, Federal Express, or similar carriers
must be packaged and addressed and marked as above, in a sealed envelope
inside the courier's envelope. Proposals received prior to the time set forth in this
paragraph will be kept unopened until the time set for opening. Proposals
received after the date and time noted above will not be considered.
Submitted by:
Company Name
Address
City/State/Zip
Phone
Fax
Authorized Signature
Authorized Personnel
(please print)
Date
Page 7 of 12
Attachment A
REQUIRED SIGNATURE FORMS
Page 8 of 12
Attachment B
Form of Non-Collusive Affidavit
AFFIDAVIT
State of ________________)
County of ______________)
______________________________________________________, being first
duly sworn, deposes, and says: that he is _______________________________
(a partner of officer firm)
the party making the foregoing proposal or bid; that such proposal or bid is
genuine and not collusive or sham; that said bidder has not colluded, conspired,
connived or agreed, directly or indirectly, with any bidder or person to put in a
sham bid or to refrain from bidding, and has not in any manner, directly or
indirectly, sought by agreement or collusion, or communication or conference,
with any person, to fix the bid price of affiant or of any other bidder, or to fix
any overhead, profit or cost element of said bid price, or of that of any other
bidder, or to secure any advantage against the Wilmington Housing Authority
or any person interested in the proposed contract; and that all statements in
said proposal or bid are true.
_____________________________________
(Bidder, if the bidder is an individual)
_____________________________________
(Partner, if the bidder is partnership)
_____________________________________
(Officer, if the bidder is incorporated)
CORPORATE SEAL
Page 9 of 12
Subscribed and sworn to before me
This _________________ day of _______________________ 20______.
Notary Public ______________________________________________
My commission expires ______________________________, 20________.
Page 10 of 12