Expired Request For Proposals (RFPs)

On this page you can review the following past RFPs as a guideline to the RFP process.

1. Foreclosure Prevention Housing Counseling Services CLick here
2. Financial and Compliance Contract or Project Audits Click here
3. Housing Trust Fund RFP for Affordable Housing click here
4. Housing Trust Fund RFP for Affordable Rental Housing click here
5. RFP for Special-Needs Housing Development click here

Office of Housing and Community Development
REQUEST FOR APPLICATION (RFA)
Foreclosure Prevention Housing Counseling Services

Proposal Deadline August 6, 2008 by 4pm

The Office of Housing and Community Development (OHCD) is pleased to announce that up to $700,000 in City of Philadelphia General Funds are being made available in order to expand foreclosure prevention housing counseling services to existing OHCD funded agencies. Click here for a copy of the Request for Application (RFA).

You will see that the RFA requires only three narrative pages and the Budget, therefore, responses are due to OHCD on an aggressive timeframe. Applications must be delivered to OHCD at the following address no later than 4:00 pm on Wednesday, August 6, 2008. Proposals received after this time will not be considered. There will be no exceptions to this deadline. Six (6) copies of the proposal, including one unbound copy, must be delivered to the following address :

Attn.: Hiram Carmona
Office of Housing and Community Development (OHCD)
1234 Market Street , 17th floor
Philadelphia , PA 19107

Questions regarding the requirements of the RFA must be submitted via email to hiram.carmona@phila.gov up to July 29, 2008 and will be responded to via return email only. A copy of this RFA may be obtained at the reception desk of the Office of Housing and Community Development (OHCD), 1234 Market Street, 17th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19107

Geographic Context
Several Philadelphia zip codes have a large number of foreclosure activity. OHCD has identified the following zip code clusters as targets for increased counseling; however, applicants may choose to provide Citywide services.

• 19124, 19134, and 19135 (Frankford/ Port Richmond).
• 19143, 19151, 19131,19139, 19142 (West/Southwest Phila.)
• 19144 and 19138 (Germantown)
• 19126 and 19120 (Oak Lane/Olney)
• 19149 and 19111 (Lower Northeast)
• 19145 and 19148 (Point Breeze/South Phila.)

Click here for the RFA

Click here for the Letter

Click here for the Budget

Office of Housing and Community Development
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
Financial and Compliance Contract or Project Audits
Mandatory Briefing July 24, 2008 at 10 am
Proposal Deadline August 6, 2008 by 5pm

I. Overview.
Certified Public Accountants (CPA’s), which are referred to as proposer(s) here-in-after in this contract opportunity or request for proposal (RFP) are invited to submit online proposals (as per information set forth in this contract opportunity, and/or in the City’s website, which is set forth in Section I. E. below) to perform three (3) financial and compliance contract or project audits in accordance with Government Auditing Standards on the following three (3) projects:

A. Project(s) List:
Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED)
PROJECTS ENDING June 30, 2008

The administering agencies for the above three (3) projects are as follows:

#25-306-0043 - Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation (PHDC).

#25-306-0017 - Redevelopment Authority of the City of Philadelphia (RDA) and the Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation (PHDC).

#25-30-0038 - Office of Housing and Community Development (OHCD) through the United Way. OHCD sub-granted one project to PHDC; one project to both PHDC and the RDA and one project to the United Way.

All three (3) contracts or projects have been subject to the audit requirements of the Single Audit Act - 0MB Circular A-133 on an entity wide basis as all DCED funds sub-granted to the RDA, PHDC and the United Way have been, or would be, audited for the aforementioned fiscal years as major programs by the respective agencies’ audit firm(s).

All three (3) contracts or projects shall be audited from inception to close out. All three (3) projects would be completed by June 30, 2008.

B. Funding Sources
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) has funded all three (3) contracts or projects. Any local match consists of Federal funds provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and/or by the City of Philadelphia or by the Philadelphia Neighborhood Development Collaborative (PNDC).

C. Name and Address of Requesting Agency:

City of Philadelphia
Office of Housing and Community Development, Audit Department
1234 Market Street, 17th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19107

D. Project Questions Shall be Directed to:

1. Audit Requirements – OHCD, Ezra Tepel (215-686-9725) and Joel Jenkins (215-686-9733)
2. Contract Programmatic or Application Information – OHCD, Laura Taylor OHCD Contract Conformance Manager (215-686-9711)
3. Project Fiscal Information – OHCD, Suki Kazahaya (215-686-9740)
4. Project Fiscal Information – PHDC, James Quinn (215-448-3182)
5. Project Fiscal Information – RDA, Roderick Lyles (215-209-8717)
6. EEO Information – Michael Bell, OHCD, Compliance Director (215-683-3006)

E. Proposal Submission
Proposers shall register as a vendor prior to submission of their online proposals. To register, use the City’s website at www.ework.phila.gov/contracts, then choose eContract Philly. It is only necessary to register once in the City’s system. Proposers that had previously registered and had been issued their User ID and PIN numbers, can apply for the audits of these three (3) projects without the need to re-register.

Proposers shall apply online in order to be eligible for award of the posted contract opportunity, or RFP. Proposals to this contract opportunity, or RFP, shall not be considered unless applications are submitted through the City’s website at www.ework.phila.gov/contracts, then proceed as in the above paragraph, within the prescribed time period. Proposers who have failed to file complete applications through the aforementioned application process prior to the closing date and time indicated in this contract opportunity, or RFP, shall not be considered for award of this contract.

eContract Philly encourages proposers to start and complete their online applications as early as possible. Please be aware that internet connection speed depends on a variety of factors including: configuration of your computer, configuration of your business network, the condition of the wiring at your business, and network or internet congestion (available bandwidth). Please prepare and plan accordingly to ensure timely submissions of proposals.

You can begin uploading (or attaching) your contract application materials at any time. It is especially prudent for you to start uploading your attachments earlier if you have a large number of attachments (e.g. over five documents) or larger sized attachments (e.g. above 5 MB). Until you sign and submit your application, your materials are not accessible to staff at OHCD and/or with the City of Philadelphia. Once you have signed and electronically submitted, your application, it is accessible only to appropriate OHCD and/or other City employees.

Proposers shall complete all required Disclosure Forms, which are accessed on-line on the aforementioned City’s website. Applicants are now required to disclose their campaign contributions, any consultants used and contributions the consultants have made, prospective subcontractors, and whether they have received any requests or advice on satisfying minority owned business participation goals from City employees. The submission of disclosure information and of proposals is part of the online application process. For more information, please consult the reference materials found on the website via e-mail to econtractphilly@phila.govor by calling 215-686-4914.

OHCD encourages proposers to include participation of qualified MBE and/or WBE and/or DSBE CPA firms or individuals, on the S & C Form mentioned below in this paragraph, within the ten (10%) to fifteen (15%) participation guide range, pursuant to the Mayor’s Executive Order 02-05. Please note, even though proposers shall complete the required Disclosure form pertaining to prospective subcontractors, on-line, all proposers shall also submit, as an electronic attachment, hereto, the Solicitation and Commitment Form (S & C Form), which, is also identified as Attachment I, to this contract opportunity or RFP. The submission of the S & C Form is required for compliance with the Mayor’s Executive Order 02-05 -Participation of Minority (MBE), Women (WBE) and Disabled Business Enterprises (DSBE).

Proposers shall follow all instructions set forth in the aforementioned City’s website for contract applications, and/or as set forth in this contract opportunity or RFP. Should a Proposer not electronically sign and submit its proposal or application on line, the application shall not be considered by OHCD or the City.

F. Responsibility for Proposal:
The proposals shall become part of OHCD’s and the City’s files without any obligation upon OHCD and/or the City of Philadelphia. OHCD and/or the City shall not be liable for any costs associated with the development, preparation, submission or presentation of any proposal or related material submitted in response to this contract opportunity or RFP.

II. Audit Requirements
A. Basis of Audit - The winning proposer shall perform three (3) contract or project audits in accordance with the following:

1. GAO Government Auditing Standards.
2. DCED Closeout Guidelines for Contracts with State Funding.

B. Reporting Requirements - The winning proposer shall submit three (3) separate contract or project Audit Reports, one each for the three (3) aforementioned contracts or projects, which shall contain, at a minimum, the following:

1. Independent Auditor’s Report
   a. Shall state that the report has been performed in accordance with GAGAS, and that the proposer has met the required independence standards.
   
   b. Shall state whether the financial statements are presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).
   
   c. Shall identify those circumstances in which the GAAP principles were not observed.
   
   d. Shall either contain an expression of the proposer’s opinion regarding the financial statements, taken as a whole, or the proposer’s assertion that no opinion could be given.
   
   e. Shall state that the proposer is issuing a separate report on compliance and internal controls over compliance.
   
   
2. Statement of (contract or project) Net Assets
   
   
3. Statement of (contract or project) Activities
   
   
4. Statement of (contract or project) Cash Flow
   
   
5. Comparison Statement of (contract project) Budget to Actual Expenditures.
   If contracts or projects are multi-funded, all separate sources and amounts must be indicated.
   
   
6. Notes to Financial Statements
   a. Nature of organization/project.
   b. Basis of accounting
   c. Background, purpose, and funding source of each contract or project shall be disclosed.
   
   
7. Independent Auditor’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting.
   a. Shall describe the scope of the testing of internal control over financial rting.
   
   b. Shall state whether the results of Audit testing disclosed control deficiencies and/or significant deficiencies and/or material weaknesses (Findings) that represent deficiencies in the internal control structure or whether no deficiencies were found.
   
   c. Shall disclose all instances of fraud and illegal acts unless clearly inconsequential.
   
   
8. Independent Auditor’s Report on Compliance and Internal Control over Compliance
   a. Shall describe the scope of compliance testing.
   
   b. Shall state whether the results of audit testing disclosed no instances of noncompliance, which are required to be reported under Government Auditing Standards (GAS), or whether instances of non-compliance (Findings) were disclosed, and if so, provide a summary of these instances (Findings).
   
   c. Shall state whether the results of audit testing disclosed control deficiencies and/or significant deficiencies and/or material weaknesses Findings) that represent deficiencies on the internal control structure over compliance or whether no deficiencies were found.
   
   d. Shall identify all amounts of questioned costs and/or state that no questioned costs were found. (Findings).
   
   
9. Findings Detail
   a. Findings shall provide sufficient information to clearly show· Criteria (what should be)
   • Conditions –statement of (what was found).
   • Cause (why it happened).
   • Effect (difference between what is and what should be).
   • Recommendation (what is needed to be done).
   • Views of responsible officials- management responses (corrective action taken or to be taken as indicated below).

b. A detailed explanation of questioned cost shall be provided.

c. Management’s response and plan of corrective action:

• Management shall comment on all the findings and recommendations.
• If Management disagrees with a finding or recommendation an explanation as to why corrective actions are not necessary shall be provided.
• Management shall provide the specific corrective actions that have been taken or are planned and state the specific point in time when such actions would be implemented or had been implemented.
• Management shall provide a description of the monitoring to be performed to ensure that the corrective actions are taken. Also, Management shall provide the position title of the person responsible for overseeing each corrective action process.

III. Work Papers
A. The proposer’s work papers shall be retained for at least five (5) years from the date of the Audit Reports unless the proposer is notified in writing to extend the retention period.

B. The reconciliation of the three (3) audit contract or project reports to the agency’s records shall be included in the proposer’s work papers and given to the agencies being audited.

C. The proposer’s work papers shall be made available to the City Controller’s Office and/or to any authorized representatives of OHCD or DCED, if requested.

IV. Time Consideration and Requirements
A. Mandatory pre-bid meeting at OHCD on

- July 24, 2008, at 10:00 am.
- 1234 Market Street, 17th Floor

B. Proposals shall be electronically submitted via the aforementioned City’s web site on or before

- August 6, 2008, by 5:00 pm.
- 1234 Market Street, 17th Floor

C. Work cannot commence until OHCD has informed the selected proposer to start its audit process.

D. Three (3) preliminary draft reports shall be submitted to the OHCD Audit Department on or before

- October, 27, 2008 by 4:00 p.m., and
- the exit conference shall be held on or before November 17, 2008.

E. Eight (8) bound copies of the three (3) contract or project audit reports shall be submitted to the OHCD Audit Department, on or before

– November 24, 2008 by 4:00 p.m.

V. Criteria for Selection
The contract resulting from this contract opportunity or RFP will be awarded to the qualified proposer whose proposal is the most advantageous to the City. Any proposed award shall be subject to all required approvals by OHCD, the City Solicitor, Finance Director and the Procurement Director, and terms and conditions of the City, including but not limited to, the City’s indemnification and insurance requirements.

The administrative and technical requirements set forth below are considered absolute requirements for selection. Submissions that are rated unacceptable for any of these absolute requirements shall be rejected from further consideration.

A. Proposer selected shall have followed all application and disclosure requirements set forth in the City’s aforementioned web site, and/or as set forth herein, including, but not limited to, electronic submission and signature of the application.

B. Lowest Bid of qualified proposer’s firm.

C. Proposer cannot appear on any federal, state or city debarment or suspension listing.

D. Proposer must be in good standing with OHCD (all prior audit reports were satisfactorily submitted and accepted by 0HCD).

E. The criteria for qualification includes:

1. Understanding of work to be performed.
2. Qualifications of firm and personnel.
3. Approach to performing the audit.
4. Experience.
5. Estimated Time.
6. Quality control report (Peer Review)
7. Employment and Subcontracting Commitments. Refer to Section I. E. and to VI. A. 8., herein, of this Contract opportunity or RFP.
8. ACIS information.

VI. Proposal Responsiveness
A. Mandatory Proposal Format - Content
In order to help simplify the review process and obtain the maximum degree of comparison, each proposer shall organize and present its proposa in the following manner:

1. Title Page
Show the contract opportunity or RFP subject, the name of the proposer’s firm, local address, telephone number, name of the contact person and the date.

2. Table of Contents
Include a clear identification of the contents by sections and by page number.

3. Letter of Transmittal
Shall be limited to one (1) or two (2) pages.

a. Briefly state proposer’s understanding of the work to be done and make a positive commitment to perform the work within the reuired time period.

b. State the all-inclusive maximum fee for which the work will be done.

c. State the names of the persons who will be authorized to make representations for and bind the proposer, and their position title and office addresses.

d. State that the person(s) signing the proposal and the audit engagement letter are authorized to bind the proposer.

4. Proposer’s Profile

a. State whether the firm is local, regional, national or international.

b. State the location of the office from which the work is to be done and the number of partners, managers, supervisors, seniors and other professional staff employed at that office.

c. Describe the range of activities performed by the local office such as government auditing (Financial and Compliance), accounting, tax service, or management services.

d. List recent financial/compliance audits of DCED funded contracts or projects (if any).

e. Provide a statement as to whether the proposer appears on any or all governments’ list of vendors that are barred from bidding on contracts. Should the statement be positive, provide all government levels, which have barred the proposer, and the reasons for being barred.

5. Peer Review
If your firm has had a quality control review (QCR), proposer shall attach a copy the most recent QCR report, and any comments letter, to your firm’s online proposal. If not, please state how and when you plan to meet this requirement.

6. Mandatory Affirmation Criteria
To be considered for award, proposer shall have an appropriate basis to make and shall make the following affirmative statements:

a. Affirm that the proposer meets the independence standards as well as all other requirements of the GAO Government Auditing Standards.

b. Affirm that the proposer is in good standing with OHCD and DCED.

c. Affirm that the proposer does not have any record of substandard audit work.

d. Affirm that the proposer is not barred from providing services via any and/all governments' list of vendors that are banned from bidding for contracts.

e. Affirm that the proposer is not currently indebted to the City of Philadelphia as to delinquencies to any and all taxes, license fees, open judgments/court awards, and/or water and sewer obligations and would not become so indebted during this contract.

It is understood that should any of the above affirmations be false, the proposer is subject to prosecution under Title 18 Pa.C.S.A. Section 4904 (Sworn falsehoods made to government authorities).

In addition to any other rights or remedies available to the City at law or in equity, it is understood that any breach or failure to conform to the above affirmations may result in the offset of any such indebtedness to the City by payments due to the proposer under this contract, which has been awarded under this contract opportunity or RFP, and/or termination of the contract that has been awarded from this contract opportunity or RFP.

7. Summary of the proposer’s Qualifications
Proposer shall provide the following:

a. Identify the supervisors who will work on the audit, including those who are staff from other than the local office.

b. Electronically attach, via the aforementioned City’s on line application process, resumes including relevant experience and continuing education for supervisory staff to be assigned to the audit.

c. Describe the recent local and regional office auditing experience similar to the type of audit requested, and give the names and telephone numbers of client officials responsible for the audits listed.

8. Employment and Subcontracting

a. The proposer shall establish specific hiring, and/or sub-contracting goals. Refer to Section I. E., herein, for an overview of these requirements.

b. The proposer shall provide the required employment and sub-contracting participation form as an electronic attachment. Refer to Section I. E., herein.

9. Proposer’s Approach to the Audit

a. Electronically submit, as indicated above herein, a work plan, as part of your application to accomplish the scope defined in the aforementioned Section II (Audit Requirements) of this RFP.

b. The work plan shall include:

1. The basis for the audits.
2. Time estimates for each significant segment of the work.
3. The staff level to be assigned.
4. Where possible, individual staff members should be named.
5. The planned use of specialists shall be specified.
6. The audit work plan shall completely cover what audit work will be accomplished to allow the proposer to submit:

a) Reports with opinions on the financial statements.
b) Reports on the results of the study and evaluation of internal control systems.
c) Reports on results of tests of compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.

The work plan shall demonstrate the proposer’s understanding of the audit requirements set forth by the DCED.

10. Compensation

a. Shall state the total hours and hourly rates required to complete the three (3) audits and reports, by staff classification, and the resulting all-inclusive maximum fee for which the requested work would be done.

b. Twenty five percent (25%) of the audit fee would be retained until the three (3) audit reports are reviewed and accepted by OHCD and DCED.

c. If the reports were submitted on time and OHCD has not provided notification of the review results within ninety (90) days of the last date on which any or all of the three (3) contract or project audit reports were submitted, the twenty five percent (25%) fee balance would be released, unless the reason for the for lack of results is that the proposer has not complied with requests from OHCD pertaining to changes needed to any or all of the three (3) audit reports, and/or unless DCED has not communicated the status as to acceptance of any or all of the three (3) reports within the aforementioned ninety (90) day period.

It is the responsibility of all proposers to assure that they have received any and all addenda by reviewing the contract opportunity or RFP on the City’s website prior to submission of proposals and/or of revisions thereto.

All proposers are responsible for reviewing and verifying the completeness of their proposals.

11. Additional Information
Since the preceding sections refer to information that is specifically requested, any additional information considered essential to the proposal shall be included in this section. However, do not include or attach general information publications, such as directories or client lists. Should the proposer not have any additional information to present, please state so in this section.

VII. City’s Reservation of Rights
A. Right to Reject Proposals and Waive Informalities

1. The City reserves the unilateral right to reject as informal or non-responsive any proposal that, in the City’s sole judgment, is incomplete, is not in conformity with applicable law, is conditioned in any way, deviates from this contract opportunity or RFP, or contains erasures, alterations, or items of work not called for by this contract opportunity or RFP.
2. The City reserves the right to reject any and all proposals and/or re-issue the notice of contract opportunity, or RFP, at any time prior to execution of a final contract, to issue a new notice of contract opportunity , RFP, with terms and conditions substantially different from hose set forth in this notice of contract opportunity, or RFP, extend the time period for responding to this notice of contract opportunity, or RFP, or cancel this notice of contract opportunity with or without issuing another notice of contract opportunity outright or if, in the City’s sole discretion, it is in the City’s best interest to do so.
3. The City may waive any informality, defect, non-responsiveness and/or deviation from the RFP that is not, in the City’s sole judgment, material to the proposal, except as to minimum or absolute requirements set forth herein by OHCD.
4. The City may accept or reject any or all of the items in any proposal and award the contract in whole or in part if it is deemed in the City’s best interest to do so.
5. The City retains the option of canceling the award if the successful respondent fails to accept obligations of this contract opportunity, RFP.
6. Note: This notice of contract opportunity, or RFP, is subject to all of the City’s reservation of rights, which are set forth in the City’s aforementioned website. Proposers agree to all of the City’s reservation of rights by virtue of submitting their applications to the City.

B. Additional City Rights

1. The City may request additional or clarifying information or more detailed information from any Proposer at any time, including information inadvertently omitted by a respondent.
2. The City may conduct investigations with respect to the qualifications of each Proposer.
3. The City reserves the right to change, modify or revise the RFP at any time. Notice of any changes or modifications which may be made by the City would be provided on the City’s aforementioned website

VIII. City and Funding Source Contract Requirements
A. The contract resulting from this contract opportunity or RFP is anticipated to be less than one year in duration, refer to the aforementioned time requirements.

B. The contract resulting from this contract opportunity or RFP will contain the City’s contract requirements as set forth in a document known as the “General Provisions” as well as contract requirements imposed by DCED in its “DCED Closeout Guidelines for Contracts with State Funding and/or by other funding sources in documents known as the “Funding Source General Terms and Conditions”. The “General Provisions,” the “Funding Source General Terms and Conditions” and the “DCED Closeout Guidelines for Contracts with State Funding” are standard documents that are not subject to negotiation. Therefore, all proposers are advised to become familiar with the content of these documents since they will govern the contract issued as a result of this contract opportunity or RFP.

IX. Notice of Award
A. To find out the proposer that was awarded the contract for these three (3) DCED contract or project audits, do as follows:

1. Access the aforementioned City’s website.
2. Then access eContractPhilly and the Contract Awards section.
3. Click on the award to see information pertaining to the Notice of Award.

B. OHCD may send out an award notice letter to the proposer that was selected to perform the three (3) DCED audits and/or utilize other appropriate methods to communicate the award notice.

X. Contract Preparation Fee
The successful proposer shall be required to pay a contract preparation fee imposed by the City’s Law Department, unless this fee is waived.

XI. Period of Availability
Provisions of this contract opportunity or RFP and the contents of the successful response shall be available for establishment of final contractual obligations for a period of ninety (90) days following the proposal submission.

Office of Housing and Community Development
Philadelphia Housing Trust Fund
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
Affordable Housing Development
The Office of Housing and Community Development (OHCD) is soliciting proposals to finance the development of homeownership or rental units designed to serve low-, moderate-, and middle-income Philadelphia residents, using funding from the Philadelphia Housing Trust Fund (HTF). The HTF was created in 2005 through state and city legislation and mayoral executive order. The HTF’s goals are to increase the availability of affordable and accessible housing through the production of affordable housing, the creation of accessible and visitable housing, the preservation of existing affordable housing, and the prevention of homelessness.

This HTF Request for Proposals is designed to assist in providing gap financing for homeownership or rental projects. Projects which require Low Income Housing Tax Credit or PennHOMES financing from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) are NOT eligible to respond to this RFP and should NOT submit proposals. OHCD issued an RFP in September 2007 for these projects and expects to issue another RFP for these projects timed to coincide with the next open round of PHFA tax credit applications later in 2008.

Projects which expect to apply for Homeownership Choice funds from PHFA due July 16, 2008 and which require gap financing from the HTF should apply to this Request for Proposals. The City expects to issue a Request for Proposals for Special Needs Housing Development in spring 2008 for federal HOME and McKinney funds. Projects requiring both HTF and Special Needs funds should respond both to the Special Needs RFP and to this RFP. Projects proposing to preserve existing affordable rental units are eligible, however, preference will be given to projects which create new housing units.

Approximately $3 million in City Fiscal Year 2008 Housing Trust Fund dollars is available through this Request for Proposals. Proposals received in response to this RFP will be reviewed by an interagency group which may include representatives of the Office of Housing and Community Development, the Redevelopment Authority and the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. The review committee will recommend projects to the Director of Housing for funding. Projects submitted to the RFP should be generally consistent with the Homeownership, Rental or Special Needs Selection Criteria incorporated in the Year 33 Consolidated Plan.

Projects seeking assistance from this RFP must meet the legal requirements of the HTF, including:

• Development by a non-profit organization, or a joint venture in which a non-profit organization is the controlling partner with demonstrated capacity. No funding will be provided for a project sponsored by a non-profit entity that is controlled by either a for-profit or by a public entity.
• Adherence to the “Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Requirements and OHCD Policies” set forth in the Year 33 Consolidated Plan. Selected developers must comply with other requirements, such as the Equal Opportunity Plan required by ordinance 060226-AA, as applicable.
• Meeting the accessibility and visitability requirements of the HTF as defined in local ordinance and the Mayor’s Executive Order. These requirements are more fully described below.
• Meeting the requirement that households benefiting from the housing development pay no more than 30% of their income for housing, unless allowed by another federal or state funding source.
• Serving households with a maximum income of 115% of area median income.

The HTF requires that 50% of all program funds, including housing production, home repair and homeless prevention, on a yearly basis be used for programs and projects that benefit households with incomes, adjusted for size, equal to or less than 30% of the Philadelphia area median income, and 50% be used to benefit households with incomes between 30% and 115% of area median income. Serving households at or below 30% of the Area Median Income is not only a requirement of the HTF, but a goal of this RFP. Proposals serving that population will be given priority in funding awards. The City supports the creation of homeownership opportunities for households at a wide range of incomes. However, it is acknowledged that homeownership opportunities are difficult to create for households with incomes of less than 30% of area median income. The City reserves the right to adjust funding among affordable housing development categories, based on responses received through this Request for Proposals.

Program Requirements
Eligible Applicants
Applicants must be non-profit organizations or partnerships in which a non-profit is the controlling partner with demonstrated capacity. No funding will be provided for a project by an entity that is controlled by a for-profit or by a public entity. Joint applicants (two or more entities submitting a single proposal) must designate one entity to be responsible for fiscal management and administration.

Eligible Activities
The goal of the RFP is to identify projects that will create affordable housing opportunities, for low-, or moderate-, or middle-income households (those making below 115% of area median income). Under this RFP, the HTF will provide gap financing for the development of eligible projects. Both rehabilitation and new construction housing developments are eligible under this RFP. HTF dollars may be used to support internal rent subsidies to ensure affordability at 30% of median income or below. Otherwise eligible rental developments targeting the homeless or populations with special needs are eligible for support through the RFP. Financing to preserve existing affordable rental housing units is eligible, however, preference will be given to proposals which seek to create new units.

Accessibility and Visitability
A minimum of 10% of the total number of new construction units must be accessible to individuals with mobility impairments and a minimum of 4% must be accessible to individuals with sensory impairments. All new construction units must be made visitable or, alternatively, an amount equal to $3,000 multiplied by the total number of new construction units built in the project is required to be spent to make as many of the units as possible visitable. Visitability and/or accessibility requirements may be waived or reduced for a project if such requirement(s) renders the project financially infeasible, or if site conditions are unsuitable, but any such waiver does not exempt the project from any other applicable requirements regarding visitability and/or accessibility. See Attachment A for the definition of “visitable”.

Readiness to Proceed.
Priority will be given to projects that are ready to go and can spend funding upon approval of HTF funding. Projects that will not have site control in 2008 will be ranked significantly lower and will not be funded. The purpose of this RFP is not to develop a pipeline of projects which will need gap financing in the future.

Proposal Format
Applicants must submit six (6) copies of the proposal, including one unbound copy. Proposals should be limited to fifteen (15) pages of double-spaced text, excluding the required forms and exhibits. Qualified applications must include the following sections, which should be clearly identified and submitted in the following order:

1) Project Summary
Provide a short summary of the project on the Project Summary form (Exhibit A). Include the project name, developer, project location, number of units, number of accessible and visitable units, total project costs, and amount of HTF subsidy requested.

2) Project Description
Describe the type of project and scope of activity being proposed, indicating:

• Type of housing being developed (new construction or rehabilitation)
• Population to be served by this development, including an estimate of the number of housing units to be sold or rented to each of the following income groups:
  • Household income <30% of area median
  • Household income >30% and <80% of area median
  • Household income >80% and <115% of area median

Applicants MUST provide estimates based on these income categories. If the project proposes to serve households with incomes less than 30% of area median, the applicant must demonstrate that these households can afford the monthly rent or mortgage payment assumed in the Development Pro Forma (Exhibit B or Exibit C)

If the project proposes to serve a population with special housing needs, describe the services to be offered to the residents and the funding sources for these services.

· Street address and zip code of each property in the project
· Current ownership of each property
· Current zoning, use and occupancy status of each property
· Site control, including documentation of options to lease or buy
· Description of completed properties (house type, square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, parking, lot size, etc.) Please provide renderings, site plans and floor plans if available.

3) Neighborhood Context
Is the project consistent with any existing neighborhood plan? Does the project support past private or public investment in the community? Is the project a suitable strategic reuse of the site within the neighborhood? How is the project expected to affect neighborhood property values? What are the prospects for stimulating private reinvestment in the area? Please describe.

4) Community Engagement
Project sponsors must seek local community input for their plans and share their proposals with community-based organizations. Indicate the actions that have been taken to identify the community group(s) that represent the neighborhood where the project will be located and to notify these groups of the proposed plans. Please summarize any comments received from the community.

5) Budgets
Complete the budget forms listed below which identify anticipated development and other costs for your project.

• The Development Pro Forma (Exhibit B for homeownership developments or Exhibit C for rental developments), which identifies the total development cost and the sources and uses of funds.
• For homeownership developments, the Home Sales Analysis (part of Exhibit B) to demonstrate affordability for households at the targeted income.
• For rental developments, the Operating Budget (part of Exhibit C), to provide operating costs and cash flow over a 15 year period.
  

Provide supporting evidence of all funding commitments received, and a list of pending applications with dates of submission and expected awards.

6) Site Control and Timetable
Provide a detailed description of the status of the project’s site control at the time of HTF application. Proposed projects without site control at the time of application must also provide a detailed schedule (timetable) for achieving site control.

7) Development Team
Provide a description of each member of the development team, such as developer, attorney, contractor, architect, consultant, etc. Describe the legal entity (partnership) that will be the developer and indicate how a qualified non-profit entity will be the controlling interest in the project. Provide a summary of other related housing development activity that each team member is undertaking or has undertaken.

8) MBE Forms
This RFP is subject to Executive Order 02-05, establishing opportunity ranges for Minority, Women and Disabled Business Enterprises (MBE/WBE/DSBE). The Minority Business Enterprise Council (MBEC) has determined that the opportunity ranges for this RFP for minority, women and disabled businesses are as follows:

The attached “Instructions, Forms, and Contract Provisions for the Participation of Minority, Women and Disabled Business Enterprises” (Exhibit D) details the procedures that must be followed with regard to these MBE participation ranges. Complete the required forms (MBE Forms, Exhibit E) and include these in your RFP response.
The Minority Business Enterprise Council has identified opportunity areas where participation may be achieved to meet these goals. These areas are as follows:

Development Soft Costs:
a. Architecture/Engineering
b. Construction Management
c. Historic Consultant
d. Furniture and decoration
e. Security
f. Soil testing/Environmental assessment
g. Survey
h. Appraisal
i. Accounting
j. Marketing/PR
k. Operations and maintenance
l. Supportive services
m. Furniture and decoration

Construction Costs:
a. General construction
b. Site improvement
c. Material Supply

Proposal Evaluation
Proposals will be evaluated on the following criteria:

1) Neighborhood Context and Design
Appropriateness of the proposed development for the neighborhood. Consistency with existing neighborhood plans, if any. Site plan, building design and amenities. Impact on other public or private investment.

2) Developer Capacity and Track Record
Strength and track record of the development team. Capacity to undertake new or additional projects. Ability to secure construction financing.

3) Population Served
Affordability. Preference will be given to proposals serving households at or below 30% of Area Median Income, and to proposals proposing to create new housing units. Supportive services to be provided (if for a specialized population). Marketability.

4) Site Control and Readiness to Proceed
Status of site control. Development schedule. Status of other funding commitments.

5) Development Budget
Total subsidy required. Leveraging of other resources. Per unit and per square foot development and subsidy costs. Affordability. Overall feasibility.

6) MBEC Responsiveness

Mandatory Briefing Session
Interested parties are REQUIRED to attend one briefing session. Two briefing sessions will be held.

March 5, 2008, 2 p.m.
March 12, 2008, 11 a.m. at
OHCD Board Room
1234 Market St., 17th floor
Philadelphia, PA 19107

Potential applicants may attend either briefing session. This room is accessible to persons with disabilities. If you have a disability and require an accommodation in order to participate, call James O’Toole at 215-686-9760 (TDD 215-686-9803) or email him at james.o’toole@phila.gov. Advance notice of 72 hours is required for sign-language interpreter services.

Proposal Submission
Proposals must be in the format described above. An unbound original and five (5) copies of the proposal must be delivered no later than Friday, March 28, 2008, at 4 p.m. to

Office of Housing and Community Development
1234 Market Street, 17th floor
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Attention: Deborah McColloch, Acting Director of Housing

Proposals received after the deadline will not be accepted and will not be reviewed. The City assumes no liability for costs incurred in proposal preparation. The City reserves the right to accept or reject proposals or to seek additional information from any applicant. The City is under no obligation to award all available funds through this RFP, and reserves the right to reallocate funds between funding categories. Funds not awarded will remain in the HTF for distribution through a future RFP. The City expects to issue annual RFPs for development financing available through the HTF.

Attachment A
“Visitable” shall mean the following amenities in a dwelling unit:
(a) One zero step entrance to the dwelling that will permit a visitor using a wheelchair to enter the main level floor of the dwelling through a doorway entrance that has a minimum 32" opening.
(b) A usable path of travel throughout the interior main level floor that is no narrower than 36’’ at any point except for interior doorway openings with a minimum 32" opening.
(c) A powder room on the main level floor that has a doorway entrance with a minimum 32" doorway opening providing, sufficient space to close the door while inside the powder room, a minimum 30" x 48" floor space clearance, and reinforced walls for future installation of grab bars to provide access to the toilet if necessary.

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Office of Housing and Community Development
Philadelphia Housing Trust Fund
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
Affordable Rental Housing Development

The Office of Housing and Community Development (OHCD) is soliciting proposals to finance the development of rental units designed to serve low-, moderate-, and middle-income Philadelphia residents, using funding from the Philadelphia Housing Trust Fund (HTF) and Low Income Housing Tax Credits (including Preservation Credits) and/or PennHOMES financing from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA).  The HTF was created in 2005 through state and city legislation and by executive order of Mayor John F. Street.  The HTF’s goals are to increase the availability of affordable and accessible housing through the production of affordable housing, the creation of accessible and visitable housing, the preservation of existing affordable housing, and the prevention of homelessness.  PHFA’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) including the Preservation Credit program provides equity financing for qualified rental ventures meeting certain criteria.  PHFA’s PennHOMES program provides additional financing for selected rental developments.

This HTF Request for Proposals is designed to assist in providing gap financing for rental projects which will seek LIHTC (including Preservation Credits) and/or PennHOMES financing from PHFA in its 2008 First Cycle, with proposals due to PHFA on December 14, 2007.  This is the only PHFA application round for 2008.

Up to $3.735 million in City Fiscal Year 2008 Housing Trust Fund dollars is available through this Request for Proposals. The City does not expect to award the full amount of funding since it made commitments toward some rental projects in April 2007, and because it may issue an RFP for rental projects which do not require LIHTC at a future date.

Any proposal which received a commitment of HTF funds for rental development in the past and which has not changed its financial pro forma with respect to HTF or other City financing does not need to submit a proposal in response to this RFP.  These projects are requested to submit a letter confirming the developer’s continued interest in receiving HTF funds as proposed in the prior HTF RFP round.

Proposals received in response to this RFP will be reviewed by an interagency group comprised of representatives of the Office of Housing and Community Development, the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Transformation, the Redevelopment Authority and the Philadelphia City Planning Commission.  The review committee will recommend projects to the Secretary of Housing for funding.  Projects submitted to the RFP should be generally consistent with the Rental Selection Criteria incorporated in the Year 33 Consolidated Plan.

Projects seeking assistance from this RFP must meet the legal requirements of the HTF, including:

• Development by a non-profit organization, or a joint venture in which a non-profit organization is the controlling partner with demonstrated capacity.  No funding will be provided for a project sponsored by a non-profit entity that is controlled by either a for-profit or by a public entity. 
• Adherence to the “Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Requirements and OHCD Policies” set forth in the Year 33 Consolidated Plan.  Selected developers must comply with other requirements, such as the Equal Opportunity Plan required by ordinance 060226-AA, as applicable.
• Meeting the accessibility and visitability requirements of the HTF as defined in local ordinance and the Mayor’s Executive Order.  These requirements are more fully described below.
• Meeting the requirement that households benefiting from the housing development pay no more than 30% of their income for housing, unless allowed by another federal or state funding source.
• Serving households with a maximum income of 115% of area median income.

The HTF requires that 50% of all program funds, including housing production, home repair and homeless prevention, on a yearly basis be used for programs and projects that benefit households with incomes, adjusted for size, equal to or less than 30% of the Philadelphia area median income, and 50% be used to benefit households with incomes between 30% and 115% of area median income.  Serving households at or below 30% of the Area Median Income is not only a requirement of the HTF, but a goal of this RFP.  Proposals serving that population will be given priority in funding awards.  The City reserves the right to adjust funding among affordable housing development categories, based on responses received through this Request for Proposals.

Program Requirements

Eligible Applicants
Applicants must be non-profit organizations or partnerships in which a non-profit is the controlling partner with demonstrated capacity.  While LIHTC projects are structured as for-profit partnerships in order to syndicate tax credit proceeds, the controlling entity of the partnership must be an eligible non-profit entity in order to qualify for HTF earnings.

No funding will be provided for a project by an entity that is controlled by a for-profit or by a public entity.  Joint applicants (two or more entities submitting a single proposal) must designate one entity to be responsible for fiscal management and administration. 

Eligible Activities
The goal of the RFP is to identify projects that will create rental housing opportunities, for low-, or moderate-, or middle-income households (those making below 115% of area median income).  Household incomes must also be consistent with the requirements of the LIHTC program and/or PennHOMES program, as applicable.

Under this RFP, the HTF will provide gap financing for the development of eligible projects.  Both rehabilitation and new construction housing developments are eligible under this RFP.  HTF dollars may be used to support internal rent subsidies to ensure affordability at 30% of median income or below.  Otherwise eligible rental developments targeting the homeless or populations with special needs are eligible for support through the RFP.

Only projects which expect to submit applications for Low Income Housing Tax Credits (including Preservation Credits) and/or PennHOMES financing on December 14, 2007 are eligible to apply to this RFP.  Applicants should familiarize themselves with PHFA’s requirements and submit applications to this RFP which are eligible for funding from PHFA.  The proposal submitted to PHFA should be consistent with the proposal submitted to this RFP in location, number of units, development entity, income mix and financing.  The City reserves the right to withdraw its commitment of HTF financing to a project submitted to PHFA which is inconsistent with the proposal submitted in response to this RFP.  This is the only opportunity to apply for 2008 tax credits from PHFA.

Applicants should review the PHFA LIHTC Allocation Plan, which may be found at www.phfa.org/forms/multifamily_application_guidelines/2008_Allocation_Plan_Final.pdf.

Accessibility and Visitability
A minimum of 10% of the total number of new construction units must be accessible to individuals with mobility impairments and a minimum of 4% must be accessible to individuals with sensory impairments.  All new construction units must be made visitable or, alternatively, an amount equal to $3,000 multiplied by the total number of new construction units built in the project is required to be spent to make as many of the units as possible visitable.  Visitability and/or accessibility requirements may be waived or reduced for a project if such requirement(s) renders the project financially infeasible, or if site conditions are unsuitable, but any such waiver does not exempt the project from any other applicable requirements regarding visitability and/or accessibility.  See Attachment A for the definition of “visitable”.

Readiness to Proceed 
Priority will be given to projects that are ready to go and can spend funding upon approval of LIHTC from PHFA.   Projects that will not have site control as required by PHFA for its LIHTC RFP will be ranked significantly lower and will not be funded.  The purpose of this RFP is not to develop a pipeline of projects which will need gap financing in the future.

Proposal Format
Applicants must submit six (6) copies of the proposal, including one unbound copy. Proposals should be limited to fifteen (15) pages of double-spaced text, excluding the required forms and exhibits.  Qualified applications must include the following sections, which should be clearly identified and submitted in the following order:

1. Project Summary
Provide a short summary of the project on the Project Summary form (Exhibit A).   Include the project name, developer, project location, number of units, number of accessible and visitable units, total project costs, and amount of HTF subsidy requested.
  

2. Project Description
Describe the type of project and scope of activity being proposed, indicating:

• Type of housing being developed (new construction or rehabilitation)
• Population to be served by this development, including an estimate of the number of housing units to be sold or rented to each of the following income groups:
• Household income <30% of area median
• Household income >30% and <80% of area median
• Household income >80% and <115% of area median

Applicants MUST provide estimates based on these income categories.  If the project proposes to serve households with incomes less than 30% of area median, the applicant must explain how these households will afford tax credit rents and describe any rental reserves, rental assistance, etc., to be provided.

If the project proposes to serve a population with special housing needs, describe the services to be offered to the residents and the funding sources for these services.

• Street address and zip code of each property in the project
• Current ownership of each property
• Current zoning, use and occupancy status of each property
• Site control, including documentation of options to lease or buy
• Description of completed properties (house type, square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, parking, lot size, etc.)  Please provide renderings, site plans and floor plans if available.

3. Neighborhood Context 
Is the project consistent with any existing neighborhood plan?  Does the project support past private or public investment in the community?  Is the project a suitable strategic reuse of the site within the neighborhood?  How is the project expected to affect neighborhood property values?  What are the prospects for stimulating private reinvestment in the area?  Please describe.

4. Community Engagement 
Project sponsors must seek local community input for their plans and share their proposals with community-based organizations.  Indicate the actions that have been taken to identify the community group(s) that represent the neighborhood where the project will be located and to notify these groups of the proposed plans.  Please summarize any comments received from the community.

5. Budgets
Complete the budget forms listed below which identify anticipated development and other costs for your project.

• The Development Pro Forma (Exhibit B), which identifies the total development cost and the sources and uses of funds.
• The Operating Budget (part of Exhibit B), to provide operating costs and cash flow over a 15 year period.

Provide supporting evidence of all funding commitments received, and a list of pending applications with dates of submission and expected awards.   Applicants with preliminary or firm commitments of LIHTC syndication proceeds should submit copies of the commitment letter indicating the amount of equity expected to be raised.

6. Site Control and Timetable
Provide a detailed description of the project’s site control, both at the time of HTF application and anticipated at the time of PHFA LIHTIC application deadline of December 14, 2007.  Identify key benchmarks for project development, including financing, pre-development activities, construction start, construction end and leasing. 

7. Development Team
Provide a description of each member of the development team, such as developer, attorney, contractor, architect, consultant, etc.  Describe the legal entity (partnership) that will be the developer and indicate how a qualified non-profit entity will be the controlling interest in the project.  Provide a summary of other related housing development activity that each team member is undertaking or has undertaken.

8. MBE Forms
This RFP is subject to Executive Order 02-05, establishing opportunity ranges for Minority, Women and Disabled Business Enterprises (MBE/WBE/DSBE).  The Minority Business Enterprise Council (MBEC) has determined that the opportunity ranges for this RFP for minority, women and disabled businesses are as follows:

The attached “Instructions, Forms, and Contract Provisions for the Participation of Minority, Women and Disabled Business Enterprises” (Exhibit C) details the procedures that must be followed with regard to these MBE participation ranges.  Complete the required forms (MBE Forms, Exhibit D) and include these in your RFP response.

The Minority Business Enterprise Council has identified opportunity areas where participation may be achieved to meet these goals.  These areas are as follows:

Development Soft Costs:

• Architecture/Engineering
• Construction Management
• Historic Consultant
• Furniture and decoration
• Security
• Soil testing/Environmental assessment
• Survey
• Appraisal
• Accounting
• Marketing/PR
• Operations and maintenance
• Supportive services
• Furniture and decoration

Construction Costs:

• General construction
• Site improvement
• Material Supply

Proposal Evaluation
Proposals will be evaluated on the following criteria:

1) Neighborhood Context and Design
Appropriateness of the proposed development for the neighborhood.  Consistency with existing neighborhood plans, if any. Site plan, building design and amenities.  Impact on other public or private investment.  Consistency with NTI goals.

2)  Developer Capacity and Track Record
Strength and track record of the development team.  Capacity to undertake new or additional projects.  Ability to secure construction financing.

3)  Population Served
Affordability.  Priority will be given to proposals serving households at or below 30% of Area Median Income.  Supportive services to be provided (if for a specialized population).  Marketability.

4)  Site Control and Readiness to Proceed
Status of site control.   Development schedule.   Status of other funding commitments. 

5)  Development Budget
Total subsidy required.  Leveraging of other resources.  Per unit and per square foot development and subsidy costs.  Affordability.  Overall feasibility.

6)  MBEC Responsiveness

Briefing Session 
Interested parties are REQUIRED to attend a briefing session:

Wednesday, October 3, 2007, 10:00 a.m.
OHCD Board Room
1234 Market St., 17th floor
Philadelphia, PA 19107.

This room is accessible to persons with disabilities.  If you have a disability and require an accommodation in order to participate, call James O’Toole at 215-686-9760 (TDD 215-686-9803) or email him at james.o’toole@phila.gov.  Advance notice of 72 hours is required for sign-language interpreter services.

Proposal Submission
Proposals must be in the format described above.  An unbound original and five (5) copies of the proposal must be delivered no later than 4 p.m. on Friday, October 26, 2007 to:

            Office of Housing and Community Development
            1234 Market Street, 17th floor
            Philadelphia, PA 19107

            Attention:  Deborah McColloch, First Deputy

Proposals received after the deadline will not be accepted and will not be reviewed.  The City assumes no liability for costs incurred in proposal preparation.  The City reserves the right to accept or reject proposals or to seek additional information from any applicant.  The City is under no obligation to award all available funds through this RFP, and reserves the right to reallocate funds between funding categories.  Funds not awarded will remain in the HTF for distribution through a future RFP.  The City expects to issue annual RFPs for development financing available through the HTF.

Attachment A

“Visitable” shall mean the following amenities in a dwelling unit:

(a) One zero step entrance to the dwelling that will permit a visitor using a wheelchair to enter the main level floor of the dwelling through a doorway entrance that has a minimum 32” opening.

(b) A usable path of travel throughout the interior main level floor that is no narrower than 36’’ at any point except for interior doorway openings with a minimum 32” opening.

(c) A powder room on the main level floor that has a doorway entrance with a minimum 32” doorway opening providing, sufficient space to close the door while inside the powder room, a minimum 30” x 48” floor space clearance, and reinforced walls for future installation of grab bars to provide access to the toilet if necessary.

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Office of Housing and Community Development
Philadelphia Housing Trust Fund
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
Special-Needs Housing Development
The City of Philadelphia’s Office of Housing and Community Development (OHCD), along with other City agencies, is soliciting proposals for the development of housing for persons with special needs.  The City is seeking specific types of housing development proposals for designated special needs populations who fall into any one (or combination) of the following categories:

1. permanent housing for chronically homeless single individuals, with special consideration for those projects that target veterans;
2. permanent housing for chronically homeless families;
3. Safe Haven housing for chronically homeless single individuals;
4. permanent housing for disabled individuals homeless at discharge from Philadelphia Prison System;
5. permanent housing for homeless youth, including emancipated youth, who are alone and/or are parents with children, ages 16-23, with disability;
6. permanent housing for persons with HIV/AIDS;
7. permanent housing for persons with physical disabilities (mobility, vision, or hearing impairments);
8. permanent housing for repeat users of the emergency shelter system, particularly families (an adult or child in the household must have a disability);
9. permanent housing for homeless victims of domestic violence (an adult or child in the household must have a disability).

Applicants for special needs housing must provide supportive services appropriate to the needs of the population(s) proposed to be served. 

Funding will be capped at $2,500,000 for SHP projects, not including the bonus category. The City anticipates that HUD will provide bonus funding which can only be used for permanent housing projects that serve chronically homeless individuals.

This RFP is being issued by OHCD in coordination with the Office of Supportive Housing, the Office of Behavioral Health/Mental Retardation (OBH/MR), the AIDS Activities Coordinating Office (AACO), the Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Philadelphia City Planning Commission.

Applicants may request development financing for property rehabilitation, new construction, or conversion of properties from nonresidential to residential use. If an existing special needs housing project, funding may be requested if expansion of the site is proposed through the development of additional housing units/assistance to serve one of the eligible subpopulations designated under this RFP. Acquisition funding is available only to support Special Needs housing for privately negotiated sales and not for City sponsored condemnation or eminent domain.  Proposals for mixed-use (residential and commercial) projects will be accepted. However, funds will be provided for the residential component only of the project. Such proposals must demonstrate that funding other than that awarded by OHCD will be utilized to develop the commercial component of the venture. 

BRIEFING SESSION
Applicants are strongly encouraged to attend a briefing session on the RFP requirements on Tuesday, March 25, 2008 at 9:30 a.m.  The briefing will be held in the OHCD Boardroom, 1234 Market Street, 17th floor.  Prospective applicants are encouraged to obtain and review a copy of this RFP in advance of this briefing. 

This location is accessible to people with disabilities.  If you have a disability and require accommodation in order to participate, please contact James J. O’Toole at (215) 686-9860 (TDD 215-686-9803).  Advance notice of 72 hours is required for sign language interpreter services.

FUNDING SOURCES
Project funding to be made available under this RFP will be a combination of CDBG, HOME, HOPWA, and/or McKinney Supportive Housing Program (SHP) funds, which are provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  Eligible applicants, projects, and activities vary according to the funding source.  Please see Exhibit A for information about eligibility and funding requirements for each source.

CDBG, HOME and HOPWA program funds are awarded by HUD directly to the City of Philadelphia.  The City’s Office of Housing and Community Development allocates these funds for Special Needs housing development and awards them to projects selected in accordance with goals and criteria published in its annual Consolidated Plan.  The City will determine the amount and source of funding to be provided. Federal allocations to the city for Year 34 CDBG, HOME and HOPWA funding and the proposed allocations to Special Needs Housing Development will be outlined in the Year 34 Preliminary Consolidated Plan and may change. 

SHP funds are awarded by HUD on a competitive basis through an annual Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Programs (also known as McKinney programs).  HUD makes final funding determinations and awards funding for proposed projects that identify and address gaps in local homeless assistance continuums.  Therefore, the City has elected to submit a consolidated application for SHP funds on behalf of all local applicant organizations.  Organizations seeking SHP funding for housing development activities must respond to this RFP.   Please refer to Exhibit B for the definitions of eligible beneficiaries under the Supportive Housing Program.

Respondents to this RFP may request any single, combination, or all types of funding, subject to the respective program requirements described in the matrix in Exhibit A.

This RFP is also open to special needs projects anticipating applying for 2009 Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) financing from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA).   PHFA has not yet adopted an allocation plan for 2009 credits.  Please indicate your intention to apply for LIHTC and/or PennHOMES funding as part of your proposal budget.  Proposals seeking LIHTC or PennHOMES funding must have site control at the time of application to PHFA.

PROPOSAL GOALS
Preference will be given to projects that:

• Complement other City capital investments
• Are critical to successful implementation of neighborhood strategic plans
• Increase, through leveraging, the amount of non-City funds committed to local projects
• Are sponsored by non-profit developers

Another objective of this RFP is to support the development of projects that increase the number of housing units available to persons with special needs and provide, when appropriate, high-quality support services to residents.  The City will not support projects that result in the displacement of existing residents, nor will it fund relocation costs for occupants of acquired properties.

All City funding commitments will be contingent upon the applicant’s success in securing adequate project financing.  Failure to secure all other funding commitments pending at the time of proposal submission (including federal McKinney Program funds) will result in the City’s funding commitment being automatically rescinded.  Final project funding commitments will be subject to RDA review and approval of all project documentation and underwriting criteria.

ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS
Project sponsors may be private nonprofit or for-profit organizations, with the exception of project sponors requesting funding under the McKinney SHP program. Funding  under the McKinney SHP program is available for non-profits, only. In evaluating proposals, project ranking will place a heavy positive weighting on joint ventures which strengthen capacity by proposing teams which include housing developers who have experience in working with the City paired with experienced and successful providers of case management and/or supportive services for special needs populations.  (Joint venture proposals must identify one entity that will be responsible for project development, fiscal management, and administration.)

Proposals for HIV/AIDS housing projects must be sponsored by a nonprofit entity with a substantial history of successful service to persons with HIV/AIDS.  Nonprofit project sponsors may employ a for-profit developer to carry out the housing development component of the project.  HIV/AIDS projects proposed for funding under the federal HOPWA Program may be located in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery or Philadelphia counties.  All other proposals must be for projects located in Philadelphia.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS OF PROJECT SPONSORS
Applicants are encouraged to review the relevant federal regulations to ensure compliance with all program requirements.  Regulations for the CDBG program can be found at 24 CFR part 570, for the HOME program at
24 CFR Part 92, for the Supportive Housing Program at 24 CFR Part 583, and for the HOPWA program at
24 CFR Part 574, as amended.  Copies of these regulations are available on the Internet
from http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/retrieve.html.

In addition to the basic eligibility requirements stated in the preceding sections, the following are also required of all applicants:

Low-Income Beneficiaries 
Project beneficiaries must be low-income individuals or households.  "Low-income" individuals must meet the HUD income guidelines for the Philadelphia area. Projects developed with HOME funds must serve households earning no more than 60 percent of area median family income and projects developed with HOPWA funds must serve households earning no more than 80 percent of area median family income.  2007 income guidelines are available in the Year 33 Consolidated Plan.   Revised income guidelines will be published in the Preliminary Year 34 Consolidated Plan and are also available on the HUD website and as Exhibit I.

Special Needs Supportive Services
Beneficiaries of housing developed under this RFP must also be provided, when appropriate, supportive services through qualified service providers. A supportive services program is a required component of McKinney funded supportive housing. These services may include (but are not limited to) physical/mental health care; case management; permanent housing placement or referral; drug/alcohol abuse treatment or counseling; intensive care when required; and assistance in gaining access to local, state, and federal government benefits and services.  Project sponsors must ensure that residents will receive supportive services appropriate to their particular individualized needs. While project sponsors may request SHP funding for a portion of these services to assist beneficiaries of supportive housing projects, the supportive service funding request may not exceed 20% of the total SHP request. The proposal must include documentation of the sponsor’s attempts to (1) access mainstream dollars to fund the supportive services program, and/or (2) set up links to mainstream programs from which participants can receive needed supportive services without requiring additional project funding (See Exhibit B for definitions).

Project Evaluation and Cost Standards 
Except where noted otherwise in this RFP, proposals must be consistent with the Selection Criteria for Special Needs Projects (as applicable) published in the City’s Consolidated Plan.  Copies of the Year 33 Consolidated Plan are available on the City’s website at www.phila.gov/ohcd/consolplan.htm.  When released, the Year 34 Preliminary Consolidated Plan will be available on the same website.

Sponsoring developers will be monitored by the RDA during the bidding process and will be required to solicit competitive bids from this list when the development team is unable to bring the construction within the estimated cost and/or the Section 221(d)(3) limits or when the sponsor is a non-profit using HOPWA funds.  The sponsoring developer will forward to the RDA for review and approval the draft solicitation letter, the list of firms that were solicited, a list of the bids received, and a recommendation for the award.

Environmental Review 
All housing projects for which assistance is committed for new construction, rehabilitation, or conversion require an environmental review conducted by the City, as mandated by CDBG, HOME, HOPWA, and SHP regulations (found at 24 CFR 570.604, 24 CFR 92.352, at 24 CFR 574.510, and 24 CFR 583.230, respectively).  No funding awarded under this RFP will be provided to reimburse applicants for project costs incurred prior to receiving an environmental clearance from the City of Philadelphia.

Community Input 
Project sponsors must seek local community input for their plans and share their proposals with community-based organizations prior to submitting a response to this RFP.  As evidence of these activities, applicants must submit documentation which:

1. identifies the community group(s) that represent the neighborhood where the project will be located;
2. specifies how groups were notified (names, dates of contact, any distributed documentation/ correspondence, and phone numbers) of their plans; and
3. includes input received prior to the RFP deadline.

Fair Housing and Economic Opportunity
All federal, state, and local fair housing requirements apply. Housing beneficiaries may not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, familial status, or disability.  Project sponsors must adopt procedures to ensure that persons in these protected classes who qualify for assistance know of the availability of the federally funded program. 

Projects that receive funding under this RFP are also subject to the RDA’s Economic Opportunity Policy, which requires project sponsors to specify goals and strategies for targeting employment and business opportunities to disadvantaged and project-area residents and firms.  This policy is intended to remove discriminatory barriers to employment, contracting, and purchasing, and at the same time provide economic benefits to disadvantaged and/or local residents and businesses. The Minority Business Enterprise Council has established opportunity ranges for the participation of disadvantaged businesses.  See below.

Projects located outside of the City of Philadelphia should plan to adhere to and advise the City of their local Economic Opportunity Policy and Requirements.

Relocation
It is the policy of the City of Philadelphia not to support projects that result in the displacement or relocation of existing residents.  No funds awarded under this RFP may be used to pay for relocation costs.

Accessibility
To the maximum extent feasible, housing developed with funds made available under this RFP must be accessible to persons with disabilities, including mobility, hearing, and vision impairments. At least ten (10) percent of the total dwelling units (but not less than one unit) must be accessible to persons with a mobility impairment.  In addition, at least five (5) percent of the units (but not less than one unit) must be accessible to persons with vision or hearing impairments. Applicants are encouraged to exceed the standard federal accessibility requirements.

All units must be marketed in accordance with the City’s Model Affirmative Marketing Plan (MAMP) which requires all new accessible units to be marketed exclusively to the disabled community for a minimum of 30 days during the initiation of the marketing period (prior to marketing accessible and non accessible housing units to the general public). To meet this requirement, the MAMP marketing resource, the Home Finder must be used. The Home Finder added to the website, www.newsontap.org, enables developers and managers to enter the web site with a personal password in order to list vacant accessible housing units. This website will be monitored by the Office of Housing and Community Development (OHCD).

VisitAbility
To the extent feasible, all new construction housing development projects must include the following VisitAbility design features:

Criteria 

a. At least one (1) accessible entrance, served by an accessible route (as defined in PA State Act 1988-166) from a sidewalk or dwelling unit parking space.  Additional preference shall be given where the accessible entrance(s) is/are the main entrance(s).

1. “Accessible” with respect to a door opening means having a clear opening width of thirty-two (32) inches minimum with the door open at ninety (90) degrees.  The clear opening shall be measured from the face of the open door to the opposite doorstop.

b. All dwelling unit doors meant for human passage (except closet doors) on the story nearest grade shall be accessible.  This includes all exterior doors to a dwelling unit or to a building containing more than one (1) dwelling unit and all interior doors to a dwelling unit.  Thresholds are permitted provided they do not exceed ½ inch at all swinging doors ¾ inch at all sliding doors.

c. If a dwelling unit has one (1) or more bathrooms on the story nearest grade, at least one (1) of those bathrooms must:

(1) be on an accessible route (as defined in PA State Act 1988-166);
(2) have a doorway with a minimum clear opening of not less than thirty-two (32) inches when the door is open at ninety (90) degrees.  The clear opening shall be measured from the face of the open door to the opposite door stop;
(3) be adaptable.

All projects must be developed in accordance with the City’s Accessible Housing Marketing Policy, which requires developers receiving City funds to notify the City to assist in marketing accessible housing units to the disabled community for a 30 day period prior to marketing accessible and non-accessible housing units to the general public.

Prevailing Wage
Depending on the size of the project and the type of funds awarded, projects receiving funding as a result of this RFP may be subject to federal Davis-Bacon wage requirements. 

Additional Requirements for HOPWA-Funded Projects
Equal Access in Region:  HOPWA regulations provide that all eligible residents of the metropolitan area must be able to access HOPWA-funded housing services.  Therefore, AIDS housing projects developed with HOPWA funds must be made available to any eligible resident of the five counties of southeastern Pennsylvania (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia).

Consolidated Plan Certification:  Sponsors of HOPWA-funded projects located outside the City of Philadelphia must obtain certification from the local jurisdiction that the project is consistent with that jurisdiction’s HUD-approved Consolidated Plan.

Additional Requirements for HUD SHP-Funded Projects
Eligible Populations: Persons to be served in new permanent housing projects may come from the streets, emergency shelter, or transitional housing but must have originally come from the streets or emergency shelter.

Site Control: HUD will deselect the award if you do not demonstrate site control within one (1) year of the date of the grant award letter, as required by the McKinney-Vento Act.

Timeliness standards: HUD may deobligate SHP funds if the following timeliness standards are not met:

a. Sponsors must begin construction activities within eighteen (18) months of the date of HUD’s grant award letter and complete them within thirty-six (36) months of that notification.

b. Sponsors must begin supportive service or operating activities within three (3) months after you complete construction.

c. Sponsors must begin all activities independent of construction, e.g. Homeless Management Information System, within twelve (12) months of the date of HUD’s grant award letter.

Use and Repayment Covenant: All projects receiving SHP funding for acquisition, rehabilitation, or new construction must be operated for no less than 20 years for the purpose specified in the application.  HUD requires recordation of a use and repayment agreement for all grants of funds for acquisition, rehabilitation or new construction, in compliance with use and repayment requirements found at section 423(b)(1) and (c) of the McKinney-Vento Act.
Fair Housing: Projects that involve rehabilitation or new construction must meet the accessibility requirements of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the design and construction requirements of the Fair Housing Act and the accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, as applicable.

Cash Match: Funding for supportive services requires a commitment of cash match for 20% of the total supportive service budget.  Operating funding requires a commitment of cash match for 25% of the total operating budget.

Cost-Effectiveness: The project must be cost-effective, including costs associated with construction, operations and supportive services with such costs not deviating substantially from the norm in Philadelphia for the type of structure or activity.

Participation in Energy Star: Applicants applying for new construction or rehabilitation funding are encouraged to promote energy efficiency and are specifically encouraged to purchase and use Energy Star-labeled products.

Homeless Management Information System: Funded applicants agree to participate in a local Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), required by HUD and designed to aggregate client-level data to generate an unduplicated count of clients served within a community’s system of homeless services.

SPECIAL NEEDS PROPOSAL FORMAT
Applicants must submit fifteen (15) copies of the proposal, including one unbound copy.  Proposals should be limited to fifteen (15) pages of double-spaced text, excluding the required forms and exhibits, and should be organized in the order and format outlined below.  Each of the following sections must be included:

1) Project Summary Form (Exhibit C).

2) Project Summary (One Page)
Provide a short narrative summary of the project.  Include the project name, sponsor, and developer(s), project location, number of units or beds, special needs population(s) served, total project cost, amount and type(s) of subsidy requested, and any other information critical to the proposal. 
 
3) Project Description
Describe each of the following aspects of the project:

a. type of housing to be developed (transitional or permanent)

b. who will be served by this development (i.e., priority or target population)

c. method of development (new construction, rehabilitation or conversion)

d. number and configuration of living units (or beds)

e. number and configuration of shared facilities and common spaces

f. address of each property to be included in the project

g. current ownership of each property, including publicly-owned properties

h. proposed acquisition method for each property to be acquired privately

i. current zoning, use, and occupancy status of each property

j. site control, including documentation of options to lease or buy, proposed type (lease or ownership), and current status.

4) Development Schedule and Timetable
Provide a detailed description of what activities the project entails, identifying all steps to be undertaken for project completion.  Provide an estimated schedule for each step.  The schedule must include the following milestones and any other milestones or ongoing activities that are relevant to the proposed project:

• solicitation of remaining commitments for development, operating, and support service funding (identify sources and application deadlines), as applicable
• site assembly and control
• site preparation
• construction commencement
• construction completion
• marketing and lease-up.

Given the urgent need for special needs housing, the expedient development of proposed projects is critical and desired.  The City will give priority to projects whose timetable reflects this concern and whose development team exhibits the ability to implement and maintain the proposed timetable.

5) Benefit and Impact of the Project
Describe the targeted population(s) to be served.  Specify the number of individuals and/or families to be served both at a single point in time and over the span of the project. Identify the special housing and support service needs for the targeted population and how these needs will be addressed by the project. 

6) Neighborhood Context
Is the project consistent with any existing neighborhood plan?  Does the project support past private or public investment in the community?  Is the project is a suitable strategic reuse of the site within the neighborhood?  How is the project expected to affect neighborhood property values?  What are the overall area/neighborhood impacts and prospects for stimulating private reinvestment in the area?

7) Intake and Support Service Plan
Specify how the following activities will be addressed by the project:

Intake and Referral: Specify the intake criteria for the project.  How and by whom will the eligibility of prospective clients be determined?  Describe the outreach/referral process that will be used to identify and attract residents. Projects must include the City’s shelter system or a city funded transitional housing program among its referral sources.

Special Needs Support Services: What specific support services will be provided to residents of the project?  How will these services promote residents’ self-sufficiency and independence?  Who will provide the services?  Describe the arrangements under which services will be provided (contracted out, donated to the project, by letter of agreement with mainstream service provider, or provided by the project sponsor or property manager).

8) Performance Measures
Proposals must specify the performance measures that will be used to evaluate the progress of residents and define how success in meeting the project’s goals will be measured.  Goals and measures should be established for both housing and services and should be appropriate to the particular needs and conditions of the population(s) served. 

Project goals should be related to the ultimate objective of helping transitional housing participants to move to permanent housing, and helping permanent housing participants to remain in permanent housing, increase their skills and/or income, and achieve greater self-sufficiency.

Performance measures must include the following three components:

1. they must relate to outcomes (e.g. 25 participants will successfully complete substance abuse treatment) rather than outputs (e.g. 25 participants will attend substance abuse treatment sessions);
2. they must identify a time frame during which goals are to be achieved; and
3. they must specify a number or percentage of participants who will meet the goals during that period of time.

9) Housing Development Experience and Capacity
Identify the lead development entity and members of the development team.  Describe the current organizational capacity and previous experience of each member of the development team.  Identify all principals who will actively participate in the project, including name, address, and professional affiliation.  Describe their experience in developing and operating affordable/special needs housing and providing supportive services to special needs populations.  List any housing projects previously developed and indicate which are affordable housing and/or special needs projects.  Provide a list of projects currently being undertaken by the developer and a schedule of anticipated completion for each. 

Applicants requesting SHP funds must identify any previously awarded contracts for SHP funds, the project type and current status, and the amount of SHP funds expended on the project to date.

If a joint venture, limited partnership, or similar arrangement will develop the project; identify the lead entity that will be responsible for project development, fiscal management, and administration.  Provide copies of any agreements between the partners.

10) Property Management Experience and Capacity
Identify the entity responsible for property management upon completion of project construction.  If the project developer will not manage the property, describe the relationship between the developer and the property manager.  Describe the experience of the property management firm, including a list of projects that are currently under this entity's management, specifying which of these developments are affordable housing and/or special needs projects.

11) Support Service Experience and Capacity
Identify the entities responsible for providing support services to project residents upon completion of project construction.  For each support service proposed, provide a staffing roster and a description of the organization’s staff, qualifications, and experience in serving the targe