General Information about the Project-Based Voucher Program

For general information regarding the Housing Authority’s PBV Program, click here, or review the Project-Based Voucher Program Guidance for Owner/Developers, found in HACSC Resources at the bottom of this page. All applicants for PBVs are strongly encouraged to utilize the guide and familiarize themselves with the PBV Program and applicable regulations.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR PROJECT-BASED VOUCHER PROGRAM

The Housing Authority of the County of Santa Cruz (HACSC) is pleased to announce that a new Request for Proposals (RFP) is open effective October 15, 2024 for the Project-Based Voucher (PBV) Program.  In response to an unprecedented level of demand for PBVs, along with limitations on voucher and funding availability, HACSC has adopted a new PBV RFP process:

  1. Twice annual RFP cycle, one in Fall-Winter, one in Spring-Summer, timed to correspond as closely as possible with anticipated tax credit application cycles.
  2. Predetermined finite number of vouchers released for each RFP cycle based on HACSC voucher utilization review and budget projections.
  3. Financial Technical Review by HACSC’s contracted financial consultant with written results of the project’s review provided to the project applicant. The financial consultant will also make a recommendation about an appropriate number of vouchers to provide to each project, to ensure that no project receives more vouchers than it needs, and to ensure we can utilize our limited PBV resources to support as many projects as possible.
  4. Competitive, ranked scoring:   HACSC will score all proposals received in accordance with the scoring criteria and rank the proposals from highest to lowest score. Projects that do not meet the minimum threshold score will not be considered. The project with the highest score will be considered for PBVs first and projects with lower scores will then be considered iteratively from next highest to lowest, until all PBVs have been awarded or until there are no more projects to consider. 
  5. Revised Project Cap: HACSC has established a Standard Project Cap of the greater of 15 PBVs or 40 percent of the units at the project.

The Housing Authority of the County of Santa Cruz (HACSC) announces that this Fall 2024 RFP cycle makes available up to one hundred five (105) Section 8 Project Based Vouchers (PBVs), of which up to ninety (90) may be Housing Choice Vouchers (HCVs) and up to fifteen (15) may be Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH).  

HACSC invites owners/developers of property in the County of Santa Cruz, and the Cities of Hollister and San Juan Bautista in San Benito County to submit proposals for participation in HACSC’s Section 8 Project Based Voucher (PBV) Program.  Only proposals in response to this RFP will be accepted for consideration. 

HACSC reserves the right to award less than the maximum number of vouchers available or requested.

Timeline:

October 15, 2024 Request for Proposals Issued and Open
November 18, 2024, 11:59 PM Deadline for Proposal Submissions responsive to RFP
November 19, 2024 – January 31, 2025 Proposal Review, Financial Technical Review,   Scoring, Ranking.
By February 3, 2025Owners/Developers will be notified by letter of the acceptance or rejection of their proposals. HACSC will attempt to complete the financial review, scoring, and ranking as expeditiously as possible, and will provide notification of awards prior to February 3rd if possible. HACSC commits to providing awards on or before February 3, 2025.
March 3, 2025Accepted Conditional Awards posted on HACSC webpage and public notices published. 

Proposal documents can be obtained at the links below under HACSC PBV RFP Resources.

HACSC PBV RFP Contact Person: Eric Johnson, Senior Analyst  [email protected].
Website: www.hacosantacruz.org

All proposals MUST be submitted by email to [email protected] no later than 11:59 P.M., Monday, November 18, 2024.

HACSC welcomes new proposals for the PBV Program and hopes to continue supporting affordable housing development throughout Santa Cruz County and San Benito County.

HACSC PBV RFP RESOURCES