Request for Proposal for Affordable Housing Development Opportunity - 710 Hamilton Street, Redwood City

Agency:	County of San Mateo
State:	California
Type of Government:	State & Local
NAICS Category:	531110 - Lessors of Residential Buildings and Dwellings 541611 - Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
Posted Date:	Sep 3, 2026
Due Date:	Nov 6, 2026
Original Source:	Please Login to View Page
Contact information:	Please Login to View Page
Bid Documents:	Please Login to View Page

Description

Department of Housing

Request for Proposals for Affordable Housing Development Opportunity - 710 Hamilton Street, Redwood City, CA

Location: 710 Hamilton Street, Redwood City, CA

The Department of Housing is pleased to announce the opportunity for qualified developers to collaborate with the County of San Mateo on a new affordable housing development. A Request for Proposals (RFP) has been issued to select a developer to build and manage affordable housing on a county-owned property located at 710 Hamilton Street, Redwood City, CA.

Project Highlights:

Property Size and Location: Approximately 20,000 square feet, within a civic and commercial area in Downtown Redwood City.

Developmental Objectives:

A minimum of 70 housing units with a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom (optional) units informed by demand and feasibility, with a preference for County employees, and other public employees within the county.
Integration of green building standards and energy-efficient systems.

RFP Timeline for Participants

RFP Issue Date: September 3, 2026
Virtual Pre-Submission Conference: September 17, 2026, at 10:00am
Deadline for Questions: September 25, 2026
Proposal Submission Deadline: 4:00pm on November 6, 2026

This initiative is vital to advancing our mission to expand affordable housing throughout San Mateo County and we encourage all potential developers and partners to review the RFP document for comprehensive details on the development expectations, submissions protocols, and evaluation criteria. Details and specific requirements can be found in the document below.

The RFP process will be managed via the County’s opengov.com site. Here is the link to the RFP with materials and submission guidelines: https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/smcgov/projects/297285 .

If there are any questions or if further clarification is needed, please feel free to reach out to Kevin Zwick at kzwick@smchousing.org.

We look forward to your engagement in this exciting project that will help address the housing needs in our community..

RFP for 710 Hamilton Street, Redwood City

Attachment Preview

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING

264 Harbor Boulevard, Building A

Belmont, CA 94002

(650) 802-3300

www.smchousing.org

housing@smchousing.org

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

For Development Of

710 Hamilton St

Redwood City, CA

Issue Date: September 3, 2026

Proposals Must be Received by 4:00 p.m. on

6, November, 2026

Proposals will not be accepted after this date and time

Interested parties may submit a “Keep Informed Request”

online at www.opengov.com

Proposals must be submitted electronically to

www.opengov.com

County of San Mateo Department of Housing

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION

I. Statement of Intent

II. Important Dates

III. Area and Property Information

IV. Development Program Elements and Assumptions

V. RFP Process

VI. Developer Team Eligibility; Minimum Experience and Capacity Requirements;

Submittal Requirements

VII. Selection Process; Evaluation Criteria and Scoring

VIII. Agreements, Acknowledgments, and Certifications

IX. List of Exhibits, Appendices, and Attachments

Page

County of San Mateo Department of Housing

I. STATEMENT OF INTENT

The County of San Mateo (“County”) through its Department of Housing (“DOH”) is seeking

qualified and experienced developer teams to submit a description of their qualifications

together with a conceptual proposal to develop and operate a mix of low-, moderate- and

middle-income housing with a preference for employees of public agencies within the County

of San Mateo, including County employees, on a County-owned Property of approximately

20,500 square feet in size and located at 710 Hamilton St, Redwood City, CA 94063

(Assessor’s Parcel Number 052 364 110) (“Property”). The parcel is currently improved with

a County-operated law library and is intended to be redeveloped for the provision of affordable

housing with the foregoing local public employee preference. The Property is within a civic

and commercial area in Redwood City (“City”) and located on a corner lot.

This Request for Proposals (“RFP”) seeks submissions from all interested and qualified

proposers (“Proposers”). The County seeks by way of this RFP to select a development team

that has the qualifications to implement their proposal in a manner that maximizes the quality

of development while also maximizing value to the County, and, by extension, the employees

of the County. Proposers must be able to show that they and any proposed subcontractors

can perform in a highly professional and effective manner. Such evidence includes, but is not

limited to, Proposer’s demonstrated competency and experience in delivering affordable,

deed-restricted development projects of a similar scope and type and capacity of the

Proposer's personnel and financial resources.

The County expects to negotiate and sign a long-term ground lease with the selected

Developer/Owner to transfer control of the Property at the time the Developer/Owner achieves

close of construction financing for a County-approved affordable housing project on the

Property (the “Project”). Under the lease, the County will retain ownership of the land, and,

unless specifically excepted, the selected Developer/Owner will own and maintain the

improvements and manage the Project.

To achieve the County’s goals, expedite the development process, and secure a return on

County investment, the County is prepared to contribute up to 80% of the total development

costs to the project financing. The County expects all County financing to be repaid on a

proposed time horizon with a return to the County, though alternate terms and structures for

the County contribution will be considered assuming it meets other goals and objectives of this

RFP.

The County intends that the Project will further the County’s public objective of facilitating the

development of affordable housing with a preference for public employees, and that

applicable County rights and privileges, including intergovernmental immunities, may apply

to the extent permitted by law. Without waiving any such rights or privileges, the County also

intends that the selected Proposer will propose a Project that is eligible for ministerial approval

under State housing laws, and that will utilize applicable Redwood City entitlement

procedures.

County of San Mateo Department of Housing

Note: Subject to the approval of the County Board of Supervisors, at the time the County

and the selected Developer/Owner enter into an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement (ENA)

for development of the Property, DOH intends to make available to the selected

Developer/Owner initial predevelopment funding, through a predevelopment loan

agreement, in an amount not to exceed $_250,000____ for early predevelopment tasks

related to development of an affordable housing project on the Property.

II. IMPORTANT DATES

1. RFP Issued

EVENT

TARGET DATE

September 3, 2026

2. Interested Parties May Submit a “Keep Informed” Request

(see Section V.A. for more information)

3. Virtual Pre-Submission Proposers Conference (via Zoom or

MS Teams)

4. Deadline to Submit Written Questions and Requests for

Additional Information

5. Final Posting of All Questions/Responses and Additional

Information on www.OpenGov.com

6. Proposal Submissions Deadline – Proposals Must be

Received by 4:00 p.m. on This Date

7. Notification to Proposers re: Meeting/ Not Meeting

Submission/ Minimum Qualifications Requirements*

8. Deadline for Appeals of Completeness/ Minimum

Qualifications Determinations*

9. Developer Team Interviews, if necessary*

Between September 3 2026

and November 6, 2026

September 17, 2026

September 25, 2026

October 2, 2026

November 6, 2026 by 4:00pm

PDT

WEEK OF November 16, 2026

November 24, 2026

WEEK OF December 7, 2026

10. Director of Dept of Housing Recommendation of Selected

Proposal*

11. Notification to Non-Selected Proposers*

December 16, 2026

December 21, 2026

12. Board of Supervisors Approval of Selected Developer

Team and Direction to enter into an Exclusive Negotiations

Agreement (“ENA”)*

*These dates/times are subject to change

January 26 2027

III. AREA AND EMPLOYEE HOUSING NEEDS

A. Area

Redwood City is located on the San Francisco peninsula in the Bay Area approximately 27

miles south of San Francisco and 24 miles northwest of San Jose. It is the third largest City

in San Mateo County with 85,992 residents and encompasses 19 square miles of land area.

County of San Mateo Department of Housing

Redwood City is in the heart of Silicon Valley and is one of the most desirable and expensive

residential real estate markets in the country as well as a regional job center across many

industries. Like many Bay Area cities, Redwood City has seen substantial job growth over the

years and new home construction has not kept up. The area is highly urbanized and highly

developed with little vacant land available for development. Low- and middle-income workers

are vulnerable to inflated housing costs and often subjected to extended commutes to more

affordable areas. Since the County of San Mateo is the second largest employer in Redwood

City making up 5% of workers or 2,452 employees, providing affordable housing opportunities

for County and other public employees addresses the housing needs of a critical subset of

low- and middle-income workers in Redwood City.

In response to the housing needs of its employees, the County employs a broad employee

housing strategy. This includes a pilot program for preferences for County and other public

employees for 25% of the apartments in developments funded out of the County’s Affordable

Housing Fund (AHF) NOFA to address the housing needs of employees earning up to 60%

of the Area Median Income, as well as an Employee Down Payment Assistance program for

those employees who are interested in and can afford costs of homeownership in the County.

This development, and other future developments, serves as a bridge between these two

strategies – primarily serving employees who earn above the traditional threshold for AHF-

funded affordable rental housing, and those employees who can afford to purchase a home

or can afford market rate rental housing.

The County also conducted an employee survey, focus groups and a series of case studies

on comparable employee housing developments in the Bay Area to better understand the

potential mix of apartment sizes and waitlist demand. (See Exhibit F – SMC Employee

Housing Demant Study May 2026) The survey and focus group identified two-bedroom and

three-bedroom units as those with the greatest appeal to County employees. From the

analysis of other employee housing developments, although some of them include three-

bedroom units, the highest demand was first for one-bedroom units, and second for two-

bedroom units. The survey data coupled with demand results of the case studies, while taking

into account the urban, in-fill context of the Property site, has informed the decision to focus

on one and two-bedroom units for this particular development. Proposed future developments

will address additional housing needs. Therefore, the County is seeking a Project with a unit

mix that responds to the demand demonstrated in the informational meetings and across

other comparable projects.

The County conducted informational meetings with County employees to solicit their feedback

on what income and rent levels would be affordable to employees. It was determined that the

target County employees who otherwise do not qualify for more deeply affordable housing

available in the City have household incomes between 50%-140% of AMI. However, rents

based upon traditional underwriting assumptions applied to the higher low, middle and

moderate income tiers are still not considered affordable to those households who do have

other limited options in typically older stock located more distant from employment, and who

endure the high cost of other essential living expenses in the Bay Area. The County is seeking

a Project that addresses both the income qualifications and rent affordability that allows

This page summarizes the opportunity, including an overview and a preview of the attached documents.

Get Government Bids Like This by Email Receive daily bid alerts that match your keywords, business categories, and target regions.

View Sample Report Start Free Trial

Request for Proposal for Affordable Housing Development Opportunity - 710 Hamilton Street, Redwood City

Description

Attachment Preview

See Also