The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) has issued a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) to identify development partners for expanding and improving affordable housing across New York City. NYCHA hopes to leverage its extensive portfolio and federal, state, and local programs to address critical capital needs and increase housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income New Yorkers.
NYCHA is seeking proposals from qualified development teams to increase high-quality housing opportunities and access to neighborhood amenities for NYCHA residents, generate revenue for reinvestment in NYCHA communities, and expand low-income housing opportunities for New Yorkers.
Partnership opportunities
The RFEI outlines several mechanisms for partnership, including:
- Restore Rebuild: Enables the creation of new public housing units, with immediate conversion to Section 8 via RAD. NYCHA has over 18,000 “Faircloth” units that could potentially be utilized in this fashion.
- Transfer of Assistance (ToA): Allows conversion of public housing assistance to Project-Based Section 8 rental assistance at new construction or existing building sites. This is a Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) tool to transfer Section 8 assistance to another site.
- Project-Based Vouchers: Allocation of federally funded vouchers for project-based rental assistance.
- Adjacent Land: Development opportunities on underutilized NYCHA land, such as parking lots, through ground leases or sales.
- Transfer of Development Rights (TDR): Facilitates the transfer of unused development rights (including those created since the passage of City of Yes) to adjacent properties, generating revenue and enabling larger affordable housing projects.
Submission requirements
Proposals must be for residential or mixed-use residential projects on privately owned land and may include new construction, rehabilitation, or completed projects with vacant units. Key submission components include:
- Proposal overview (development program, requested NYCHA resources, design features, project status, team experience, competitive offer)
- Team description and organizational chart, including any minority and women-owned business enterprise (M/WBE) and nonprofit participation
- Financial proposal and supporting documentation
Proposals will be evaluated in two stages
The first stage of evaluation will ensure that the proposal meets threshold requirements, including completeness of submission and demonstration of experience in developing at least one multifamily residential project of 100+ units in NYC within the past five years. The second stage of evaluation will be a review of the proposal to assess its competitiveness, including factors such as responsiveness to RFEI goals, quality of housing, anticipated return to NYCHA, and the development team’s experience and financial capacity.
Key dates for responding to NYCHA’s RFEI
- Public issue date: August 19, 2025
- Proposers’ questions due: September 9, 2025
- Pre-submission conference: September 9, 2025 (Zoom; a registration link is in the RFEI
- Applicant interest form window: August 19 through November 18, 2025
- Submission window: October 14 through November 18, 2025 (Final deadline: November 18, 2025, 5:00 pm)
This RFEI is a change of pace for NYCHA. It presents a different sort of opportunity than any NYCHA has offered in recent years. NYCHA has published several RFEIs or requests for proposals (RFPs) for particular sites, either for ground-up new construction or redevelopment of existing campuses or buildings, in the past ten years. This is the first RFEI of this type whereby NYCHA offers the opportunity for development teams to present their own ideas, leveraging NYCHA resources, to facilitate new affordable housing opportunities on sites in the City.
