Pittsburgh Technology Center Request for Proposals

The Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (URA) is seeking developers and/or development teams (the “Developer” or “Respondent”) to submit a proposal for the purchase and development of 0 2nd Avenue (11-S-44)  and 0 Technology Drive (29-B-315)  located in the Pittsburgh Technology Center (PTC). 

The two sites are a piece of a larger former brownfield site along the Monongahela River consisting of 48 acres of flat land. A total of $104 million was invested to remediate and convert this former LTV manufacturing facility into an attractively designed, high quality, open space environment with a campus-like feel. In furtherance of this work, the URA entered a Consent Order with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

PTC has close access to I-376. Transportation options convenient to the site include bus routes, university shuttle services and the Three Rivers Heritage Trail. Additionally, the Pittsburgh International Airport is approximately 21.3 miles from this site via 1-376 W. Recent transportation improvements include construction of an exit lane travelling westbound on I-376, widening of Second Avenue to accommodate an additional turning lane in both directions onto the Bates Street entrance to the highway, and additional travel lanes on lower Bates Street and the northern end of the Hot Metal/Monongahela Connecting Bridge.  

The site is a part of Pittsburgh Innovation District; the regions innovation epicenter and premier source of talent and research. The direct proximity and historic collaboration of Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh, Carlow University, and UPMC creates a dynamic ecosystem primed for development and investment opportunities. Academic and medical institutions are also investing in campus innovation assets.  This parcel is one of two remaining available properties on the PTC site. Current tenants at PTC includes Carnegie Mellon University – Entertainment Tech Center, University of Pittsburgh’s Bio-research offices, Hitachi, Hotel Indigo, De Fur Coffee and several other companies.  

Each proposal must include the following:  

1. Description of the proposed renovation and re-use of the site.  
2. Schematic drawings including site plan with elevations.
3. If applicable, Timetable assuming closing on or about June 1, 2024, without utilizing Low Income Housing Tax Credits (“LIHTC"), or July 1, 2024, with LIHTC.  
4. Preliminary development pro forma, including acquisition of 0 2nd Avenue at or above the appraised value. 
5. Financing plan and statement on ability to obtain loans, e.g., bank letter of interest, along with a statement representing availability of equity.   
6. Subsidy requested, if any.  There is no commitment by the URA to provide subsidy for this project and proposals must take this into consideration. The URA acknowledges that the provision of affordable housing may require public subsidy. Note: City Tax Abatement Programs and Housing Opportunity Fund (HOF) Programs are detailed in the exhibits (see `Exhibit H`). 

The Pittsburgh Technology Center is represented by the Pittsburgh Technology Center Association (PTCA). PTCA, is a nonprofit corporation that was formed to oversee and manage property and amenities within the PTC. Membership of the Association is comprised of eleven (11) voting members (one (1) director per development parcel and one (1) director from the URA. The Association meets twice per year in March and November.

The site is represented by City of Pittsburgh council districts 3 and 6. Please see the City of Pittsburgh Council District map to determine current council representatives. To see the map click here.

The site is in near proximity to the Oakland communities, Central Business District, and Pittsburgh's Innovation District https://innovatepgh.com/. Interested redevelopers are encouraged to understand the community and market context of the site and may consider discussing their concepts with relevant stakeholders and market experts as part of proposal development.

Each submission should include the following:  

1)     RFP Summary Sheet

This should include the firm’s name, main point of contact, and contact information. (see ‘Exhibit A’)  

2)     Table of Contents  

3)     Primary Qualification     

Provide a brief narrative that explains why your firm is well qualified to work on the project and biographies of key personnel.  

4)     Sources & Uses Budget

See ‘Exhibit B’  

5)     Firm or Company Profile

Provide a brief profile of your firm.  

6)     Experience

Briefly describe relevant experience. 
a.     List any projects with public entities similar to the URA that your firm is currently working on or has recently completed.
b.      Describe the scope and success of similar projects where your firm or company acquired, renovated, and re-used an existing structure, particularly the adaptive reuse of historic structures into mixed-income and residential uses.  

7)     Sustainability Narrative

Provide a sustainability narrative that addresses strategies to promote sustainability through the renovation of the building. (See ‘Exhibit G’)

8)     Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (“MWBE”) Requirements

The URA has a long history of diversity and inclusion within all of its programs and other activities. The URA encourages the full participation of minority and women business owners and professionals in this effort. The URA requires that all applicants demonstrate a good faith effort to obtain minority and women-owned business participation in work performed in connection with URA initiatives. The URA acknowledges and makes a good faith effort to adhere to the City’s goal of eighteen percent 18% minority and 7% women participation.    

An MWBE narrative needs to be included with the respondent’s proposal. See ‘Exhibit C’ for MWBE Narrative Requirement. MWBE participation can be satisfied by:

a.     Ownership/Partnership of respondent;
b.     Employment level of minorities and/or women in the respondent;
c.     Staffing of minorities and/or women on URA matters;
d.     Use of minority or women-owned businesses as vendors;
e.     Subcontracting with firms owned and controlled by minorities and/or women. If this is to be done, that fact, and the name of the proposed subcontracting firms, must be clearly identified in the proposal. Any questions about MWBE requirements should be directed to Jazmine Derico, Labor Compliance Manager, at (412) 255-6625 or jderico@ura.org.  

9)  Minority Workforce Inclusion (“MWI”) Requirements

The URA requires that all respondents demonstrate and document a good faith effort to meet or exceed the City’s 12% minority workforce inclusion goal for all URA projects with total project costs of $500,000 or more. As a matter of policy, all proposal packages submitted to the URA must include a MWI Narrative detailing how the respondent plans to meet the URA’s expressed MWI goal of 12%. If awarded the project, the respondent will be asked to submit a MWI plan evidencing that 12% of the labor hours are fulfilled by minority workers.   

A MWI narrative needs to be included with the respondent’s proposal. See ‘Exhibit E’ for MWI Narrative Requirement.  

10)  References

Provide three client references related to the applicable experience described in Section 6.6 above. Where possible, provide references from public entities similar to the URA.  Include the reference’s name, title, address, and direct telephone number.  

11) Other Information

Please provide any other information you believe is pertinent to the URA’s consideration of your firm.  

All responses should include the RFP Summary Page, which can be found at the end of this document (Exhibit “C”), as the cover page of the proposal package. Respondents should submit their proposal package using IonWave Technologies, the URA’s RFP response program. The proposal should be combined into one file in bookmarked PDF format. Do not send hard copies to the URA.  

The proposal submissions and questions concerning the content of this RFP must be submitted via IonWave Technologies only.  

ALL RESPONSES MUST BE SUBMITTED VIA IONWAVE TECHNOLOGIES BY THE RESPONSE DUE DATE AND TIME AS STATED IN THE RFP TIMELINE FOR CONSIDERATION. Any late responses or responses received outside of IonWave Technologies will not be reviewed.  

ALL RESPONDENT QUESTIONS WILL ONLY BE ACCEPTED AND ANSWERED THROUGH IONWAVE TECHNOLOGIES SUBMISSION, WHERE THE RESPONSE WILL BE MADE PUBLIC.  

The URA will not reimburse firms for any expenses incurred in preparing responses to this RFP. If you have any technical issues with using IonWave Technologies, please contact:

Ivy Coleman
412-255-6691
icoleman@ura.org

A.     Process: The selection of any responsive firm(s) will be made by the URA Board of Directors and its co-owners after receiving the recommendations of URA staff and/or any applicable review committee. Such selection will be based on the nature and quality of the responding firm’s responses to the Proposal Scope and Submission Requirements described above. The URA reserves the right to request that any respondent meet with URA staff and/or a review committee in a formal interview. Submissions must conform to the historic preservation requirements referenced in Section 7. The selected submission is subject to approval by Pittsburgh City Council as a property within the Inner Triangle Redevelopment Area.  

B.     Preferences: The URA, in recommending proposals to the URA Board of Directors, shall show preference toward proposals that include the following: local development partners, local MWBE partners, mixed income housing, and innovative strategies to attain housing affordability.  

C.     Conflicts of Interest: Responsive firms and their team members must have no conflicts of interest with regard to any other work performed by the respondent for the URA, the City of Pittsburgh, or any related entity.  

D.     RFP Compliance: All responsive firms must adhere to the instructions contained in this RFP in preparing the submitted proposal. 

E.     Waiver of Defects: The URA shall be the sole judge as to which respondent(s) best meet the selection criteria. The URA reserves the right to reject any or all proposals submitted. The URA reserves the right to reject any proposal for failure to comply with the requirements of this RFP. The URA further reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to waive any such defect(s) or failure(s). Submission of a response indicates acceptance by the firm of the conditions contained in this RFP.  

F.      Nondiscrimination: Each responsive firm agrees not to discriminate, whether in employment, contracting or otherwise, in violation of any federal, state, or local law and/or on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender expression.

URA Disposition Process – Should the URA Board of Directors select a respondent as a Developer, such Developer will be required to comply with the URA’s Disposition Process. As part of this process, the Developer must show that all funds needed for the fully realized project are available at the time of closing. In order to ensure that the site will be responsibly redeveloped, the URA will review the Opinion of Probable Cost and construction plans against the evidence of financing to determine if the information presented is reasonable and corresponds. The URA will not close on a property until all the terms of the disposition process are fulfilled. See Exhibit “D” for Disposition Process Overview.  

The selected development is subject to Pittsburgh City Council approval as a property within the Inner Triangle Redevelopment Area. 

The Developer must be willing to enter into a written Disposition Contract with the URA. The Disposition Contract is the binding document that details the Developer’s plan to design, finance, purchase, and construct the redevelopment project. Taxes, liability insurance, site security, historic preservation, and all aspects of owning and redeveloping the property shall be the full responsibility of the Developer at the time of sale, as specified in the Disposition Contract.  

The URA Board must approve any and all developers who purchase URA property. Upon URA Board approval, the Developer’s purchase of the property will occur after execution of a Disposition Contract, approval of the final construction documents and issuance of a building permit. The purchase of the property will occur simultaneously with the closing on the Developer’s construction financing. The URA reserves the right to select, reject, and/or make no selection through this RFP at its sole discretion.

A.     The URA shall have the right to verify the accuracy of all information submitted and to make such investigation as it deems necessary to determine the ability of each Applicant to perform the obligations in the response. The URA in its discretion reserves the right to reject any response when the available evidence or information does not satisfy the URA that the Applicant is qualified to carry out properly the obligations of the response.  

B.     The selected Applicant shall be given an opportunity to inspect the property. If the Applicant is selected and elects to proceed after exercising its due diligence, it shall acquire or take possession of the property in “AS-IS” CONDITION.  

C.     The sale of the property in no way guarantees or warrants grading permits, building permits, zoning variances or financial viability. The URA reserves the right to refuse to sell the property until an Applicant is able to obtain all necessary permits.  

D.     The selected Applicant will be required to demonstrate a good faith effort to incorporate environmentally sustainable features and practices into their development plan.  

E.     The URA reserves the right to accept an offer or proposal other than the highest offer and will determine awards at its sole discretion.  

F.      The URA shall be the sole judge as to which, if any, Applicant best meets the selection criteria. The URA reserves the right to reject any or all responses, to waive any submission requirements contained within this response, and to waive any irregularities in any submitted response.  

G.    This form is submitted subject to errors, omissions, and/or withdrawal without notice by the URA at any time.  

H.    All responses, including attachments, supplementary materials, addenda, etc. shall become the property of the URA and will not be returned.  

I.      Applicant and team members must disclose any conflict of interest with regards to any other work performed by the Applicant for the URA, the City of Pittsburgh, or any related entity.