Real Estate Development Consultant

The City of Sarasota, Florida, is issuing Request for Proposals 26-17HR for Real Estate Development Consultant services to support the 1st Street Workforce Housing Project, designed to address a critical shortage of affordable and attainable workforce housing in downtown Sarasota. The consultant will provide comprehensive advisory services including strategic real estate development consultation, financial pro forma modeling and feasibility analysis, procurement guidance for developer solicitations, contract and agreement drafting support, stakeholder engagement and public presentations, funding source identification and negotiation, and project management and reporting. Qualified consultants must demonstrate expertise across ten core competency areas: real estate development consulting and financial modeling; legal and advisory capacity in real estate law; mixed-use development experience; contract drafting and negotiation; public and community engagement; engineering and construction standards; public contract and procurement experience specific to Florida statutes; affordable and attainable housing and density bonus expertise; financial oversight and risk management; and team leadership and project management. The project encompasses four properties totaling approximately 52,000 square feet in the Downtown Core zoning district, and the consultant will assist in refining the project vision, integrating evolving City and State housing policies, and facilitating the developer selection and contract execution process. Proposals must include three to five relevant past projects demonstrating comparable experience and are due by March 3, 2026, at 2:30 p.m., with questions accepted by February 20, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. and responses provided by February 25, 2026. Electronic submissions are required through the OpenGov Procurement portal, and the evaluation will occur in two phases, with Phase 1 assessing proposals across seven criteria: relevant project experience (5 points), key personnel and team structure (10 points), demonstrated core competencies (30 points), understanding of project objectives (15 points), project approach and technical methodology (25 points), pricing reasonableness (5 points), and local preference (10 points), with top-ranked consultants potentially invited to Phase 2 interviews.

The selected vendor will be prohibited from competing for the eventual development project, ensuring an unbiased advisory role. Local vendor preference is available to firms holding a valid City of Sarasota Business Tax Receipt for at least one year with a physical non-residential business address and full-time employees within the city, earning ten additional points, or to local county businesses meeting similar criteria, earning five additional points. All respondents must maintain an active registration with the State of Florida Division of Corporations and submit thirteen required forms and certifications, including Non-Collusive Affidavits, Public Entity Crime sworn statements, Drug-Free Workplace Certifications, Scrutinized Companies Certifications, and Foreign Countries of Concern affidavits. The procurement documents do not specify a total contract value or budget range; however, the contract term is two years with an optional one-year renewal, and the pricing proposal must include a fixed monthly retainer covering all ongoing project management, deliverables, and reporting activities, with an additional hourly rate schedule for services outside defined deliverables. Procurement inquiries should be directed to Helen Reed, Consulting Purchasing Professional, at helen.reed@sarasotafl.gov or (941) 263-6443.