INTRODCTION. This is a SOURCES SOUGHT and is for informational/market research purposes only. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL, QUOTATION OR BID, NOR A SYNOPSIS OF A PROPOSED CONTRACT ACTION UNDER FAR SUBPART 5.2.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Northwestern Division, Omaha District (CENWO) has been tasked to identify interest in an Architect-Engineer (A-E) Contract for services in support of the US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, US Plant Germplasm Research Facility (PGRF) at Madison, Wisconsin on the West Madison Agricultural Research Station, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Responses to this Sources Sought announcement will be used by the Government to determine the appropriate level of small business participation and to develop the acquisition strategy decision.
CENWO will host a virtual industry day at 2:00pm CDT, 20 April 2023 (see Additional Information Section below)
BASED ON THE RESPONSES TO THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE/MARKET RESEARCH, THIS REQUIREMENT MAY BE SET-ASIDE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES (IN FULL OR IN PART) OR PROCURED THROUGH FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION, and multiple awards MAY be made. All Small Business Set-Aside categories will be considered. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions.
DISCLAIMER. This sources sought is for informational purposes only and does not obligate the Government to award a contract. No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this Sources Sought or any follow up information. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or to provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. IF A SOLICITATION IS RELEASED, IT WILL BE SYNOPSIZED ON THE GOVERNMENT-WIDE POINT OF ENTRY (GPE). IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF POTENTIAL OFFERORS TO MONITOR THE GPE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PERTAINING TO THIS REQUIREMENT. Responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a formal synopsis.
All interested firms must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) at https://www.sam.gov and remain current for the duration of the source selection process to be eligible for award of a Government contract.
PROJECT SCOPE CENWO intends to acquire A-E Services for the replacement PGRF facility project. These A-E services may include, but not be limited to, program of requirements development; research facility design; Headhouse/Greenhouse and Screenhouse design; laboratory areas and research rooms; and administration and personnel support facilities.
Preliminary planning is currently being performed to collect requisite information and better identify the requirements and details of this project. The following information is tentative and meant to provide interested firms with an idea of the general nature of the anticipated work. The Government reserves the right to update this information as project planning documentation is published and updated. The information below represents the most current information available and will be superseded upon the publication of the preliminary planning information which will be provided by the Government in the subsequent synopsis and request for SF 330’s:
Estimated Construction Cost (ECC): The current ECC is between $25,000,000 and $100,000,000 Ref. DFARS 236.204 Disclosure of Magnitude.
Anticipated Construction Strategy: It is expected that the project delivery method will be design-bid-build, but the PDT may select Design-Build based on project risks and market conditions. The contract includes pre-design services (POR development), design services and construction phase services (if necessary).
Project Details: The following information represents the various project objectives as that are currently known.
- The VCRU mission is to improve potato, carrot, onion, cucumber, and cranberry crop production and quality through germplasm preservation, characterization, enhancement, and release; investigations of crop genetics, taxonomy, gene flow, disease and pest resistance, postharvest storage physiology, abiotic stress resilience, flavor and nutritional quality; and development of molecular tools, pest management and plant breeding strategies.
- Construction of approximately 32,000 BGSF of Laboratory, Office, and Storage (LOB) space. Laboratories will meet BSL-2 criteria. LOB will house labs, cold storage rooms, prep labs, tissue culture rooms, various offices, seed storage rooms, administrative and maintenance facilities.
- Construction of approximately 1,500 BGSF Headhouse facility capable of supporting the greenhouses and screenhouses.
- Construction of approximately 22,500 BGSF of Greenhouse and 9,000 BGSF of screenhouse facility.
- Sustainable power and water systems may be included this project, as applicable.
REQUIRED CAPABILITIES. If your organization has the potential capacity to perform these architectural &engineering services, please provide the following information: 1) Organization name, address, email address, Web site address, telephone number, and size and type of ownership for the organization; and 2) Tailored capability statements addressing the particulars of this effort, with appropriate documentation supporting claims of organizational and staff capability. If significant subcontracting or teaming is anticipated in order to deliver technical capability, organizations should address the administrative and management structure of such arrangements
The Government will evaluate market information to ascertain potential market capacity to: 1) provide services consistent, in scope and scale, with those described in this notice and otherwise anticipated; 2) secure and apply the full range of corporate financial, human capital, and technical resources required to successfully perform similar requirements; 3) implement a successful project management plan that includes: compliance with tight project schedules; cost containment; meeting and tracking performance; hiring and retention of key personnel and risk mitigation; and 4) provide architectural & engineering services under USACE contract.
ELIGIBILTY. The North American Industrial Classification Code (NAICS) for this requirement is: 541330, “Engineering Services”; 541310 “Architectural Services”. The related size standard is: $16.5M.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND SUBMISSION DETAILS (VIRTUAL INDUSTRY DAY). CENWO has scheduled a teleconference for interested parties where additional project information may be provided and limited questions may be addressed. The teleconference is scheduled to start at 2:00 PM CDT, 20 April 2023 Please note, all information to be discussed is subject to change as additional project details become available.
To register for this Virtual Industry Day, interest parties shall email Adam Beaver, at adam.l.beaver@usace.army.mil, by noon (CDT) on 19 April 2023. The email shall include:
SUBJECT: “Madison PGRF A-E Sources Sought – Teleconference Info Request”
CONTENT: Firm name and CAGE code, names of parties calling in, anticipated number of dial-ins, and any questions, recommendations, or concerns the firm has which may influence the acquisition strategy.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND SUBMISSION DETAILS (CAPABILITIES STATEMENT) Interested parties are requested to submit a capabilities statement of no more than ten (10) pages in length in Times New Roman font of not less than 10 pitch. Formal responses to this Sources Sought notice must be submitted electronically (via email) with SUBJECT: Sources Sought Madison PGRF A-E contract, to adam.l.beaver@usace.army.mil no later than noon CDT, 01 May 2023. All successfully submitted responses will receive an acknowledgement by return email. ANY RESPONSES RECEIVED AFTER THE SPECIFIED DATE AND TIME WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.
All responses to this Sources Sought must address, at a minimum, the following items:
- Company's name, address, point of contact, phone number, e-mail address, CAGE and UEI number.
- Interested parties should demonstrate through references, project lists, or reports, they possess experience and capacity to successfully execute a project of this size and scope.
- Provide relevant information on the company's experience/capabilities as it pertains to the proposed work outlined in the Project Scope. For example, what type of work has your company performed in the past of the same or similar requirement? Can, or has, your company managed a requirement of this nature, please provide details? Can, or has, your company managed a team of subcontractors before, please provide details? What specific technical skills does your company possess which ensure capability to successfully perform this requirement?
- The Government may consider the relevant experience and past performance of key individuals and predecessor companies in evaluating the firm's experience and past performance factors. Firms should address within the content limitations above, the extent of small business participation in the projects submitted.
- Provide a maximum of three project examples, similar in size, scope and complexity to the work described in paragraph 3 of this notice, with a brief description of each project, customer name, timeliness of performance, contract number, customer satisfaction, and the final project dollar value.
- Provide a statement including current small/large business status and company profile, to include number of employees, annual revenue history, office locations, UEI, etc.
- Respondents to this notice also must indicate whether they qualify as a Small, Small Disadvantaged, Women-Owned, HUBZone, or Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Concern.
The Government may verify information in CPARS or PPIRS.
The proposed contract is anticipated to include features of work that will be accomplished by labor categories that are subject to the Service Contract Act or a collective bargaining agreement.
Upon evaluation of the capability statements, if it is determined that this requirement will be an unrestricted competition, the Government intends to evaluate the Small-Business responses and conduct further market research to identify a subcontracting goals.
Your response to this Sources Sought, including any capabilities statement, shall be electronically submitted to the Contract Specialist, Adam Beaver, on the provided spreadsheet attachment, via email at adam.l.beaver@usace.army.mil. The response shall have no more than ten (10) pages in length in Times New Roman font of not less than 10 pitch, including cover pages, pictures, or other documentation.
All data received in response to this Sources Sought that is marked or designated as corporate or proprietary will be fully protected from any release outside the Government.
No phone calls will be accepted.
All questions must be submitted to the contract specialist identified above. The Government is not committed nor obligated to pay for the information provided, and no basis for claims against the Government shall arise as a result of a response to this Sources Sought.
