Design Build for 1st & 11th and Westmoreland Projects

The City of Tucson is requesting qualifications through a two-step process from experienced design-build general contractors with expertise in affordable housing and mixed-income projects to serve as design-builder with the El Pueblo Housing Development (EPHD), the City’s nonprofit affordable housing subsidiary.

This RFQ includes two projects: "1st & 11th" and "Westmoreland" lots. The solicited design-build contractor may bid on one or both projects, if both anticipate a 4-to-6-month lag-time in starting between the two projects.

The selected design-build general contractor will partner and work with the City, the Owner’s Representative and community members to develop, design and build, mixed-income, single-family homes.  Respondents must demonstrate the capacity and track record to deliver a turn-key affordable housing project on time, on budget and have experience in projects involving Community Engagement.

Project Details

• Reference ID: 260179
• Department: Housing and Community Development
• Department Head: Liz Morales (Director)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-04-30T21:00:00.000Z
• Pre-Proposal Meeting: 2026-04-30T17:00:00.000Z — Microsoft Teams

Evaluation Criteria

• Qualifications and Experience (50 pts) —

  The DBGC will be required to show qualifications covering all aspects for a turnkey design-build project. The DBGC will be responsible for, but not limited to, Architecture, Engineering, and Other Services. The selected Proposer must procure consultants and/or contractors and coordinate all tasks necessary for a full architectural design, development and build-out of the site, ensuring seamless integration, efficient project delivery, and adherence to the Owner’s Team budget, schedule, and quality objectives from project inception through final turnover.

  • Affordable Housing Experience – Number, type, and scale of completed projects using local, state or federal funding.
  • Experience/knowledge of local regulations and procedures.
  • Complex Project Delivery – Experience with mixed-income/mixed-use, residential construction.
  • Team Strength – Experience of key staff: development / design team, construction team, self-performance trades, subcontractor partners.
  • Community/Stakeholder Engagement – Experience with supporting community engagement efforts in regard to housing developments.
  • Design & Innovation – Demonstration of projects including sustainability and resilience features, such as energy efficiency, green stormwater infrastructure, or green building certification (LEED, NGBS).
• Project Management (30 pts) —
  • GC Procurement Strategy – Design-build team structure.
  • Construction Oversight – Quality control plan, schedule management, change- order control.
  • Owner Coordination – Communication   plan, reporting schedule, and transparency mechanisms.
  • Method of Approach – Project understanding and detailed method of approach to deliver the project in alignment with the City’s project vision and goals.
• References & Past Performance (15 pts) —
  • Reference Checks – Feedback from past development partners, lenders, investors, clients/owners.
  • Project Outcomes – ability to stay within budget, accurate cost-estimations, meeting schedule deadlines and mitigation of unforeseen design issues.  Completion of close-out documentation and compliance with all departments and stakeholders and any litigation history related to past projects.
• Subcontractor Selection Plan (5 pts) —
  • Submit a proposed Subcontractor Selection Plan pursuant to ARS 34-603.  The plan must describe procedures to be used in selecting subcontractors, and selection shall be based on a combination of qualifications and price.
  • The resultant contract is subject to the City of Tucson's SBE requirements.  The plan must describe how the Offeror intends to ensure that established goals will be met.  In addition, the plan should include the firms prompt payment plan/policy.

Submission Requirements

• Forms to be Filled Out —

  Please ensure that all required information is included with your response.

  1. Cover Letter
  2. Technical Proposal
  3. Offer Page
• Cover Letter (required) —

  Please upload your cover letter.

• Technical Proposal (required) —

  Please upload your response to the Evaluation Criteria.

• Offer and Acceptance Form (required) —

  Please upload your signed Offer and Acceptance form.

• Does your response to this solicitation include a request to keep any portion confidential and withhold it from the public record? (required) —

  Please note: The City of Tucson is a public agency subject to public records laws. Therefore, all requests to withhold information from the public record must be accompanied by justification. Pricing will not be held confidential.

• Confidential Information (required) —

  If you answered yes, then you must use this field to identify the sections of your submittal that you are requesting be withheld from public record. 

  If sections are not identified as confidential in this field, your request to hold information confidential may not be accepted.

  Please note: The City of Tucson is a public agency subject to public records laws. Therefore, all requests to withhold information from the public record must be accompanied by justification. Pricing will not be held confidential.

• Is your firm submitting any exceptions for the City's consideration?  (required) —

  In accordance with Instructions to Offerors - Exceptions to Contract Provisions, any exceptions that an offeror wishes to submit for the City's consideration must be indicated here in order to be considered.

• Define the exceptions you are requesting. —

  In accordance with Instructions to Offerors - Exceptions to Contract Provisions, any exceptions that an offeror wishes to submit for the City's consideration must be indicated here in order to be considered.

• Does your firm have a City of Tucson Business License?
• Please upload a copy of your business license.
• Publication Dates (required) —

  What are the two publication dates for "The Daily Territorial" for this project:

  Use the following format: Wednesday, June 25, 2022 and Wednesday, July 7, 2022

• Type of Process (required) —

  Please select the type of process for this solicitation.

• Federally Funded Projects (required) —

  Is this project federally funded?

  If yes, remember to attach DBE Applicable Forms

• Pre-Submittal Conference (required) —

  Will a pre-submittal conference be held for this project?

• Entire Project Estimate (required) —

  What is the entire project estimated cost?

  Use the following format:
  six-hundred thousand dollars ($600,000)

• Insurance (required) —

  Please select the additional insurance coverages required for this project. Please select all that apply.

• Attachments (required) —

  Do you have any attachments other than the SBE Provisions?

• Security Requirement (required) —

  Is this project for the Water Department?

• Offer and Acceptance (required) —

  Do you need an Offer & Acceptance Form? Default should be yes.

• Special Terms and Conditions (required) —

  Please select the required language that should be included under Special Terms and Conditions for this project. Please select all that apply.