1070-1617-89 - Regional Housing First Program

Regional Housing First Program (RHFP)
 
 
EOI# 1070-1617/89
Through the Regional Housing First Program (“RHFP”), this Expression of Interest (“EOI”) is issued by the Capital Regional District (“CRD”), Vancouver Island Health Authority (“Island Health”) and BC Housing Management Commission (“BC Housing”) to non-profit housing societies, the private sector and other community groups interested in creating new affordable rental housing units for low to moderate households, and housing units to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness within the Capital Region. Priority will be given to projects that include a portion of units that rent at provincial Income Assistance Rates and are still viable without additional financial assistance from the CRD or BC Housing. Respondents to this EOI and their employees are expected to have the necessary experience, resources and capacity to undertake such a project. Non-profit housing societies may partner with other organizations to strengthen their proposed project.
In the fall of 2015 the CRHD/CRD Boards requested that CRD staff explore the potential to borrow up to $30 million to create housing units to address the needs of people experiencing chronic homelessness in the region and in December 2015 directed staff to develop the Regional Housing First Program on the condition of acquiring matching funding from BC Housing.
On February 12, 2016 Premier Christy Clark and Rich Coleman, Minister of Natural Gas Development and Housing, announced that British Columbia had committed $355 million toward creating as many as 2,000 affordable housing units across the province through the Provincial Investment in Affordable Housing (PIAH) program.  In May 2016, BC Housing committed, through a Partnering Agreement with the CRD and Island Health, to matching the CRD’s commitment by contributing $30 million of the PIAH funding for creating new affordable rental housing units for low to moderate income households.
In September 2016, the CRD Board approved the RHFP Implementation Plan which supported this EOI process.
The funding will be approved and spent over the next five years, with the CRD and BC Housing expecting to approve $20 million of the investment per year between 2017 and 2019.
 
Information Webinar:
 
Webinar:
 
A web-based interactive information meeting will be held to explain the program and the EOI process. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and have them answered live by emailing rhfp@bchousing.org. If you are unable to attend the webcast will be recorded and posted to http://www.bchousing.org/Initiatives/Creating/PIAH/Regional_Housing_First_Program.
                                                                                                                                                           
Date: November 8, 2016       
Time: 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM     
Web Link for Information Meeting: http://www.shawnlam.ca/webcast/rhfp-webcast/
                 
Timetable
 
Issue Date       :                                   28 October 2016
Information Meeting Dates:               see above
Deadline for Questions:                      14 November 2016
Deadline for Issuing Addenda:            22 November 2016
Submission Date:                                09 December 2016 @ 2 pm PT
 
 
 
Your proposal MUST be submitted using the following method:
 
It must be submitted electronically through MERX, the electronic tendering system used by BC Housing at www.merx.com/bchnp . Proposals submitted in any other manner will be disqualified. 
 
For help using MERX, please watch the online tutorial Electronic Bid Submission. Or, you can contact MERX directly at 1-800-964-MERX, or visit the website at www.merx.com.
 
 
ATTENTION NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS:  If you have not already registered with MERX, please go to Non-Profit Organization Merx Registration
1)         Read and accept the Merx Terms and Conditions, then [Next Step].
2)         Complete the basic information, then [Next Step].
3)         Under Canadian Public Tender Service
Select the radio button [I am not ready to subscribe but would like to be notified of opportunities that match my business profile], then [Next Step]
4)         [No thanks]
5)         [Complete Registration]
6)         note your new userid and password, then [OK]
 
You are now ready to login to make a submission. Contact MERX directly at 1-800-964-MERX if you have any registration questions.