Issue Date: June 9th, 2026

Response Deadline: July 10th, 2026

Please Submit Proposals to:

Kevin Whaley, AICP
Director of Planning
206 W. Main St.
Plainfield, IN 46168
kwhaley@townofplainfield.com

INTRODUCTION

The Town of Plainfield is seeking proposals from qualified consulting firms to prepare a comprehensive Housing Study that will support implementation of the Town's long-range plans including the Capital Asset Plan and the recently adopted Thrive! Comprehensive Plan. The Housing Study will provide the Town with a data-driven assessment of current and future housing conditions, market trends, community needs, and strategic opportunities to guide housing policy, investment, and development decisions over the next decade.

The objective is to assess current housing conditions and provide a measured assessment of present and future unmet housing demand. The results of this Housing Study will help decision-makers, stakeholders and community members develop a meaningful sense of the housing market, an understanding of key housing issues, and a platform for strategy and policy decisions.

This RFP details the submission requirements for responses and will be posted to the Town's website. Neither this RFP nor any response (Proposal) submitted hereto are to be construed as a legal offer. The Town intends to enter into a professional services agreement for the services outlined in this RFP.

BACKGROUND

The Town of Plainfield, Indiana is a suburban community of approximately 38,000 residents located to the west of Indianapolis in Hendricks County. The Town is home to a world-class parks and recreation system, a redeveloping downtown area, and the Indianapolis region's largest warehousing and distribution sectors.

Plainfield continues to experience steady growth and development, creating both opportunities and challenges in ensuring the availability of a diverse, attainable, and high-quality housing stock. The purpose of the Housing Study is to evaluate existing housing conditions and identify actionable strategies that align with the goals and implementation priorities of the Town's Comprehensive Plan. Adopted in 2025, Thrive! establishes a long-range vision for Plainfield centered on creating distinctive places, enhancing quality of life, and strengthening the Town's position as one of Central Indiana's premier communities.

The plan identifies “Strong and Vibrant Neighborhoods” as a key focus area and emphasizes the importance of promoting a variety of housing types, supporting neighborhoods at different life stages and income levels, integrating residential development with amenities and services, revitalizing existing neighborhoods, and preserving community character. The Housing Study is intended to help support this goal.

The Town is seeking a qualified vendor to:

• Manage all necessary activities to deliver a final, fully edited Housing Study publication including but not limited to stakeholder feedback, market research, and publication. A digital and physical publication is required.
• Create and deliver a shareable presentation to the Plainfield Plan Commission and Town Council.
• Manage all design, content production, and printing of the publication.
• Assess a range of housing types, price points, and tenure options to determine how well the Town's current housing stock meets the needs of existing and future residents. This includes evaluating affordability, workforce housing availability, lifecycle housing opportunities, commuting patterns, property and income tax implications, and barriers to development or redevelopment.

The study is intended to serve as a strategic tool for elected officials, staff, and community stakeholders. Its findings will help guide future land use decisions, zoning and development regulations, economic development initiatives, and potential public-private partnerships aimed at achieving a balanced and sustainable housing mix.

Ultimately, the Town seeks actionable recommendations that will support continued growth while maintaining Plainfield's character, enhancing quality of life, and ensuring that residents of varying incomes, ages, and household types have access to appropriate housing options.

Proposal Content

The Proposal shall include the following:

1. A Cover Letter, including:
   1. Examples of prior experience in Housing Study Needs Assessments and the results of recommendations made.
   2. Contact information of client references.
2. A clear description of how your firm would complete this project, including scope, systems used, and methodology.
3. Outline a Work Plan required to complete the Housing Study Needs Assessment, including a comprehensive timeline for the project with each task clearly identified in the timeline. The work plan schedule should include completion times for each step and an overall timeframe for completion of project.
4. A summary, with resumes attached, of key staff on the project team who will be directly involved in the project, including designation of a single point of contact for coordination of the project. Firms should indicate if they intend to complete all work in-house or contract with additional entities for any portion of the Scope of Work.
5. Not to exceed cost for the services for the defined deliverables to be provided under this proposal. If firms are able to identify costs for individual deliverables and/or tasks, they are encouraged to document that information in their proposal.
6. An example of a previously completed housing study (digital or hard copy). Any additional terms or conditions, which are deemed necessary for entering into a contract with the Town, should be attached or incorporated as part of the proposal.

SCOPE OF WORK

Content of Report Prepared by Consultant

The report will specifically address the Town of Plainfield's current and future housing needs, taking into account demographic trends, household composition, population growth projections, employment patterns, commuting patterns, and market conditions. At a minimum, the report should include and address the following:

1. Housing Market Analysis - Assessment of existing housing conditions, market trends, affordability, and housing demand.
2. Housing Needs and Gap Analysis - Identification of current and projected housing needs, gaps in the housing supply, and opportunities to address unmet demand across a range of household types and income levels.
3. Community and Demographic Trends - Evaluation of population, household, workforce, school enrollment, and residential mobility trends, and their relationship to housing needs and community development patterns.
4. Recommendations - Actionable strategies and policy recommendations to address identified housing needs and support the Town's long-term planning objectives.
5. Additional analysis - Any other analysis deemed necessary by the consultant to provide a comprehensive understanding of the Town's housing needs and market opportunities.

Responsibilities of the Town

The Town of Plainfield will provide the following services as part of the project:

1. Access to current and historic housing records (i.e. building files and assessor records) and maps.
2. Long-range plans, codes and policies upon request.
3. Staff will assist in project management and administration.
4. Staff will attend all meetings with the Consultant and assist the as a liaison between the Public and the Consultant, upon Consultant's request.
5. Staff will coordinate and schedule all meetings involving the Consultant.

Work Product

The final report will be delivered to the Town of Plainfield's Planning Department, both as a PDF file and in hard copy consisting of 15 bound copies. The consultant will present the final report to the Planning Commission and Town Council.

PROCESS AND TIMELINE

Applicants must submit their proposals to kwhaley@townofplainfield.com by 5:00 PM ET on Friday, July 10th, 2026. Potential applicants may submit questions to the above inbox until June 22nd, 2026. A group of reviewers will be assembled by Town staff. Members of this review committee will remain anonymous. These individuals will review and score proposals using the guidelines set forth in this RFP. Town staff will select and notify Applicants of their decision on a selected vendor in July 2026.

Applicants must be prepared to start work in August 2026 and meet the deadlines set forth below:

Release RFP — June 9, 2026

Deadline for written questions at 5:00 pm —June 22, 2026

Response to written questions at 5:00 pm —June 26, 2026

Proposals Due by 5:00 pm —July 10, 2026

Evaluation of Proposals and Interviews —July 10 - July 24, 2026

Contract inception — On or after August 11, 2026

Final report — January 2027

Evaluation

Selection will be based upon the proposals submitted. Proposals will be ranked based upon the following criteria:

1. Consultant's understanding and technical approach to the project.
2. Consultant's pricing for scope and approach to the project.
3. Consultant's ability to meet the project schedule.
4. Pertinent experience and qualifications of the project team.
5. Reference and previously completed works reviews.

AGREEMENT OVERVIEW

The Town intends to execute a professional services agreement (PSA) with one qualified vendor responding to this RFP, subject to the availability of funds and the quality of applications received. Upon review of submissions, the Town will review submissions, score submissions, make selections, and draft a PSA with the selected providers detailing the proposal submitted in this RFP. The selected vendor will invoice the Town monthly to be reimbursed for agreed upon services detailed in the PSA.

PSAs will be made for a set term for all work to be completed within. Final PSAs will be based on the vendor's budget provided in their submitted proposals based on factors such as staff time and effort, printing costs, sub-contractors, scope of service, length of engagement, etc. After proposals have been reviewed, the Town reserves the right to ask qualified vendors to amend their proposals. This may include asking providers to expand their scope, make detailed commitments, and provide additional information that was not sufficiently represented in initial proposals.

The Town, in its sole discretion, will determine the need to solicit additional proposals to this RFP or an amended RFP or renew PSAs for additional programming. The Town shall have full discretion to determine which RFPs best achieve program objectives.

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

Activities carried out and deliverables must be tracked carefully and regularly reported on to the Town. Applicants will be responsible for being responsive to and collaborative with the Town. Applicants will be responsible for providing the Town with regular activity progress reports, detailed interactions, and enough detail to thoroughly report their time and effort as it relates to the invoices submitted to the Town.

Reports or content that may be due as part of any invoice submissions include:

• Monthly Performance Results Summary (ex: number of interviews conducted, graphics designed, percent of publication progress, activity detail, etc.)
• Deliverable Submission (ex: stories for review, photographs, sections of publication, final product, etc.)
• Final Deliverables

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Town may unilaterally increase or decrease the frequency and the scope of the Selected Vendor's reporting requirements to ensure compliance and timeliness of content being delivered.

The Selected Vendor will be required to work with Town in design coordination, editing/proofing of deliverables, and final content production. While any Selected Vendor will be chosen based on skill and experience, the Town will make all final decisions on design and creative vision for the deliverables. All deliverables must reflect brand and/or marketing guidelines as provided by Town staff.

SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS

The proposal shall include three hard copies and one digital copy. Send proposals to:

Kevin Whaley, AICP
Director of Planning
206 W. Main St.
Plainfield, IN 46168
kwhaley@townofplainfield.com

Proposals must be received by 5:00 PM EST Friday July 10th, 2026. Submissions received after the deadline may not be considered.

Respondents are hereby made aware of the following notices:

1. The Town of Plainfield reserves the right to reject any or all proposals.
2. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this document or in any addendums to this document, unless the contrary provision refers specifically to this provision, the Town of Plainfield reserves the right to negotiate changes of any nature with any applicant with respect to any term, condition, or provision in this document and/or in any proposals, whether or not something is stated to be mandatory and whether or not it is said that a proposal will be rejected if certain information or documentation is not submitted with it.

All deadlines are for the administrative convenience or needs of the Town and may be waived by the Town in its discretion. Once an agreement is signed, the parties to the agreement may enforce the agreement according to its terms as allowed by applicable law.