EXT MOH | 685 Ellis General Contractor RFP

Solicitation No.

SFGOV-0000011656

Type / RFx

RFP

Status

Active

Level

city

Published Date

—

Due Date

April 22, 2026

NAICS Code

236220AI guide

Jurisdiction

City and County of San Francisco

State

California

Agency

City and County of San Francisco

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR GENERAL CONTRACTOR QUALIFICATIONS AND FEE 685 Ellis San Francisco, California ISSUE DATE: March 18, 2026 TITLE: 685 Ellis General Contractor Qualifications and Fee ISSUING ENTITY & ADDRESS: 685 Ellis Housing Partners, LP 1388 Sutter Street, 11th Floor San Francisco, CA 94109 dlusty@jsco.net LOCATION OF WORK: 685 Ellis St San Francisco, CA 94109 PERIOD OF CONTRACT: March 2026 through Project Completion All firms who plan to respond to this Request for Proposals (RFP) and want to receive updates and Q&A should register by sending an email with their firm name, contact name, and email address to Don Lusty at dlusty@jsco.net. Interested firms may submit questions in writing to the email above. Responses to questions will be provided to all registered firms. Please email PDF of complete proposal, along with Excel file of fee proposal to dlusty@jsco.net, no later than 5:00 PM PST on April 17, 2026. See Section V for details on submittal requirements. 685 Ellis Housing Partners, LP is not responsible for any expenses related to the preparation or presentation of responses to this RFQ. SUBMIT PROPOSALS TO: dlusty@jsco.net   REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR GENERAL CONTRACTOR QUALIFICATIONS AND FEE 685 Ellis San Francisco, California I. PROJECT DESCRIPTION 685 Ellis is a 78-unit single room occupancy building providing semi-congregate interim housing for people transitioning out of homelessness in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco. The John Stewart Company will rehabilitate this building to include 8 accessible units and convert it to permanent supportive housing. The 4,695 s.f. lot is located a short walk from Civic Center BART, a park, and a library. The seven-story reinforced masonry structure was built around 1927 and was previously used as a tourist hostel. This concrete and steel building’s historic value may affect treatment of the façade and interior space. The building requires structural, electrical, and plumbing upgrades, as well as a new elevator for accessibility. All residents will be permanently relocated prior to the start of construction. The rehabilitation will include a change of occupancy and substantial reconfiguration of building systems and interior layouts to include proposed program listed below. The final unit count is anticipated to be approximately 70 studio dwelling units, subject to accessibility requirements, and existing elevator will be replaced with new code compliant elevator requiring larger shaft. Based on a Physical Needs Assessment (2021) and available documentation, the building construction consists of: • Reinforced concrete structural frames at exterior walls • Wood-framed floor and roof systems • Non-load-bearing wood-framed interior partitions The architect of record is Dave Levine, working with the staff of John Stewart Company’s Construction Maintenance Services Division. The construction budget is projected at $21.5 million. II. PROJECT SCHEDULE The following project milestones are estimated as follows: • Conceptual/Schematic Design Complete: 6/15/2026 • Design Development Complete: 9/1/2026 • Construction Documents Complete: 1/15/2027 • Permit Submittal 6/1/2027 • Start of Bidding/ Negotiations: 7/15/2027 • Construction Start 10/1/2027 • Construction Completion (14 mos) 12/1/2028 The selected firm will be expected to begin work immediately upon selection in March 2026. Construction is expected to begin in October 2027. III. SERVICES BY SCOPE At the completion of this RFQ process, the Developer will conditionally select a General Contractor to provide preconstruction services and negotiate a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) contracts. General Contractor and Architect will be selected during the same timeline. Attachment A outlines the scope of Pre‐ Construction services that will be expected of the General Contractor. The Pre‐Construction services will be incorporated into the GMP contracts. If the Developer does not contract with the General Contractor(s) for the construction, the Developer will compensate the General Contractor(s) for the pre‐construction services provided on a Time and Material, Not to Exceed Basis. Otherwise, this fee shall be part of the General Contractor’s overall fee or its General Conditions. During pre‐construction the General Contractor will be required to attend team meetings and participate in conference calls to provide, at minimum, time and cost reduction alternatives as well as suggestions so the design team can incorporate feedback early in the design phase. It’s anticipated that the Developer will require the General Contractor to provide cost estimating and value engineering/constructability reviews at the following benchmarks: Cost Estimating and Constructability Reviews • Initial Fee Proposal and General Conditions (both subject to adjustment from scope and GMP negotiation) • 100% Schematics • 100% Design Development • 50% Construction Documents. • GMP A satisfactory review would include a review of plans and specifications and providing written comments. It will also identify potential risks or scopes requiring additional detail to prevent delays during construction. All estimates should include unit prices. The General Contractor will be responsible for managing a VE spreadsheet starting at SDs and managing it through construction which will be updated on a monthly or bi-weekly basis and reviewed by the project team during design meetings, and require owner and design team buy in. The Project team may decide to incorporate select trades (MEPS, others) on a Design Build basis, to be bid during Pre‐Construction. At the completion of the construction documents, the Contractor(s) will competitively bid the Project in compliance with the San Francisco Contract Monitoring Division of the City Administrator’s Office requirements. The form of construction contract for the construction will be the modified AIA 102‐2007 and modified AIA 201‐2007, to be provided by the architect. IV. HIRING & CONTRACTING GOALS This project is subject to local hire requirements, and has a subcontracting goal of 20% Local Business Enterprise (LBE) participation for construction services, and an overall project goal of 20% LBE -- 685 Ellis Housing Partners, LP will strive to meet or exceed these goals. LBEs must be certified with CMD. "Local Business Enterprise” (LBE) for this contract means a business that is certified as an LBE under this program. Only firms CMD certified as a San Francisco Micro and/or Small-LBE can be used to meet the 20% LBE subcontracting goal. Website links for finding Certified LBEs: For Local Business Enterprises (“City Program”): https://sfgov.org/cmd/lbe-certification The San Francisco Contract Monitoring Division (“CMD”) will confirm that a firm is certified as an LBE under the San Francisco LBE program. For questions about the LBE Program as it relates to this solicitation, contact James Chung at James.Chung@sfgov.org. CMD Forms Submitted with Proposal The following forms (located in Exhibit A) must be executed in full and submitted with the proposal package, or as otherwise specified; if not, the proposal may be rejected. For the purposes of use of the forms, Contractor and consultant are synonymous: • LBE Form 1A - Project Team Form: All proposers are required to complete this form and include the names of all subcontractors on their team at time of bid/proposal; including first tier LBEs, lower-tier LBEs, and non-LBEs and a description of the work they will perform, the services or supplies which will be provided by each and the dollar value of each LBE transaction. (Reminder: Suppliers will be credited no more than 60% of subcontract value toward meeting the LBE participation.) This completed form must be submitted with the proposal or the proposal may be rejected. • LBE Form 2 – LBE Subcontractor’s Declaration: All LBEs must complete this form and include their LBE certification to be eligible for rating bonuses, bid discounts, and be counted towards LBE credit. The Prime bidder is then responsible for collecting these forms and submitting them to CMD. V. SUBMITTAL Firms interested in this project must include in their proposal package the following items and any other relevant information that addresses the selection criteria outlined below. Packages should be prepared simply and economically, providing straightforward, concise descriptions, with an emphasis on completeness and clarity of content. 1. Cover letter. Briefly describe your qualifications to act as General Contractor, state why you are interested in working with the Developer on this construction opportunity, and how you are best suited to execute the construction. If the respondent is an affiliation of more than one General Contractor, the cover letter should clearly describe the respective roles of the parties included. 2. Experience Profiles. Experience of company (or companies) and staff assigned to the project in construction of projects of similar construction type, size, scope, funding sources and regulations. To be considered for this project, the firm must have completed, within the last five years, a minimum of 2 projects of similar construction type and scope to the proposed project with at least one located in San Francisco. Please do not profile more than 6 projects. (*If a Joint Venture please provide ‘Experience Profiles’ for each General Contractor‐JV partner). a. Project Profile: i. Similarities to Project ii. Current Contacts for Developer/Owner, Architect, Local Jurisdiction iii. Initial GMP, final GMP, general explanation for major Change Orders iv. Detailed demonstration meeting the Project’s DBE, LBE and/or LBE subcontracting goals, HUD Section 3, prevailing wage and first source local work force hiring goals. b. Company Profile i. Track record in completing projects within design, budgetary and schedule constraints ii. Financial stability and current capacity to complete project 3. Contractor’s Qualifications Statement (AIA Document A305). Fill out completely for each General Contractor proposed. For each project listed in AIA A305 Exhibit D, please also provide the names of key staff (principal, project manager, superintendent) assigned; names and phone numbers for representatives of Owner/Developer, and Architect (References); original contract amount, final contract amount and a brief explanation of the most significant change orders; any contracting goals or workforce hiring goals and actual accomplishments. At least three of the contacts listed as references above must be for projects worked on by the proposed project manager/cost estimator and superintendent. 4. Resumes of Key Staff Proposed. Provide resumes for the key staff proposed for the Project including, at a minimum, Pre‐Construction Lead Person, Project Manager and a Site Superintendent. Note that the personnel proposed are a key consideration for Developer and if selected, Contractor may risk being dropped from the team if they substitute key staff without prior approval from Developer. We ask that you specify staffing for both Pre‐Construction and construction. If selected to be interviewed, the Pre‐Construction Lead, Project Manager and Superintendent must attend. 5. List of current projects and schedule of projects through 2028. Please provide project name, location, type, owner, architect, key personnel, contract amount, and completion date. 6. LBE Certification of General Contractor, if applicable. If applicable, evidence that the respondent qualifies as an LBE pursuant to the requirements of Contracts Monitoring Division. 7. Proposed Fee and General Conditions. Provide a budget for the overhead, fee and profit, as well as insurance and bonding costs (preferably as a percentage of construction costs) for construction based on the description of the development and its schedule in this RFQ. Assume total hard costs of approximately $21.5 million (before contingencies). Please also include a proposed line-item general conditions budget with notes to explain the line items. Please provide a schedule of hourly rates for all personnel. 8. Proposed Pre-Construction Services Fee. Please provide your fee for providing the pre‐ construction services described in this RFQ. Please refer to Attachment A for the Contractor Pre‐ Construction Scope of Services. This fee would be the maximum reimbursement to your firm if your firm does not execute a GMP construction contract for this project. If the Developer and GC do enter into a GMP, then the pre‐construction services cost will be included in the GMP as part of the contractor’s fee. Please provide hourly rates for the relevant office staff and field labor. Note that exploratory and related repair work will be reimbursed on a Time and Materials basis. 9. Insurance. Proof that your company or companies can comply with the insurance requirements listed in Attachment C. 10. Bonding Capacity. Proof from your bonding company showing a bonding capability for 100% payment and performance bond for the construction. 11. Acknowledgement of Terms and Conditions of RFQ. Please also include: a. Statement that within the last five (5) years of business activities, the contractor(s) has had no record of unresolved complaints registered or filed with the Contractors State License Board of the California Department of Consumer Affairs. b. Indicate your willingness to sign a Proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) substantially in the proposed form included in Exhibit D. You may also submit other information that you feel will help the panel assess your qualifications, such as photos of completed projects, letters of recommendation, pre‐printed brochures, etc. VI. SUBMISSION INFORMATION AND SELECTION SCHEDULE March 23, 2026 RFP Available. March 31, 2026 at 5:00PM PST Deadline for submission of written questions (email questions to Don Lusty at dlusty@jsco.net). April 8, 2026 Answers to submitted questions available to all registered firms April 21, 2026 at 5:00PM PST Send in an email to dlusty@jsco.net: a. PDF copy of entire proposal b. Fee Proposal in Excel May 12, 2026 Short listed contractors notified/interviews scheduled June 2, 2026 Team is selected and notified VII. EVALUATION OF QUALIFICATIONS Contractor qualification packages and proposals will be evaluated by a selection panel. Contractor selection will be conducted through a two‐round process: (1) the Evaluation of the Response to the RFQ, and (2) Interview of shortlisted firms. General Contractors will be notified of the results at the end of the initial round. The Developer will require selected General Contractor(s) to commence pre‐construction services soon after selection. Proposals will be evaluated by the panel using the criteria listed below. 1) Experience: Applicable Construction Experience and Skills, Experience in San Francisco, Track Record of Constructing on Budget and Schedule, Track Record of Obtaining Timely Approvals from City Inspectors. Familiarity with the permits and approvals process in the City of San Francisco. Experience working with the Contract Monitoring Division, Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure (“OCII”), Office of Economic and Workforce Development (“OEWD”), Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (“OLSE”) and MOHCD. Experience with San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (“HSH”) and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit financed developments will also be evaluated as part of this criterion. Max 50 pts. 2) Capacity: Proven Financial Stability of Firm/Team, and Strength, Experience and Capacity of the Project Team Staffing to Provide Construction Services described in this RFQ. Max 15 pts. 3) Local Hire and Business Programs: Experience in meeting or exceeding goals for hiring of local residents and/or economically disadvantaged residents in the construction. Experience in meeting or exceeding goals for engaging DBE, Local, Small and/or other disadvantaged businesses, as applicable. Experience meeting/exceeding and tracking the City of San Francisco’s local business and workforce participation goals and Prevailing Wage requirements. Max 10 pts. 4) Fee Proposal: Appropriate and reasonable budget for General Conditions/General Requirements, Overhead & Profit, and General Contractor’s Pre-Construction Scope of Services. Provide proposed General Contractor Contingency as % of construction cost. Max 20 pts. 5) Demonstrated commitment to excellence: Max 5 pts. Ratings Bonus - The following rating bonus will be in effect for the award of this project for LBE prime proposers and joint ventures with LBE prime participation where the joint venture partners are in the same discipline and have the specific levels of participation as identified below. The rating bonus applies at each phase of the selection process. The application of the rating bonus is as follows: • LBE Prime – A Rating or scoring Bonus of ten percent (10%) will be added to the total proposal score and the total interview score (for firms selected for an interview). • Joint Ventures/Association – A Rating or scoring Bonus will be added to the total proposal score and the total interview score (for firms selected for an interview) in the following breakdown: (1) [JC1.1]ten percent (10%) to a Joint Venture/Association entirely made up of LBE partners; (2) seven and one-half percent (7.5%) to a Joint Venture/Association with LBE partner(s). To be eligible for the 7.5% rating bonus, the LBE partner(s) must perform at least 40% of the work proposed by the Joint Venture/Association. The Ratings Bonus shall apply to each stage of the selection process, including proposals and interviews. Joint Venture Bid/ratings bonus will be added to the score only to a Joint Venture (1) that meets the requirements contained in this RFP and (2) when the LBE is an active partner in the Joint Venture, performs work, manages the job, takes financial risks in proportion to the required level of participation stated in the bid documents, is responsible for a clearly defined portion of the work to be performed, and shares proportionately in the Ownership, Control, management responsibilities, risks, and profits of the Joint Venture. The portion of the LBE Joint Venture's work shall be set forth in detail separately from the work to be performed by the non-LBE Joint Venture partner. The LBE Joint Venture's portion of the Contract must be assigned a commercially reasonable dollar value. • A prime contractor/consultant that is not certified as an LBE that proposes to subcontract to a firm that is certified as an LBE but not as a joint venture will not be awarded a ratings bonus. Maximum Score 100 Points (before consideration for Ratings Bonus) The firms selected for the interview stage will be evaluated according to the criteria above and additional criteria that may be published when firms are notified of the interview. VIII. SELECTION PROCESS 685 Ellis Housing Partners, LP will evaluate the applicants according to the identified criteria. 685 Ellis Housing Partners, LP reserves the right to interview a short‐list of respondents and request fee proposals from said short-list. The selected contractors will be announced after careful consideration and City verification. 685 Ellis Housing Partners, LP will initiate negotiations with the highest-ranking firms. Final negotiations will be contingent on fee negotiations, as well as on qualifications. 685 Ellis Housing Partners, LP reserves the right to cease negotiations with a selected consultant if, in the sole discretion of 685 Ellis Housing Partners, LP, no agreement can be reached to the satisfaction of the parties, or if the services are no longer required. IX. GROUNDS FOR REJECTION 685 Ellis Housing Partners, LP reserves the right to reject any firm for one or more of the following reasons: 1) Submission does not contain all information requested in the RFP. 2) Submission not received by the required the deadline. 3) Firm does not possess the required minimum qualifications. 4) Firm is suspended or disqualified from projects funded by HUD, HCD or MOHCD. X. TERMS & CONDITIONS In submitting a response to this RFP, applicant acknowledges that: 1) Applicant has read and understands all terms and conditions set forth in this RFP, including attachments to the RFP. 2) The applicant shall maintain insurance in accordance with the requirements set forth in Section VII. 3) 685 Ellis Housing Partners, LP reserves the right to revise any terms and/or conditions set forth in this RFP and/or add any terms and/or conditions beyond those set forth in the RFP. 4) The progress of this project is subject to further feasibility analysis. As such, 685 Ellis Housing Partners, LP reserves the right to terminate this contract or place the project on hold indefinitely. 5) 685 Ellis Housing Partners, LP reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to alter the scope of work for the selected contractors. 6) This Request for Qualifications does not commit the 685 Ellis Housing Partners, LP to enter into a Contract for the Project. 7) The selected Contractor must conduct good faith efforts in selecting sub‐contractors. In the event the selected Contractor fails to satisfy the goals, the 685 Ellis Housing Partners, LP, under the direction of the MOHCD and CMD, reserves the right to negotiate with another short‐listed Contractor. Please contact Don Lusty at dlusty@jsco.net with any questions. Proposals must be received by email by 5:00 PM on February 23, 2026. Qualification responses received after 5:00 PM will be disqualified. Exhibits A. LBE Forms 1A and 2 B. Insurance Requirements C. General Contractor Pre-Construction Scope of Services D. Memorandum of Understanding E. MOHCD LBE Program Guide . . .

1. April 22, 2026Responses Due