I just happened to find the
tender package for Macs student housing proposal:
Design, Build and Manage a Graduate Student Residence
McMaster is issuing this Request for Qualification (“RFQ”) to seek a private sector Successful Proponent (defined below) who has the development expertise, financial capability, and experience in student housing development or relevant and comparable property development, financing, property management and operations to design, build, and manage a Graduate Student Residence (the “GSR”). McMaster is also open to separate discussions regarding an undergraduate residence.
The RFQ process (“RFQ Process”) is a two stage process and this RFQ is the first stage (“Stage I Process”), which includes a general description of the second stage (“Stage II RFP Process”). Based on the submissions provided by respondents (“RFQ Respondents”) in response to this RFQ and the shortlisting criteria described in Appendix 2, McMaster intends to qualify a limited number of RFQ Respondents to engage in the Stage II RFP Process. The party selected by McMaster University during the Stage II RFP Process is referred to as the “Successful Proponent”.
(a) (a) McMaster is open to responses that include the Successful Proponent operating the facility, excluding the student life program. Ultimately, McMaster may reserve the right through the RFQ to operate the GSR. McMaster has approximately 4,000 graduate students (1,200 of which are incoming each year) and 300 Postdoctoral Fellows. It is the intent of McMaster to make available capacity of the building to these students. If there is inadequate demand from these students, McMaster will offer spaces to upper-year undergraduate students.
(b) McMaster is interested in an equity interest in this building. The objective of McMaster is to enter into an agreement with the Successful Proponent, where revenues, costs and risks are shared between the parties. McMaster is willing to provide the use of its name for this building, e.g. McMaster Graduate Student Residence. Submissions should indicate willingness for revenue sharing propositions that clarify how each of these items may be allocated. Details of this will only be required as part of the Stage II RFP Process.
(c) The Successful Proponent may be required to secure a site within a 30 minute commute to McMaster, as land will not be provided on McMaster campus. Submissions proposing that McMaster purchase land for this building will also be considered. The site will ideally be within walking distance to a community park or green space. Further, a ground-level, or underground, parking lot will likely be included to service occupants and visitors.
(d) McMaster anticipates that there will be three types of rooms: studio style apartments, one bedroom apartments and two bedroom apartments. The majority of the rooms in the building will be one and two bedroom apartments, which will include a living room, a kitchen and a self-contained bathroom. Additionally, the building must include an appropriate number of accessible rooms, in accordance with the Ontario Building Code. All apartments will include space for, at minimum, a double-sized bed.
(e) McMaster aims to provide 300 to 500 beds. In a building of 400 beds at approximately 30 beds per community, this allows for 13 communities. Depending on site conditions and preferences, a possible building configuration is as follows:
Underground Level 1: parking.
Level 1 (ground floor): building and residence operations support space, commercial/retail space.
Level 2: two communities of approximately 30 residential beds each (60 beds total).
Level 3: two communities of approximately 30 residential beds each (60 beds total).
Level 4: two communities of approximately 30 residential beds each (60 beds total).
Level 5: two communities of approximately 30 residential beds each (60 beds total).
Level 6: two communities of approximately 30 residential beds each (60 beds total).
Level 7: two communities of approximately 30 residential beds each (60 beds total).
Level 8: one community of approximately 30 residential beds each, and mechanical penthouse space.
Possible Building Configuration - Areas of Development Spaces:
Space Approximate Area
Residence rooms and residence support
(including common rooms): 80,000 – 100,000 sf
Main entry / Welcome: 1,000 – 2,000 sf
Commercial/Retail Space: 10,000 – 20,000 sf
Building Services, plus Mechanical Penthouse: 5,000 – 10,000 sf
Subtotal: 100,000 – 130,000 sf
Parking: 5,000 - 10,000 sf
Total of components: 105,000 – 140,000 sf
Total building (grossed up): 140,000 – 180,000 sf
Note that the building configuration numbers provided above represent only a proposal. McMaster is open to considering proposals with different configurations. McMaster will consider proposals that include 30,000 sf of experiential learning space in addition to those space uses and associated areas as identified above.
(f) McMaster conducted a residence survey in 2013 that included graduate student amenity preferences. Details of these preferences are outlined in Appendix 4.
(g) The student rental price for each type of apartment should be reflective of the pricing for similar apartment types in the Downtown HAMILTON area. RFQ Submissions should include pricing indications for each apartment type.
(h) The RFQ Respondent must provide in a separate statement indicating if the RFQ Respondent is associated, in any way, with any contractor(s), or represents or has any RFQ Submission interests (specified or implied) in any particular products or methodologies not proprietary to the RFQ Respondent.
(i) McMaster intends that the scope of the building will not change for a long period of time, and will remain consistent with a graduate student residence. All RFQ Submissions should include an explanation of how they comply with this requirement.
(j) McMaster’s existing Housing & Conference Services Department will provide administration services (e.g., marketing, student assignments, student rental agreements, communications, rental collection, and bed space management). These services will be provided at a competitive annual fee and/or part of a negotiated equity arrangement.
(k) McMaster desires that the graduate residence be exempt, partially or fully, from the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA). McMaster is interested in each RFQ Respondent’s proposal of how it would meet this requirement. For more information regarding the RTA please refer to:
http://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/06r17.