Request For Proposals
As of Wednesday, October 7, 2026, the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the BuildReady Pre-Approved Plans procurement has officially launched. The City is requesting proposals from architects licensed in the State of Ohio detailing their experience, expertise, technical approach, methodology, implementation, and fees in order to select the firm that will then create the set of pre-approved architectural plans for middle housing in Cincinnati.
The winning firm will be tasked with creating six total permit-ready plans that include two designs each for two-family, three-family, and four-family buildings. Other tasks related to the BuildReady initiative may include visiting various construction sites, writing professional reports, meeting with city staff, developers and contractors, reviewing bid documents, reviewing site plans, pre-development work, and planning activities.
Download and view the RFP to see the objectives, key qualifications, terms, evaluation criteria, timetable, and more. Once your proposal is complete, you can view the opportunity on the City's online Bonfire Portal. To submit, you will be required to create a free Bonfire account if you do not already have one. Submissions to the RFP will close on Friday, November 13, 2026 at 12:00 PM EST.
RFP Questions
All questions or requests for clarification must be submitted no later than Wednesday, October 21, 2026 at 12:00 PM EST. Questions can be submitted to Bethany Pritchard via email at bethany.pritchard@cincinnati-oh.gov, or submitted through the Bonfire portal. If emailing, please reference “RFP275X901201 - BuildReady” in the subject field of the message. Responses will be provided in writing via Addendum.
RFP Pre-Submission Meeting
The City will hold a non-mandatory pre-submission meeting virtually via Microsoft Teams to answer questions and provide clarification on the RFP. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 14th, 2026 at 3:00 PM EST. Click here to attend the meeting,