Boston, MA- Today the BHA issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) inviting developers to submit redevelopment proposals to preserve and rebuild existing affordable housing at the Bunker Hill public housing development.  The issuance of the RFP comes as BHA is seeking ways to upgrade and make sustainable its affordable housing communities in the wake of historic federal budget cuts.
 
“It’s imperative that we think outside the box to preserve our existing affordable housing as well as develop new housing to meet the future housing needs of all of our city’s residents,” said Mayor Martin J. Walsh. “I’m excited because this project has the potential to meet the housing needs of people from a broad spectrum of economic backgrounds.”
 
The BHA has selected Bunker Hill as one of the initial candidates for which to issue an RFP due to current market conditions and the potential opportunity for the preservation or replacement of all of the existing 1100 very low income units in the development with little or no public subsidy.   The potential for adding additional units to create a mixed income development would add both affordable workforce and market rate apartments, which BHA hopes would generate additional income to help sustain the low income units over the long term.  The creation of additional market rate and workforce housing will also further Mayor Walsh’s goal of creating 53,000 new units of housing by 2030. 
 
“We look forward to receiving creative ideas that will preserve and protect our affordable housing resources for the future,” said BHA Administrator Bill McGonagle.  “We are proceeding in this manner to ensure that our current residents and future residents of the city in need of affordable housing have this valuable resource to call home for generations to come.”
 
BHA staff recently met with residents of the development as well as members of the surrounding Charlestown community before issuing the RFP.  Also prior to this issuance, BHA issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) in November, 2014 asking the non-profit and for-profit development community for ideas about how to preserve public housing units with decreased reliance on federal subsidy, which has been shrinking for many years.  There is a copy of the RFQ and more information on the BHA’s funding situation in our Five-Year Plan on the BHA’s website.
 
“The residents of the Bunker Hill public housing development are looking forward to working with the BHA and a future developer to improve and preserve our housing for the future,” said Betty Carrington, President of the Charlestown Tenant Task Force.  “We are excited to start working on designs with the community.”
 
BHA expects to have responses back from developers by late summer.  A selection committee comprised of residents of the Bunker Hill public housing development and BHA staff will review the proposals and select a developer.  BHA and the selected developer will hold a series of resident and community meetings, as well as design charrettes as part of an open, public, neighborhood planning process that is expected to begin this fall. 
 
It is the BHA’s intent to preserve its public housing portfolio and to protect existing residents.  The BHA expects to issue a handful of additional RFPs in the near future after completing a resident and community process for respective sites.  The BHA will solicit proposals which may offer opportunities to use a new construction approach or which involve both new construction and renovation. 
 
An informational only copy of the RFP without supporting documents as well as the full RFP with all supporting documents is available for download from the BHA’s website under News.  The RFP is also available in the public library in Charlestown at 179 Main Street.
Proposer submission copies of the RFP MUST be obtained directly from the BHA’s Procurement Department.  The RFP is available to proposers for free via e-mail request to bids@bostonhousing.org, or in hardcopy form for a $100 fee from the BHA Contract Unit at the 6th Floor, 52 Chauncy Street, Boston, MA  02111 starting June 17, 2015.  The RFP Package shall be mailed to prospective respondents upon request for an additional $15.00 fee. 
  
All proposals must be received by Friday August 14, 2015 at 2:00 pm at the Boston Housing Authority, Procurement Dept., 6th Floor, 52 Chauncy Street, Boston, MA 02111.  Interested developers may subscribe to the BHA’s electronic mailing list to receive future bid notices.