A. Qualified consultants are encouraged to submit a proposal for real estate development advisory and consulting services to assist the EDA with the administration of a procurement process to engage a qualified development partner to develop the Site. This assistance will include: 1) the preparation of a procurement strategy and research; 2) development of the procurement documents; 3) solicitation of potential development firms; 4) marketing of the Site to regional and national developers; 5) assistance in the evaluation of development proposals for the Site; and 6) assistance in negotiations with the selected developer(s) proposal. B. The scope of work to be accomplished is generally described as follows and the Consultant shall provide all services and deliverables identified: 1. Procurement Process Strategy – The selected Consultant shall develop a comprehensive plan to solicit desired, qualified developer respondents with satisfactory development proposals for the Site by utilizing the Waterfront Market Analysis conducted by AECOM dated March 27, 2024, and due diligence activities conducted by the EDA and City, and, not limited to, the following services: a. Conduct research to account for recent changes to real estate market trends; b. Conduct at least five in-person interviews with key stakeholders to assess overall goals and desired responses to the solicitation; c. Conduct at least 3 in-person or virtual interviews with localities with experience in similar successful solicitations; d. Coordinate with EDA & City leadership about particulars of the procurement process strategy including the vision and priorities for development, desired responses, goals of process, structure of solicitation response, review committee, etc; e. Provide an implementation plan with a timeline for executing the determined strategy; f. Provide a determination regarding whether the strategy should first incorporate a Request for Information (RFI) followed by a Request for Offer (RFO) or if only a RFO is necessary based on comprehensive analysis of available findings, market conditions and Consultant experience. g. Develop a finalized strategy for procurement for EDA review and approval. h. The strategy shall include proposed evaluation criteria and weighting of those criteria for the review of the RFI and RFO proposals. 2. Initial Solicitation Development – RFI Process – Should the approved Procurement Strategy include an RFI, the selected Consultant, shall consult with EDA and City staff to develop a RFI solicitation process that includes, but is not limited to the following: a. Work with EDA and City team to prioritize RFI content. b. Work with EDA and City team to generate evaluation criteria and weighting of the criteria for RFI responses. c. Preparation of RFI documents with appropriate content for City review and approval. d. Support EDA on RFI Q&A responses. e. Review responses independently from EDA/City review panel. f. Provide assessment and detailed report on each response based on desired outcomes and evaluation criteria. g. Meet with EDA & City review panel(s) to compare results of Consultant’s review vs. the panel’s review and evaluation.
