Enumerable people ask how to find the grants, resources, and connections to these current opportunities. So, I spent some time calling, mitigating, and finding the basics out over the phone for the benefit of interested parties who want to buy houses, rehab them, and invest into our community. I challenge the people who are established to participate in this process. It's actively going on everyday. The very basics of this administrative and logistical nightmare is now outlined below....
Developers/Contractors
If you are interested in ascertaining contracts through the City of Cleveland as a Contractor/Developer, then it is recommended that you go down there and begin to learn about the process, get training, get registered, and begin going down there regularly for meetings, deadlines, and processes to include attending a contract bidding session. One person recommended that you spend this initial quality time in the City Hall so as to "develop professional relationships" with the people at the various offices and areas of interest because the phone communications are so difficult to mitigate sometimes at the 664-2000 number.
1) Prepare to spend a day down at City Hall going to these various offices, departments, and seeing how the flow of operations work. Prepare to be familiar with the Building & Housing Permit requirements for bidding requirements.
A) Register at Equal Opportunity Office as MBE/FBE and with the Dept. of CD & BH
B) Understand the many DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS and SUB-DIVISIONS Of offices that offer opportunities to bid:
1) Community Development, Division of Real Estate: Ed Feke: 664-4037
Deal with selling foreclosed, vacant homes to contractor/developers with the goals of rehabbing and reselling them to the low income community.
2) Community Development, Division of Neighborhood Services: Mike Johnson, 664-4102
A) Meetings every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 1-3 pm for new contractors/cdcs
B) Applications and Reviews of Requirements to be a Contractor/Bidder on projects
C) Deals with Owner Occupied Rehab/Repairs between contractors/owners/city grants
D) Deals with Home Weatherization Contracts with CDC's/CHN/NFP's
E) Contractor Development
F) His receptionist should be called at 664-2045 to schedule/verify MWF meeting status.
G) Diane Peters was an exceptional resource at the Division of Neighborhood Services.
3) Department of Building and Housing Room 518
4) Department of Purchasing Room 128
5) Understand the Difference between various departments, bids, RFP's, and IFB's and between the various departments who post them.
6) CITY RECORD in room 216 posts more bids posted.
7) Be put on the BIDDER'S LIST at 664-2620
8) Finance Director: 664-2536, Ronnie