Community Development Administration (CDA) Seeks Consultants for Vacancy Strategy Development Services; Grants Compliance Services; and Environmental Review Services

ST. LOUIS - The Community Development Administration (CDA) released an RFP on February 3rd requesting a consultant or interdisciplinary team to plan and implement a vacancy strategy for the City of St. Louis. The strategy will build on the 2016 “Developing a Shared Vision and Strategies to Address Vacancy and Abandonment in the City of St. Louis” report and the 2017 “St. Louis Land Bank Assessment” report. View the RFP for Vacancy Strategy.

The City of St. Louis has roughly 24,000 vacant parcels (~15,000 lots and ~9,000 buildings) of which approximately 10,000 (8,500 lots and 1,500 buildings) are owned by the Land Reutilization Authority (LRA), the city’s landbank.

Historically, the city's vacant land has threatened the health and safety of city residents, drained city government of valuable resources, and depressed property values. The vacancy strategy will establish a community driven and data informed action plan to transform these vacant properties from liabilities into assets. 

The three goals of the strategy are:

1. To conduct community engagement and facilitate interagency coordination meetings of city departments and agencies administering vacancy prevention and reduction programs.
2. To develop a prioritization model and policies for the equitable and efficient deployment of building stabilization/demolition and lot maintenance/beautification funds.
3. To create and maintain public facing metrics and maps that track the City’s vacant properties and related City expenditures, including a cost of vacancy analysis.

CDA anticipates awarding a two year contract in May 2023 with anticipated strategy completion by April 2025. Funding of $500,000 for the strategy comes from the 2017 City’s Economic Development Sales Tax. 

In addition to the Vacancy Strategy RFP, the CDA released a RFQ for Grants Compliance Services, seeking one or more consultants to draft various administrative manuals, including: i) Davis Bacon Compliance Policies and Procedures Manual; ii) Asset Management Policies and Procedures Manual; and iii) State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Policies and Procedures Manual.

Finally, the CDA released an RFP for Environmental Consulting Services seeking a consultant to: i) conduct environmental reviews, site assessments, and ground contamination tests for NEPA compliance; and ii) provide CDA and CDA funded projects with technical assistance to plan and manage environmental remediation activities. 

These professional services will expand CDA’s capacity as it deploys American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and HUD funds to drive economic justice, build affordable housing, and support a variety of social services. 

About Community Development Administration (CDA): The Community Development Administration (CDA) serves as the City of St. Louis’ clearinghouse for federal, state, and local funds. CDA works to implement the Mayor's economic justice agenda by funding a wide range of public and nonprofit entities to provide public services, build affordable housing, combat blight, and conduct various other community development activities.

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