2023 Redevelopment RFQ/RFP

The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas, City KS (UG) has not set a cap on the number of applicants. Approximately 90 interested parties have expressed interest in the sites.

Mayor/CEO Garner has requested that a grocery store be the preferred development at the 18^th and Quindaro site location. Northeast KCK residents expressed desire for a grocery store in their Northeast Area Plan to address food insecurity and public health. Multiple groups are pursuing the development of a grocery store or food co-op concept in the area.  It is anticipated that development decisions for all sites will be community-driven, and the RFP for this location will require a grocery store of some kind that is on or proximate to this location. This process should be viewed as an opportunity to align all efforts in Northeast KCK to develop a grocery store – supportable by market data.

This process should be viewed as an opportunity to align this and all other efforts in the Northeast area to develop a grocery store.

The UG encourages meaningful and comprehensive engagement with residents, relevant Neighborhood Revitalizations Groups (NBRs), and other stakeholder groups. Specific community engagement requirements have not yet been determined but will be included in the RFP application. It is anticipated that this will be a collaborative, community-driven and defined project scope.

The UG hired a consultant, Development Strategies, to assist with the RFQ process. The consultant will perform market analyses for each of the three sites to evaluate previous and existing development and potential development scenarios and impacts.  This analysis will evaluate market trends to understand the potential scale, scope and character of viable development along with the potential to supply unmet demand from different consumer groups, residents and employers.  

The County Administrative Officer (CAO) has established a Selection Committee of UG Staff to review, interview, if need be, and select qualified Lead Developers and Sub-Contractors/Sub-Contractor teams for the RFQ and qualified teams for each site-specific RFP.  

No, the UG does not have an official Transit Oriented Development (TOD) policy other than the multiple area and corridor plans that encourage TOD; however, through our recently adopted goDotte Countywide Mobility Strategy, the UG is working to align land use with transportation and recommends that potential applicants review this strategy, as well as any other relevant long-range plans. It is anticipated that future development must comply with the UG’s design guidelines, which includes TOD best practices.

There will be two concurrent RFQ processes.  The Lead Developer RFQ process will review and select qualified developers who will lead the redevelopment of the three (3) sites.  The Sub-Contractor/Sub-Contractor teams RFQ process will review and select qualified Sub-Contractors who will be available to support the Lead Developer in various aspects of the development process.  Upon conclusion of the two RFQ processes, the chosen Sub-Contractor shortlist will be made available to the developers permitted to submit proposals during the subsequent RFP for the three (3) sites.  These RFP proposal evaluation processes will be scored in such a way to give additional weight to those Lead Developers that include pre-qualified Sub-Contractors on the project team.

Upon each development team’s request, a development agreement may be pursued to leverage existing, appropriate incentives available from the UG. Additionally, the UG is seeking local/state/federal grants that may align with and benefit all three sites.

As an example, the UG is a partner in a multi-million bi-state corridor planning effort along State Avenue that could result in significant transit and other infrastructure improvements at both the Downtown KCK and Indian Springs Mall sites.

Additional information regarding available UG incentive programs can be found at: https://www.wycokck.org/Departments/Economic-Development/Incentives

The Lead Developer and Sub-Contractor RFQs that were released at 12pm on March 23, 2023, and again on August 17, 2023, can be accessed here.

The UG does not currently have an existing DBE program, but encourages DBE participation. An example of equitable development scorecards can be found in the Northeast KCK Heritage Trail Plan.

The RFQ/RFP process seeks to develop catalytic demonstration projects that follow all existing codes and ordinances, meet industry best practices, and redefine community development in Wyandotte County. Brownfield grants are a potential funding mechanism for any site that needs environmental assessment and remediation.

Details regarding qualifications will be provided upon the release of the RFQ.

Specified development uses for these sites, if applicable, are guided primarily by community feedback codified in long range plans. Currently, the only sites available through this RFQ/RFP process are the three sites listed above.

Historically, this intersection has been single-family residential with neighborhoods-serving commercial business on Quindaro Boulevard. Land Bank parcels are added either through donation or if a property is not sold at a tax sale.

Submitted applications will become publicly available following the selection process, upon request. 

The RFQ/RFP process will address the need to be intentional about preventing and/or mitigating any negative displacement impacts on existing residents or businesses.

As the spirit of this initiative is to be a community-driven development process, the RFQ/RFP process will include a public engagement scope of work for all three redevelopment sites.

Details regarding grading and selection criteria will be provided upon the release of the Lead Developer RFQ and the Sub Consultant RFQ, respectively.  Additional details regarding the evaluation criteria for the three site-specific RFPs will be included upon their release. The CAO will establish a Selection Committee of UG Staff to review, interview, if need be, and select qualified developers for the Lead Developer RFQ and qualified consultants for the Sub-Contractor RFQ.  Subsequent to the RFQ processes, a Selection Committee will commerce to select qualified teams for each site-specific RFP.

The UG hired a consultant, Development Strategies, to assist with the RFQ process. The consultant will perform market analyses for each of the three sites to evaluate previous and existing development and potential development scenarios and impacts. This analysis will evaluate market trends to understand the potential scale, scope, and character of viable development, along with the potential to supply unmet demand from different consumer groups, residents and employers. The UG will work with its consultant to include various incentives, ongoing projects, and other relevant materials to support the successful development of each site. This information will be available at the RFP phase of the process. 

The UG encourages all teams to think creatively about the urban design and neighborhood character of each site. Ecological restoration is supported at all sites. 

While some environmental due diligence has been completed in the past, those studies will have expired by the time any of the proposed projects are to commence. The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas recommends that each team be prepared to complete all necessary environmental studies and other required due diligence, including possible remediation to produce a successful redevelopment. The Bi-State Brownfields program may offer resources and/or potential brownfield loans or grants for Phase I/II Environmental Site Assssments (ESAs).

If a Lead Developer or Sub-Contractor is interested in more than one of the proposed projects, they may submit up to three examples of projects relevant to the type of development proposed for each of the three sites.  In total, a maximum of nine project examples may be submitted, assuming that the applicant is submitting qualifications for all three projects. 

If, however, the respondent wishes to use the same example of prior work for more than one of the proposed redevelopment sites, that is allowable.  In this instance, the respondent shall include this one example of prior work for each of the relevant redevelopment sites that detail their qualifications. 

Only the Indian Springs Mall site is contemplated as potentially housing some UG offices in the future. At this time, it is unknown how many employees could be relocated or what their overall square footage needs would entail. We ask that the respondent(s) only describe their overall vision for one or all of the three different project sites.

Over the past 15 years the UG has published documents relating to the potential for redevelopment of each of the three UG owned sites. Links to each of these documents can be found in the Introductory section of the Lead Developer RFQ.