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Council approves streamlined RFP for 33 King Street after state agency urges simplicity
Summary
Councilors approved a simplified request-for-proposals for the surplus state-owned property at 33 King Street after staff said prior rounds drew no bids; the council suspended a referral rule to vote and passed the revised RFP (8–0 with 1 abstention on final approval).
The City Council on Dec. 5 approved a streamlined request-for-proposals (RFP) for 33 King Street, a surplus Commonwealth property the city has been authorized to sell or resell. Planning Director Caroline Mish told the council that two prior RFPs received no viable bids and that DCAM (the state Division of Capital Asset Management) recommended simplifying scoring criteria and removing a minimum bid to reduce bidder uncertainty.
Director Mish said the building (originally a parking garage) requires demolition and has mold issues; she described a market environment in which high construction and labor costs make housing or mixed-use projects difficult to finance. "DCAM recommended: simplify, simplify, simplify—and just tell prospective bidders what the city wants and let them propose the best package," she said.
Councilors debated whether to retain aspirational scoring criteria that encourage affordable or mixed-income housing or to prioritize arriving at an acceptable developer quickly; some members argued the city has spent substantial time setting visioning criteria and form-based code should guide outcomes. Councilor Moulton moved to suspend the usual finance referral rule so the council could vote on the RFP that night; that procedural suspension passed 8–1.
After further discussion about state proceeds sharing, demolition costs and incentives for early sale, the council voted to approve the revised RFP language, removing a minimum-bid requirement and keeping flexibility to evaluate proposals "most advantageous to the city." The final roll call approved the revised RFP with eight yes votes and one abstention.
What happens next: The mayor’s office and planning staff will finalize the RFP for release; DCAM has plans to promote participating municipal RFPs in January, which staff said could increase bidder interest and visibility.
