I would also consider the contract brewery itself..... If you have one in mind, I would sample a lot of the beers they brew. Most breweries have beers they are better at/and others that or sort of ordinary or mediocre in regard to that style. If the brewery you have in mind turns out 6 different "blah" hoppy beers, but great lagers/lighter beers..... I would hedge that direction (Or vice versa).
Personally, for a house beer, I would be thinking something 4-5.5% above. Easy drinking. Nothing heavy or overwhelming....
Ales generally have the benefit over lagers in terms of simplicity and ease of turning them around quickly. Less hoppy is cheaper and may or may not be easy to get quality hops for a contract brew.....
Ales: Kolsch, Blonde, Cream Ale, Pale Ale, Wheat Beer, NE Style IPA on the 5-6% level (hops might be a problem for that)
Lagers: Helles, Dortmunder Export, Pilsner (German or Americanized Version)
Other possible options...... Scottish or British Session beer.... these are not always super popular when going head to head with IPA's, Pilsners, etc.
Outside the box - Berliner Weiss - nice summer beer. Low ABV. Can add things like raspberry or other fruits to change it up from time to time.