Consultant Services for HUD 2020-2025 Consolidated Plan and Annual Action Plan

The City of East Orange is actively seeking consultant services for the comprehensive preparation of its U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) 2020-2025 Consolidated Plan and Annual Action Plan. This critical initiative is essential for the city to secure vital Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Program funding, supporting various community development and housing initiatives. This document, Addendum #1, provides crucial clarifications and a significant deadline revision to the original Request for Proposals (RFP). The project's extensive scope involves building upon an existing plan, which is already 60-70% complete, requiring the selected consultant to meticulously review the draft, develop priority recommendations, finalize the plan, and ensure it receives City Council approval for a targeted HUD submission by August 13, 2021. Specific emphasis is placed on refining the Needs Assessment and Housing Marketing Analysis sections to ensure compliance and robust strategic planning. The consultant's expertise will be paramount in shaping the city's housing and community development framework for the coming years. While detailed contractor qualifications, specific licensing requirements (such as NJ Public Works Contractor Registration, if applicable), and extensive experience mandates were initially outlined in the original RFP — which was advertised in the Newark Star Ledger on Friday, May 28, 2021 — this addendum primarily focuses on clarifications arising from bidder inquiries. It confirms that a pre-proposal conference for the consultant services was successfully conducted on Thursday, June 3, 2021, with a separate conference for the Columbian Park Improvements RFP held on Tuesday, June 8, 2021. The addendum includes responses to various questions posed by prospective proposers, revealing that the City has already undertaken significant preliminary work, including conducting four distinct focus groups (targeting Seniors, the Business Community, Religious Groups, and Non-Profit Groups) and gathering 475 completed surveys, all of which the consultant will need to strategically integrate into the final plan. No new explicit contractor requirements or mandatory site visits are introduced in this addendum. This Addendum #1 explicitly reschedules the submission deadline for the "Consultant Services for HUD 2020-2025 Consolidated Plan and Annual Action Plan" RFP. Proposals are now due on Tuesday, June 22, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. Bidders should note that the deadline for the separate "Columbian Park Improvements" RFP remains Tuesday, June 22, 2021, at 12:00 p.m. The document clarifies that aside from this deadline change and the provided answers to bidder questions, no other revisions have been made to the original plans and specifications. Information regarding required bid security, performance bonds, or other contractual guarantees would be found in the original RFP documentation, as they are not detailed within this addendum. For any further questions or concerns regarding this RFP and its addendum, interested parties are directed to contact Lisa L. Jackson at (973) 266-5162, ensuring direct communication for critical inquiries.