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Ypsilanti outlines RFQ, ad hoc committee and timeline for Water Street redevelopment
Summary
City staff and consultants summarized the draft Water Street request for qualifications, the ad hoc committee’s role in refining community benefits, and a timeline that would send appointments to council on Feb. 17 and aim to release the RFQ in August.
YPSILANTI — City staff and consultants on Thursday reviewed a draft request for qualifications (RFQ) for the long-disputed Water Street site and described an ad hoc community benefits committee that will refine the public priorities to be included in the RFQ.
Lee Jones, the city’s economic development, equity and strategic communications lead, told attendees the goal of the committee is to translate community input collected in recent meetings into specific RFQ criteria and to negotiate community benefits with any selected developer. "So today's purpose is to review the draft of the Water Street RFQ...and to identify benefits and ensure that they are included in the RFQ," Jones said.
Consultants from Carlisle/Wortman described engagement since late 2024, including spring educational sessions about brownfields, three fall meetings and four focus groups in September that used a "needs, wants, hopes and fears" exercise. "From the needs and wants perspective: dense mixed-use, affordable housing, trails and walkability," the consultant summarized. He said the RFQ approach seeks developer qualifications and capacity rather than bids, so the committee’s refinements will help developers determine whether they can meet community expectations.
Staff described the committee makeup and schedule. The ad hoc body will include three council members, six to eight city residents and up to two non-resident experts; council is slated to approve appointments at the Feb. 17 meeting. Officials said they anticipate the committee will meet roughly six times over approximately 118 days and that the city intends to release the RFQ in August.
City staff also emphasized participation logistics: people interested in serving must submit an application (paper copies were available and an online application was posted on cityofypsilanti.com/waterstreet). The staff reiterated that any straw-poll results taken at the meeting are informal and that formal appointments will be made by the council.
The consultant noted remediation work that has taken place at the site and cautioned that remaining contamination will influence what can be developed there. The RFQ approach, he said, aims to identify developers whose experience and proposals fit the technical and community criteria the committee refines.
Next steps: council review and appointment on Feb. 17; the ad hoc committee’s public meetings and follow-up work toward an RFQ expected in the summer.
