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Community Development

2026 Affordable Rental Housing Development: Non-Tax Credit RFP

Purpose

The City of Madison Community Development Division (CDD) is seeking to improve and expand housing choices available to residents in Madison by supporting proposals from qualified developers that seek to accomplish the following objective:

  • Expand the supply of affordable housing for renters.
  • Preserve existing income- and rent-restricted housing for renters.
  • Improve existing rental housing through acquisition/rehab to ensure long-term affordability. 

Process Overview

  1. Review RFP Guidelines and Resources

    Please read the RFP Guidelines and all Attachments carefully before completing your Rental Housing Development Application.  The target area map and contract requirements are included for your information.

  2. Attend or Watch the Workshop

    The City will hold a workshop over Zoom on May 5 at 11am for applicants interested in responding to this RFP.  Please register in advance. The workshop will focus on addressing questions that interested applicants may have regarding the RFP or the application, our expectations around the sustainability and energy efficiency provisions, and what characterizes a successful application.  The workshop will be recorded. 

    • Application Workshop Recording (coming soon)
    • Application Workshop Slides (coming soon) 

  3. Pre-Application Process

    Applicants are required to contact Community Development Division staff no later than May 20, 2026.

    To discuss your project, please contact John Vogt (Community Development Specialist) at jvogt@cityofmadison.com.

    CDD will coordinate a pre-application meeting with staff from the Planning Division (PD) to discuss site selection, zoning and the land use approval process. When scheduling these meetings, please indicate that the meeting will be about a proposed project applying through the Affordable Rental Housing Development: Non-Tax Credit RFP process.

    Please see Section 3 in the Attachment A for more information regarding the pre-application process for housing development proposals.

  4. Review the Timeline

    Dates represent the CDD's anticipated timeline for providing a commitment of financing to selected projects. Any revision to the due date for submission of proposals will be made by addendum. All other dates are for planning purposes and may be adjusted without notice. Please review the Attachment A for a full list of dates. 

    DateRFP Activity
    April 23, 2026RFP released
    May 5, 2026RFP Application Workshop
    May 20, 2026Deadline for making initial staff contact
    June 4, 2026, at 12:00 PMDEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING PROPOSALS
    June 5, 2026Deadline to contact Common Council Office to schedule neighborhood meeting
    July 3, 2026Deadline to meet with Development Assistance Team (new construction)
    July 24, 2026Deadline to hold neighborhood meeting
    July 27, 2026CDD sends requests for Supplemental Application information
    August 12, 2026 at 12:00 PMApplicants to submit Supplemental Application
    August 17 - 28, 2026Applicant presentations to staff
    September 10, 2026Applicant presentations to CDBG Committee
    Fall 2026CDBG Committee reviews and acts on staff funding recommendations
    Fall 2026Finance Committee considers funding recommendations
    Fall/Winter 2026Common Council makes final funding decision
    Fall/Winter 2026Commitment Letters (notification of award)
    Spring 2027Anticipated earliest contract effective date(s)/start of construction

  5. Fill out the Application

    Applications MUST be received by 12:00 pm CST (noon) on June 4, 2026.

    Proposals must be submitted to: CDDapplications@cityofmadison.com

    All proposals must be submitted electronically.

    Please download the Application and Budget Workbook below, and submit only the documents listed in Attachment F: Proposal Submission Checklist.

    Proposals received after the deadline will not be accepted.

    You will receive a confirmation email once you have submitted your application(s). These email notifications are not auto-generated, so allow time for confirmation to be sent.

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