Boulder Civic Area Development Partnership

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS RFP NO. 33-2026 Boulder Civic Area Development Partnership ISSUE DATE: AUGUST 25, 2026 DUE DATE: 4:00 PM, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2026 Proposals must be electronically saved to the Bidnet website PRIOR TO Proposal Due Date and Time above. CONTACT: Mark Woulf, Assistant City Manager City of Boulder | City Manager's Office 303-441-3090 | woulfm@bouldercolorado.gov I. NOTICE OF REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS RFP NO. 33-2026 Boulder Civic Area Development Partnership The City of Boulder (City) is seeking proposals from qualified development teams to enter a public-private partnership for the development of City-owned properties in the east and west "bookends" of the Boulder Civic Area, adjacent to the recently renamed Boulder Creek Park. This landmark opportunity encompasses some of the most significant properties for development in the heart of Boulder in one of the most unique settings in Colorado: adjacent to Boulder Creek with views of the Flatirons and just blocks from Pearl Street Mall and the University of Colorado campus. The City seeks a creative, experienced, and financially capable partneror team of partnersto purchase or lease City-owned properties; develop, program and manage new mixed-use buildings and public spaces; and collaborate with the City and the Boulder County Farmers Market (BCFM) to achieve the community's vision of a vibrant food hub and a cultural and art destination closely integrated with adjacent recreation opportunities of the park. This RFP follows a Request for Information (RFI) process conducted in early 2026 in which the City gauged market interest and gathered feedback to inform this solicitation. Response to the RFI is not a prerequisite for responding to this RFP. Bidnet Required. Solicitation documents will be issued electronically only. A copy of this RFP must be obtained only from the Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System at www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado. Any modifications or addenda will be published to the Bidnet website, and all proposers are responsible for periodically checking the site for relevant updates prior to proposal submittal. The City will only accept electronic submissions saved to the Bidnet website in response to this RFP. Electronic submissions to the Bidnet website are required to be considered for an award. To submit your RFP online, please visit www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado. Please authorize receiving notices through Bidnet relating to this procurement. Insurance. This solicitation includes desired contractual insurance provisions (listed in Exhibit C of Attachment A). Proposers should not avoid proposing merely due to insufficient insurance. The City is open to alternative policy limits or language, subject to ultimate approval of the City's Risk Manager. Deadline. The submission deadline is Friday, October 30, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. This deadline is mandatory. You must save your submission to the Bidnet website before the deadline. Failure to do so may result in an inability to submit that is automatically implemented in the software. Except as set forth herein, no exceptions will be allowed. The City specifically reserves the right to reject late submissions. Technical Submission Issues. In extraordinary circumstances, the City may permit late submissions if the City, in its sole discretion, determines the proposer has shown good cause due to technical issues. If you experience problems submitting your electronic response, please contact the Bidnet Direct technical support team (800-835-4603) prior to the submission deadline and document the technical errors and your efforts to resolve the same before such deadline. Proposers are encouraged to document that their Bidnet submission was saved in case technical issues arise or are later discovered. Your documentation may include e-mailing your submission to mccreeryc@bouldercolorado.gov provided such submission is e-mailed by the deadline or immediately upon discovery of the issue. By this paragraph, the City does not guarantee it will accept submissions that experience technical issues. Costs. Proposals shall be prepared at the proposer's expense. Public Record. Proposals are public records and subject to disclosure under the Colorado Open Records Act, C.R.S. �� 24-72-200.1, et seq. (CORA). Confidential Data. All materials are presumed to be public records. However, confidential data, if unambiguously identified as such, will be held confidential upon request if: (1) it is clearly and unambiguously identified in writing, (2) the request is made as part of the proposal, and (3) if the City Attorney determines the data meets the requirements of the CORA. The City's Access to Public Records Policy, which includes policies about release of solicitation records, can be found on the City's Central Records web page under the heading Additional Resources. Proposers should review the "IX. Public Access to Solicitation Records" section of the City's CORA policy to understand how the City treats solicitation records. To minimize risks of disclosure, proposers are encouraged to limit their disclosures to information and records they believe could be made public. All information the City receives may be used by the City to refine and develop its relationship with any proposer, or to otherwise make use of the properties that are the subject of this RFP in the manner the City determines to be most advantageous to it and the community. Process for Declaring Confidential Information. Designation. At the time of submission, the proposers must clearly identify, label, and segregate any portions of its financial records or other materials that it believes constitute confidential commercial or financial information exempt from disclosure under CORA. For all such designations, proposers shall provide a brief written description of the nature of each designated portion and the legal basis supporting its confidentiality claim. Proposers shall be solely responsible for properly identifying and justifying any claim of confidentiality, including clearly identifying the exact content or pages it deems confidential. The City shall not be responsible for reviewing, identifying, or protecting records that are not clearly designated by proposers as confidential. City Review. The City will review the proposer's designations and supporting descriptions. The City may request clarification or additional information regarding the basis for claiming confidentiality. The City will make an independent determination regarding whether the designated materials are protected from disclosure under CORA. Disclosure when Required by CORA. If the City determines that CORA requires disclosure of any portion of the proposer's records, the City will disclose only those portions determined to be non-exempt and will redact confidential material to the fullest extent permitted by law. Proposers acknowledge that the City has a legal obligation to comply with CORA and may be required to produce records regardless of any confidentiality designation made by the proposer. Interview Submissions. Proposers who advance to the interview phase of this RFP shall have the right to provide or submit additional materials to the City, designating the same under the process identified above. Reservation of Rights. The City reserves the right to reject any proposals the City deems to have over-classified materials as confidential, or, in the alternative, to permit the proposer a limited opportunity to re-submit. Nothing in this solicitation or in a proposer's submission shall be construed to limit the City's obligations or discretion under CORA, nor shall it obligate the City to agree with any confidentiality claim asserted by a proposer. Equal Opportunity. The City does not discriminate on the grounds of race, creed, ancestry, religion, religious expression, color, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic characteristics, marital status, age, sex, mental or physical disability, or national origin in consideration of an award. Disadvantaged business enterprises are afforded a full opportunity to submit proposals. Socially Responsible Procurement. The City is committed to socially responsible procurement and promoting social equity through our contracts. We work to ensure open and fair procurements, competitive and fair pricing, environmentally sustainable solutions, and encourage members of the underserved business community to participate in our competitive solicitations. City's Reserved Rights. For avoidance of doubt, the City reserves the following rights: Right to Supplement. At any time prior to award, the City reserves the right to supplement or modify its solicitation with additional or different information, questions, contract language, or any other materials the City deems prudent to include in the supplementation. Such supplementation or modification includes the right to modify the procurement schedule at any time. Supplementation or modification will likely occur through Bidnet but may occur by email contact to proposers if the deadline has passed. Right to Reject. The City reserves the right to reject any proposal that fails to meet the requirements described herein, the requirements or criteria in the City's Purchasing Ordinance or in the City's Purchasing Policy Manual, as such ordinance or policy manual may be amended from time to time, or any other pertinent standard or criteria established by City. The City further reserves the right to require new proposals or reject any proposal if the City believes it would not be in the best interest of the project set forth in this RFP to make an award to a given proposer. This right to reject includes the right to reject any proposer who appears on one or more lists designating the proposer as a debarred or suspended entity or individual for other public procurements. Right to Waive Irregularities. The City may waive or decline to waive any informality or irregularity contained in any proposal. Right to Revoke or Cancel Award. Subject to any written and signed contract between the City and a proposer, at any time the City reserves the right to revoke or cancel the award. If, for any reason, the City and a successful proposer are unable to come to terms of agreement, the City may, in its sole discretion, either award to the next highest scoring proposer or cancel this solicitation. Right to Make Partial Award. The City may award the contract by sections or in portions and reserves the right to adopt all or part of a proposal. Right to Other Disposition of Property(ies). This RFP contemplates a public-private partnership, lease, or sale or some combination thereof of all or portions of the properties described herein. It is the City's belief that assemblage or disposition of the properties may maximize the total benefits to the City and the community. Nonetheless, the City hereby reserves the rights to: (1) sell all or portions of the properties described herein, even by or through a process that occurs outside of this solicitation; or (2) to otherwise lease or dispose of all or portions of such properties. Nothing in this RFP shall be construed as a commitment by the City to proceed with a public-private partnership, lease, property sale, or any other transaction arising out of this RFP. City Discretion to Sale or Lease Pursuant to Best and Final Offer. The City reserves the right to determine, at any stage of this RFP following the "Proposal Due" submission deadline, that the public-private partnerships or other possible transaction structures identified in this RFP are not viable, not in the City's best interest, or otherwise not feasible to advance. If the City makes such a determination, the City may, but is not obligated to, request from one or more proposers a "Best and Final Offer" (BAFO) for the sale or other disposition of one or more of the properties that are the subject of this RFP. The City's request for a BAFO may be limited to the proposers previously short-listed for interviews, or may be extended to any proposer, at the City's discretion. The BAFO may contain additional or different requirements, terms, conditions, or other limitations prescribed by the City that the City determines are necessary or prudent to obtain comparable offers between proposers. Evaluation of any proposer's response to the BAFO shall occur on a generalized determination by the City as to the proposer whose BAFO offer is most advantageous to the City. The request by the City for one or more BAFOs, along with any responses thereto, does not obligate the City to accept any proposal or BAFO response, and the City continues to retain all rights reserved hereunder, including its full discretion to cancel this RFP. Communication Guidelines. Because this RFP contemplates a potential public-private partnership, along with other potential unique transaction structures and plans for the properties, the City anticipates that it is both necessary and in the interest of proposers for communications between proposers and the City's representatives for this solicitation to be liberalized relative to other City procurements. And, yet, despite this liberalization, the City desires to afford all proposers with fair opportunity. Accordingly, the following "Communications Guidelines" shall govern this RFP: Pre-Proposal Communications. Prior to the "Proposals Due" submission deadline, all communications with the City about this RFP shall occur only through the provided processes (e.g., Pre-Proposal Meeting; Written Questions). A proposer's unauthorized contacts with City staff, City Council, or members of City boards and commissions about this solicitation may result in disqualification of the proposer. Post-Proposal Communications. Following proposal submission, contact with proposers will be initiated by the City and communications will be managed by the City's designee, who will provide instruction regarding potential invitation to and preparation for an interview, presentation or design charrette with the City team. Verbal Communications. Any verbal communications proposers may receive about this solicitation are non-binding upon the City. Proposers should rely only upon written statements issued by the authorized City representatives listed in the Instructions to Proposers and Procurement Schedule section of this RFP or a member of the City's Purchasing Division. The City and the selected proposer will memorialize all understandings as part of the Predevelopment Agreement. Contract Terms: Predevelopment Agreement. All awards are subject to the awarded proposer and the City successfully negotiating and entering into a written and signed contract. The City's award to a successful proposer does not constitute consent by the City to either (1) any revised terms or conditions contained in exceptions, or (2) any terms or conditions contained in the proposal of the successful proposer. For this solicitation, the City anticipates entering into a "Predevelopment Agreement" with the selected lead partner, which will define the terms by which the City and selected partner will work together in developing an agreed upon concept plan for the subject properties. A draft agreement is included in Attachment A of this RFP. The City and the selected proposer's chosen transaction structure, along with language in the successful proposer's proposal, will likely necessitate modification to the agreement terms, even where the selected proposer has not requested exceptions. The City reserves the right to modify the agreement as the City and the successful proposer deem appropriate. In the event of any conflict between this RFP and the Predevelopment Agreement entered into by and between the City and the successful proposer, the terms and conditions of the Agreement shall control. THIS RFP IS NOT A COMPETITIVE SOLICITATION BASED ON PRICE ONLY. The RFP allows the City to select the development partner that best meets the needs of the City, taking into consideration proposer qualifications, price, financial capacity and other factors relevant to the project and City's ordinances, policies, programs, administrative resources, and budget. Waiver. All proposers agree that damage or claim shall not be brought by any proposer because of rejections, and the proposers shall not seek any recourse of any kind against the city because of such rejections. The filing of any proposal in response to this RFP shall constitute a binding agreement of the proposer to these conditions. Dated this 25th of August, 2026. City of Boulder, Colorado A Municipal Corporation CONSENT TO PROTEST & APPEAL PROCESS AND REMEDIES Protests, appeals and remedies under this solicitation are governed by Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.) �� 24-109-101.1 through 108, C.R.S. (protests and other pre-litigation resolution of controversies) and �� 24-109-201 through 206, C.R.S., (appeals), � 24-109-301, C.R.S. (interest accruing on costs), and �� 24-109-501 through 505, C.R.S. (remedies), as adopted or amended. Such sections apply in their entirety, except for the City's purposes, (1) all references to the "state" shall be to the "city", (2) the City's assigned purchasing agent renders the City's initial written decision, and (3) the City's Purchasing Manager renders the final agency determination upon any appeal therefrom, as well as any other functions and decisions of the "executive director" referenced in those sections. As described in the statutes referenced, protests and appeals must be made in writing within ten (10) business days. Protests must be timely submitted as e-mail attachments to the purchasing agent for this solicitation at the following e-mail address: Carissa McCreery mccreeryc@bouldercolorado.gov Any subsequent appeals from the purchasing agents' initial determination must be timely submitted within ten (10) business days of the initial decision as e-mail attachments to the Purchasing Manager at the following e-mail address: Michael Van Ausdal Vanausdalm@bouldercolorado.gov In addition, this solicitation is subject to limitations of remedies set forth in �� 24-109-501 through 505, C.R.S., including, specifically, � 24-109-505, C.R.S. Those remedies are limited to, in summary, the authority of the City to ratify, terminate, or cancel the solicitation, award, or contract, and, if ratification occurs, a successful aggrieved party's limitation of remedies to its reasonable costs incurred in connection with the solicitation, including bid preparation costs, plus interest on those costs. By responding to this solicitation, proposers agree to the protest and appeal processes, requirements, and time limitations, as well as the limited remedies, set forth in the statutes above and as described herein. Published: Boulder Daily Camera August 28, 2026-2183922