RFP Housing Strategy 2026-27.pdf

Request for Proposals

Neighborhood Housing Strategy and Resident-Informed Action Plan

RFP2738 issued 10.13.26

The City of Winston-Salem, Office of Housing Development, seeks proposals from qualified organizations, and individuals, to develop a comprehensive Neighborhood Housing Strategy that places residents at the center of identifying housing challenges and creating neighborhood-specific solutions. Qualified firms, partnerships, corporations, associations, persons or professional organizations (collectively, “Respondents”) are invited to respond to this Request for Proposal (“RFP”) to develop a comprehensive Affordable Housing Strategy (“Plan”) for the City.

A preliminary Statement of Interest is requested by October 29, 2026 to receive addenda (if any). Please email Statement of Interest to Michael Blair at michaelbl@cityofws.org .

Questions pertaining to this RFP shall be submitted in writing no later than 4:00 P.M., November 2, 2026 by email to michaelbl@cityofws.org.

Responses to questions submitted within the specified time period will be answered by addendum, posted to the same website and distributed to all consultants who have submitted a Statement of Interest. Proposers are to include a copy of any issued addenda with their proposal.

This RFP is not a guarantee of an offer or award by the City to contract with any party responding to this RFP. The City reserves the right to reject any and all responses. The City also reserves the right to amend this RFP as necessary. All materials submitted to the City in response to this RFP will remain the property of the City. Respondents are solely responsible for all costs incurred in responding to this RFP including site investigation and due diligence.

Please submit your proposal as a single PDF file with subject line of “Proposal for Neighborhood Housing Strategy” to bids@cityofws.org

Submission deadline: NOVEMBER 10, 2026 at 4:00 P.M.

Proposals will not be accepted after the deadline.

mailto:michaelbl@cityofws.org mailto:michaelbl@cityofws.org mailto:bids@cityofws.org

ABOUT WINSTON SALEM

Centrally located in the Piedmont Triad of North Carolina, Winston-Salem is a “small town/big city” with roots in Moravian culture, and Southern industry. Created by the merger of the town of Salem, and the town of Winston, in 1913, we now have over 250,000 living and working here.

We are a part of Forsyth County, North Carolina, one of 100 counties.

Project Goals

The selected consultant shall develop a comprehensive strategy that expands affordable housing opportunities, stabilizes vulnerable neighborhoods, supports first-time homeownership, preserves existing affordable housing, promotes equitable development, creates pathways to household wealth creation, utilizes city-owned land strategically, and encourages resident-informed decision making. This approach should align with City priorities and deliver measurable, actionable outcomes.

SCOPE OF WORK

Phase 1 — Community Outreach and Engagement

The consultant will conduct a comprehensive engagement program that includes neighborhood workshops, community conversations, door hangers, focus groups, stakeholder interviews, online and paper surveys, and pop-up engagement events, and will advocate for a City Affordable Housing Bond in 2028. Target participation should include renters, homeowners, persons with disabilities, seniors, young adults, WSFCS School employees, neighborhood associations, faith communities, affordable housing residents, and developers and builders.

Required Outreach – hold a minimum of one public meeting in each of the 8 City Wards.

Phase 2 — Focused Housing Needs Assessment

This phase covers all of Winston Salem with an emphasis on East Winston, Boston Thurmond, Happy Hill, Waughtown, Alspaugh, Guthrie, Motor Road, Carver School, and surrounding areas. The assessment will evaluate housing affordability, housing availability, cost burden, homeownership rates, housing supply gaps through all income bands, neighborhood conditions, land availability (city and other vacant parcels), and development constraints.

Phase 3 — Neighborhood Housing Strategy

Develop recommendations in four focus areas:

• Homeownership: Community Land Trusts, infill housing, development assistance, shared equity models, and workforce housing.

• Rental Housing: Affordable rental production, preservation strategies, supportive housing, and mixed-income developments.

• Neighborhood Revitalization: Vacant city property reuse (types of development), small-scale development programs, infrastructure investments, and public-private partnerships.

• Wealth Building: Asset-building initiatives, minority developer support, small contractor opportunities, and housing entrepreneurship programs.

Phase 4 — Implementation Plan

Provide a five-year action plan, a funding strategy, identify priority projects, establish performance metrics, and create an annual reporting framework.

Deliverables

The project will yield a Resident Engagement Plan, Housing Needs Assessment by Neighborhood (street level preferred), Neighborhood Profiles and Maps, Draft Housing Strategy, Final Housing Strategy, Five-Year Implementation Plan, and a presentation to the Affordable Housing Coalition, the General Government Committee, and City Council.

Desired Outcome

The City seeks a practical, implementation-focused strategy that reflects resident priorities and provides actionable recommendations to increase affordable housing production, preserve existing affordable housing, create sustainable homeownership opportunities, support neighborhood stabilization, build generational wealth through housing, and strengthen Winston-Salem neighborhoods through resident-driven solutions.

PROJECT SCOPE, TASKS AND DELIVERABLES

The general Scope of Work will be to work with City staff and key stakeholders to develop a comprehensive Affordable Housing Strategy to be adopted by the City Council. The City is seeking an effective, efficient and creative approach to providing the deliverables below and meeting the City’s goals for this project.

Respondents to this RFP shall provide a proposed detailed work plan and schedule, and then a final work plan and schedule will be negotiated with the selected consultant team.

1. Internal Project Kick-Off Meeting

Consultant shall convene a kick-off meeting with City staff to confirm key responsibilities, scope of work, schedule and project goals. The team shall discuss a Community Engagement Strategy to ensure broad-based community input and support. The City shall provide the Consultant with relevant and available plans, studies and data sets pertinent to the project.

2. Identify Needs and Available Affordable Housing & Resources

Consultant shall:

a. inventory the City’s existing affordable housing programs, including but not limited to outstanding housing loans to residents and residential rental restriction agreements on low-income housing;

b. analyze and summarize the need for affordable housing and the role the City can play in helping to provide and increase opportunities for affordable housing;

c. summarize the status of existing policy, programs, capacity and context;

identify existing or planned available affordable housing; and provide an inventory of appropriate Best Practices/options for achieving the General Plan and Housing Element goal of preserving and expanding housing opportunities for households with very low to moderate incomes and for persons with special housing needs.

3. Community Engagement

a. Community Engagement Strategy: Consultant shall propose recommendations in the form of a memo to the City for the community engagement component of the Affordable Housing Strategy.

b. Community Workshop(s): Consultant shall facilitate Community or Elected/Appointed Official Workshops, in coordination with City staff and other engagement strategies to garner community input throughout the planning process as applicable. One workshop in each ward (8) is the required minimum.

4. Market Analysis

Consultant shall provide a summary of the market factors that influence or contribute to development and implementation of affordable housing strategies, i.e. the challenges, opportunities and constraints provided by the market in the provision of affordable housing within the City.

5. Draft Five Year Affordable Housing Strategy Plan

Consultant shall develop an implementation plan in coordination with City staff for the Affordable Housing Strategy to identify potential implementation steps and actions, timing and resources needed, to increase the supply and preserve affordable housing and ensure the goals of the Housing Element are advanced and the vision of the City is achieved. The Plan shall include an analysis of the financial and personnel resources required to implement the recommended strategies and actions and identify resources available to the City.

6. Final Housing Strategy

Consultant shall develop a Citywide Affordable Housing Strategy based upon the outcomes of the above. The strategy shall include, at a minimum, an analysis of Housing Element goals and policies and how the strategy fulfills these goals, an analysis of development affecting the City, projections of future affordable housing needs and recommended action steps needed to preserve and increase the supply of affordable housing.

7. Final Affordable Housing Strategy Presentation to Affordable Housing Coalition, General Government Committee and Council

Following City comments and revisions, Consultant shall prepare a Final Draft Affordable Housing Strategy for presentation to the Affordable Housing Coalition and City Council or other public body to be determined by the City.

COST

Please submit a proposed cost for the tasks. Include billable hours and reimbursables, detailing a breakdown of the proposed budget by task, employee classification, billing rate and estimated hours per task. The Consultant will be supported by the City Community and Office of Housing Development staff. The final budget and work plan will be negotiated with the selected consultant team.

PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

The maximum page count is 50 pages. Each proposal should include, at a minimum, the following items:

Transmittal Letter – Include contact information (physical address, telephone, email address) for the primary person responsible for your proposal who will be the point of contact for the City on all correspondence and communications pertaining to this RFP. State whether any addendums to this RFP have been received by your firm and whether consideration of their content has been included in your proposal.

Consultant’s Work Plan and Schedule – Provide a detailed discussion of your understanding of the nature of the work, project goals and final products especially as it pertains specifically to the City of Winston Salem. Explain in detail your proposed work plan, including all anticipated tasks, along with any supplemental tasks you deem necessary for successful completion of this project. Include a schedule for your 5-year work plan with milestones and proposed project completion date.

Statement of Experience and Qualifications – Present the qualifications and experience of the proposed key staff and any support staff proposed for the projects. Include descriptions of the projects undertaken by your proposed Project Manager(s) and team within the last five years that are similar in nature to this project, particularly those completed in communities similar to Winston Salem and with similar goals and deliverables. Provide three recent public agency references for your proposed Project Manager(s) include names, addresses and telephone numbers.

NOTE: Feel free to submit additional materials which you feel necessary to provide a complete profile of your company and proposal as it relates to this RFP.

SELECTION PROCESS AND REQUIREMENTS

The selection committee will consist of City staff, Affordable Housing Coalition members and interested residents. Proposals will be evaluated based upon the following criteria:

Proposed Detailed Work Plan and Schedule 20% Resident Engagement Approach 25% Affordable Housing Experience 25% Team Qualifications 15% Proposed Cost 15%

Contract/award will be made to the team that best matches City goals and reflects the understanding of the City, based on evaluation criteria outlined above as determined through both the proposal and interview. The selection committee will rank proposals and may invite up to 3 of the top-ranking consultant teams to an interview. The top team will be invited to negotiate a final Agreement, Cost and Work Plan with the City.

The successful consultant will be required to execute a Service Agreement with the City and meet the insurance requirements therein. Any requested deviations from these terms must be set forth in the proposal or the proposer shall be deemed to have accepted the terms of the Agreement. See attached City agreement.

PROPOSAL AND PROJECT TIMELINE

Statement of Interest Due October 29, 2026 Final Questions Due November 2, 2026 at 4 PM Proposals Due November 10, 2026 at 4 PM Short List Notification by December 1, 2026 Interviews (if any) To be determined Anticipated Award To be determined Start of Work February-March, 2027