Active SLED Opportunity · CONNECTICUT · TOWN OF MANCHESTER
AI Summary
The Town of Manchester seeks proposals from qualified real estate developers to purchase and redevelop a historic mixed-use building at 901/903 Main Street, aiming to enhance downtown economic activity and cultural offerings. Proposals are due by June 1, 2026.
The Town of Manchester is requesting proposals from experienced real estate owners and/or developers interested in purchasing an iconic historic building in the center of Downtown Manchester. The Town seeks to select one proposal from a qualified entity or team in keeping with the preferred goals, objectives and uses outlined in this document.
Manchester is a forward-thinking community of nearly 60,0000 residents and the commercial, entertainment and residential hub of the east-of-the-river Greater Hartford region. This Request for Proposals outlines important information regarding the site, the context for this project, the qualification documentation and other information to be submitted.
The building is a 2 ½ story, 5,000 sq-ft building on a 0.18 acre parcel. The property is currently home to WORK_SPACE, a Town-owned-and-operated co-working and meeting space with multiple public art galleries and numerous private offices. The building does not have its own dedicated parking lot but ample public parking is available nearby. The site is zoned Central Business District (CBD), a mixed-use district that allows a wide variety of residential and commercial uses.
The Town envisions a use or uses that will continue to drive foot traffic and economic activity to Downtown Manchester and ideally, provides for the continuation of the Town's gallery operation and cultural offerings into the near future.
Manchester’s Downtown is in the midst of a positive transformation, fueled by tens of millions of dollars in public and private funds over the past five years. While key incremental improvements have come steadily during that time, the Town’s efforts are about to be turbo-charged with a $50 million, 75,000 sf public library project soon to be completed. Additionally, a $40 million private mixed-use development has recently been proposed directly across Main Street. Investments of this scale have not been seen in over 100 years in Downtown Manchester.
Downtown is an authentic mixed-use district, the great majority of which was constructed in the late 1890’s and early 1900’s. Existing buildings occupy all or most of the lot area on which they stand and represent a well-preserved collection of Victorian era commercial architecture including Classical Revival, Romanesque, and Queen Anne Revival styles. Main Street runs north and south from I-384 to Routes 6 and 44.
Downtown has endured several shifts in retail activity to other areas of town, first to the Broad Street area with the development of the Manchester Parkade shopping center in the 1960's. The opening of the Buckland Hills Mall in 1989 began the rapid development of the Buckland Hills area into a superregional shopping, entertainment and residential destination. Despite these shifts, Downtown’s access to Interstate 384 and State Routes 6 and 44, its historic significance, unique architecture, central location and flexible zoning regulations have allowed it to continue to remain a viable center of activity in the community. Recent interest in supporting local businesses, downtown living, walkability and vibrant quality of life have burgeoned Downtown as a true, center of commerce, culture, and community.
Today, Downtown includes restaurants, specialty retail shops, and financial and personal service offices. Newer businesses including Silk City Coffee, Urban Lodge Brewing, and the Firestone Art Studio and Café, which have opened in recent years and along with older, established businesses, draw customers both locally and from the surrounding region. Downtown sits between two of Manchester’s historic neighborhoods and is served directly by I-384 Exit 4. The district also benefits from CT Transit bus service and currently has over 800 public parking spaces. In 2024 the Downtown area was officially designated by the State of Connecticut as a Cultural District. Additionally, the Town’s planned $20 million dollar streetscape improvement project will result in pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure improvements, additional outdoor dining opportunities and public spaces and amenities in the coming years. More information is available here: https://yourvoicemattersmanchesterct.com/downtown-manchester-improvements-project
The building has served as home to the Town-operated WORK_SPACE for over a decade. Envisioned as a coworking, meeeting and entrepreneurial center, the space has evolved to include a vibrant art component, centered around the gallery. The small office spaces are nearly all occupied by small businesses or nonprofits and the building hosts hundreds of visitors each month. The Town desires to sell the property and ideally, lease back all, or a portion of the first floor in order to maintain its status as an arts and clulture hub.
Please confirm that you have read and agreed with the entire RFP and related attachments (if any) including
Provide a description and brief history of the firm. Name of firm, location of principal and branch offices; length of time in business; and firm ownership structure.
Please provide a list of all projects currently in progress and completed over the last five years. The description should at a minimum provide the project name, location, year of completion, type of contract, renovation cost, size, owner name and reference with telephone number.
Provide an organization chart for staff proposed for this project which clearly identifies your proposed management staff for the project (Project Executive, Project Manager, Project Superintendent, etc.). Also include detailed resumes for each person identified.
Provide description of services your firm will utilize during each phase of the project to ensure the project is completed on schedule and within budget.
List information on (a) any involvement in litigation or arbitration with municipal clients; and (b) all clients that have terminated your services prior to completion of any project within the past ten (10) years. Explain circumstances that led to it and describe the resolution.
Please Upload your COMPLETE Proposal here, which includes the following:
Please Upload your COMPLETE Proposal here. Upload fee proposal separately in the next step.
Confirm that your fee proposal is not attached in your Proposal and is attached separately here.
Each bid shall be accompanied by a certified cashier’s check, or bid bond, in the amount of not less than 5%of the total bid price, payable toTown of Manchester, as a guarantee that the bidder, if its bid is accepted, will promptly execute the Agreement. The bidder shall guarantee the total bid price for a period of 60 days from the date of the bid opening.
Please scan and upload a copy of your bid bond/cashier's check. Bidder must also MAIL bid guarantee with a postmarked date no later thanMonday, June 1, 2026 addressed to:
Town of Manchester
Cora Narracci
494 Main Street
Manchester,CT06040
Please have the Bidder Name, Contract Title ("BUILDING SALE OF 901/903 MAIN STREET"), and Contract Number ("25/26-51") listed clearly on the outside of the envelope.
The contract shall be executed by the successful bidder and shall be returned, together with the Payment Bond, Performance Bond and Certificate(s) of Insurance to Town of Manchester so that it is received within 14 working daysafter the bidder has received the contract for execution. Failure to do so shall be just cause for forfeiture of the proposal guaranty.
This bid and any addenda will be issued on the Town of Manchester website bidding portal. It shall be the responsibility of the bidder to download this information. THE TOWN OF MANCHESTER WILL NOT MAIL A SEPARATE HARD COPY OF ADDENDUM TO BIDDERS. Failure of any bidder to receive any such addendum or interpretation shall not relieve such bidder from any obligation under his bid as submitted. All addenda so issued shall become part of the Contract Documents.
Please download the document below, complete, sign and upload.
In order to collect your official tax identity, a current Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification, is required before engaging in any business with the Town of Manchester.
Please ensure that you have completed all necessary fields on the form, specifically Part I, Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) and Part II, Certification.
Payments to the vendor may be delayed if Form W-9 is not received.
Please download Form W-9 from the IRS website or use the fillable form below.
Complete, sign and include it with your submission.
Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9 https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/iw9.pdf
Form W-9 https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf
Complete, sign and upload.
Please provide your Company Name
Your Company Address
Main Contact Name and Title
Telephone Number
Email Address
Vendors who provide software and/or software support to the Town of Manchester must agree to the following requirements.
Access to any Town of Manchester or related network is for the purposes of supporting this agreement. Any unauthorized use of that access will prompt immediate revocation of access rights and necessitate the use of other means for fulfillment of services in this agreement.
Unauthorized access to Town of Manchester systems or data is prohibited.
Data accessible due to access given for purposes of fulfillment of this agreement shall not be removed from devices controlled by the Town of Manchester. This includes data stored on premises in Town of Manchester data centers as well as data stored in cloud instances controlled by the Town of Manchester.
Vendor will hold confidential information in strict confidence and will access information only for the explicit business purposes outlined this Agreement.
Disclosure of account information, including usernames, passwords, email addresses, domain names, or mechanisms used for authentication is prohibited.
Directly or indirectly causing the inclusion of any false, inaccurate, or misleading entries into any records or reports is prohibited.
Vendor will return or securely destroy all confidential information upon expiration or termination of this Agreement.
Vendor will notify the Town of Manchester immediately upon the termination of any individual involved in providing Services so that account access, passwords, remote diagnostic access, or other forms of access can be revoked.
At the request of the Town of Manchester, Vendor agrees to provide the Town of Manchester with a written summary of the procedures Vendor uses to safeguard and maintain the confidentiality of Town of Manchester Records.
Vendor will notify the primary contact on this agreement directly within one (1) business day upon the discovery of a security incident impacting, or potentially impacting, the data or services provided to the Town of Manchester by Vendor.
Vendor will provide contact information for a primary information security contact within their organization that the Town of Manchester may contact regarding security concerns or issue
Vendor must comply with information security compliance regulations that would apply to a) the types of data that the Town of Manchester would reasonably store in the systems provided in this Agreement and b) the types of services they would be responsible for under this Agreement
Please provide a brief description of the project in one or two paragraphs.
Enter the name of your department.
Please provide the minimum requirements vendor must meet for this project.
Example:
Legal status in the State of Connecticut
2. Out of State corporations, sole proprietorships and partnerships MUST have a fully staffed operation office located in the State of Connecticut and shall include their current “Certificate of Legal Existence in the State of Connecticut”, as well as a “Certificate of Good Standing” from their home state.
4. Minimum of 3 years experience
etc.
Is it applicable to provide a brief itemized list of Services Required?
Please itemize a list of services required:
Example:
1. Monitor and report status of budget, schedule and logs. Report to the Town at least monthly. Attend site and Project meetings, and regular and special meetings of the Building Committee, as requested.
2. Maintain full-time supervision on site.
3. Coordinate all activities on site.
4. Review shop drawings and submittals prior to architectural review.
5. Initiate all contracts, change orders and purchase orders.
6. Monitor all job-site safety and report deficiencies to trade contractors and Building Committee.
7. Coordinate all closeouts and commissioning activities.
8. Comply with applicable CHRO requirements.
9. Monitor and comply with applicable prevailing wage requirements.
Will the total contract value be $25,000 or more in one fiscal year?
Will this solicitation require a bid bond?
Will there be an evaluation committee to review the proposals and score them based on weights and multiple criteria?
Required for State Funded Projects over $50,000
Required for recipients of ARPA funds
SLED stands for State, Local, and Education. These are solicitations issued by state governments, counties, cities, school districts, utilities, and higher education institutions — as opposed to federal agencies.
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