1-FINAL Copy RFSQ Professional Design Services CAPS CTE Facility 061826.docx.pdf

REQUEST FOR STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN SERVICES

CAPS- Career and Technical Education (CTE) Facility

Solicitation #CCSD-SOQ063026

I. PURPOSE OF REQUEST

Cache County School District (“District or CCSD”) is requesting Statements of Qualifications (“SOQ”) from qualified architectural firms and their consultant teams to provide professional design services for a new Career and Technical Education (CTE) facility primarily supporting the District’s CAPS program and related profession-based learning initiatives.

II. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

This solicitation is intended to be a qualifications-based procurement for design professional services. Fee proposals, billing rates, and cost proposals shall not be submitted with the SOQ unless specifically requested by the District.

The project is anticipated to consist of a new standalone educational facility located on District-owned property at 723 W. 1400 N., Logan, Utah 84321. CACHE COUNTY PARCEL #04-290-0003. The anticipated facility size is approximately 17,000 to 20,000 square feet.

The project is anticipated to utilize a traditional design-bid-build delivery method.

Procurement Type-Qualifications-Based Selection for Professional Architectural and Engineering Services

The District intends to select the highest-ranked qualified consultant team and negotiate a scope of services and fee following completion of the qualifications evaluation process. If the District is unable to negotiate a satisfactory agreement with the highest-ranked firm, the District may terminate negotiations and proceed to the next-ranked firm.

The anticipated construction cost for the project is currently expected to be in the approximate range of $7 million to $8 million, depending upon final scope, systems selection, escalation, and site development requirements. Based upon current conceptual estimating, the anticipated construction cost range is generally expected to fall within an approximate range of $375 to $425 per square foot for the primary facility scope, excluding certain owner soft costs, FF&E, land acquisition, and related project costs.

The anticipated total project cost, inclusive of soft costs, FF&E, technology, contingencies, and related project costs, is currently expected to be approximately $10 million to $11 million.

The District reserves the right to modify project scope, schedule, budget, systems, phasing, and delivery approach as project planning proceeds.

CCSD reserves the right to reject any or all statements or to waive any formality or technicality in any submission, in the best interest of the District. CCSD reserves the right to cancel this request for SOQ in whole or in part at any time if it is in the best interest of the District.

III. ISSUING OFFICE AND SOQ REFERENCE NUMBER

The CCSD Purchasing Department is the issuing office for this document and all subsequent addenda, on behalf of the Construction and Facilities Department. The reference number for this solicitation is CCSD-SOQ063026

From the issuance of this SOQ until a vendor is awarded a contract and the award is published, Vendors are prohibited from communicating regarding this SOQ with the conducting procurement unit staff, evaluation committee members, CCSD board members, or other associated individuals, EXCEPT the CCSD purchasing manager overseeing this SOQ. Failure to comply with the requirement may result in disqualification.

IV. TERMS AND CONDITIONS

A contract resulting from this SOQ will include the Cache County School District Standard Terms and Conditions (Attachment A).

A bid shall be rejected if it is not responsive or responsible. A bid that is not responsive includes a bid that:

1. Is conditional

2. Attempts to modify the bid requirements

3. Contains additional terms or conditions

4. Fails to conform to the requirements or specifications of the SOQ

If a bidder’s terms and conditions are attached, referenced, or embedded into a bid, the bid may be rejected as non-responsive.

Exceptions must be raised during the Question-and-Answer period.

V. QUESTIONS:

All questions or clarifications regarding the solicitation MUST be submitted through the Utah Public Procurement Place Website (U3P Bonfire). https://utah.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=openOpportunities and are subject to the deadline for submitting questions, which is before June 24, 2026, 3:00 PM MDT.

Questions may be answered in the order they are submitted, or compiled into a single document and answered in an addendum. Answers disseminated by CCSD through the (U3P Bonfire) system shall serve as the official and binding position of CCSD and will constitute an addendum to this SOQ.

https://utah.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=openOpportunities

Questions, exceptions, or notifications to CCSD of any ambiguity, inconsistency, excessively restrictive requirement, or error in this RFP MUST be submitted as a question through (U3P) during the Q&A period.

Questions may be answered individually or compiled into a single document. Questions may also be answered via addenda. An answered question or addenda may modify the specification or requirements of this SOQ. Answered questions and addenda will be posted on (U3P).

Vendors should periodically check (U3P) for answered questions and addenda before the closing date. The vendors are responsible for submitting their proposals as required by this SOQ, including any requirements in answered questions and/or addenda

VI. ADDENDA

Vendors are encouraged to periodically check the U3P Bonfire site for posted questions, answers, and addenda.

Any modification to this procurement will be made by an addendum issued by CCSD Purchasing. Addenda to this SOQ may be issued for the purpose of making changes to the scope of work, scheduling, qualification requirements, criteria, weighting, or other requirements of this SOQ.

After the due date and time for submitting a proposal to this SOQ, at the discretion of the chief procurement officer or head of a procurement unit, addenda to this SOQ may be limited to vendors that have submitted proposals, provided the addenda do not make a substantial change to this SOQ that likely would have impacted the number of vendors responding to the original publication of this SOQ.

Authorized and properly issued addenda shall constitute the official and binding position of CCSD.

Any response to this SOQ that has, as its basis, any communications or information received from sources other than this RFP or related addenda, may be considered non-responsive and rejected at the sole discretion of CCSD

VII. PROJECT OVERVIEW

A. Project Description

The District is planning development of a new standalone facility intended to support Career and Technical Education programming, with particular emphasis on CAPS-style profession-based learning.

For purposes of this solicitation, the District views CAPS programming as substantially different from a traditional classroom building or conventional vocational shop environment. CAPS-style programming is intended to place students in professional, industry-connected learning environments where they work on real-world problems, use industry-standard tools, interact with business and community partners, and develop professional skills in addition to technical skills.

The District currently anticipates approximately eight primary instructional and lab-oriented program environments supported by collaborative spaces, commons areas, meeting rooms, offices, storage, and related support functions.

Several of these environments may support multiple overlapping instructional and profession-based learning functions as programming development proceeds.

The facility may include a combination of the following program elements:

Core Learning Environments

1. Flexible instructional spaces

2. Innovation and maker environments

Anticipated Instructional and Lab Environments

1. Engineering and prototype development areas - Applied fabrication and prototype development environments supporting assembly, prototyping, material processing, and hands-on project work involving light fabrication activities, dust-producing operations, ventilation needs, and small equipment use.

2. Digital design and media production spaces

○ Adjacent sound booth and podcast/video production environments

○ Adjacent photo and digital media studio spaces

3. Business and entrepreneurship instructional spaces

4. Health and bioscience instructional environments

5. Agriculture-related instructional lab environments

6. Education/teaching preparation program environments

7. Hands-on repair, fabrication, or garage-style instructional spaces

8. Innovation lab - Environments supporting computing, electronics development, prototyping, and applied technology projects

Multi-Use and Collaboration Environments

1. Flexible collaboration and presentation environments

2. Student commons and gathering spaces (Ideally seating for 200-300 persons)

3. Event and community presentation functions

○ Catering or warming kitchen support

Administrative and Support Spaces

1. Industry partner meeting and mentoring environments

○ Four small conference rooms

○ One large conference room

2. Administrative offices

3. Staff support and break areas

4. Appropriate storage and support functions

The District anticipates these environments should support a professional, collaborative, and adaptable learning experience while remaining practical, durable, maintainable, and cost-conscious.

B. Primary District Priorities

The District is seeking a consultant team capable of balancing educational functionality, durability, operational practicality, and budget discipline. The items below represent the primary priorities that should guide each proposing team’s response and overall project approach.

The District considers project success to include development of a facility that is educationally effective, operationally practical, durable, adaptable, maintainable, cost-conscious, and welcoming to students, staff, and community partners.

The District is seeking a facility that supports profession-based learning while remaining realistic to construct, operate, maintain, and adapt over time.

Educational programming and stakeholder engagement The District expects a highly collaborative programming and planning process involving CTE leadership, CAPS instructors, industry partners, technology staff, maintenance personnel, security staff, custodial and operations personnel, and District administration.

Profession-based learning environment The facility should feel professional, industry-oriented, flexible, and distinct from a traditional classroom building. The District desires a welcoming and intentional student experience that supports collaboration, real-world project work, presentations, mentoring, and industry interaction.

Budget discipline and constructability The project is anticipated to be substantially funded through state grant funding. The selected team must demonstrate the ability to design to a fixed budget, manage cost estimating during design, prepare bid-ready documents, evaluate alternates, and help maintain scope within available funding.

The District desires thoughtful and intentional design solutions, but wishes to avoid unnecessary complexity, excessive specialization, difficult-to-maintain materials or systems, and design features that create long-term operational burdens disproportionate to their educational value.

Durability and operational practicality The District places significant importance on long-term maintainability, durable materials and systems, operational simplicity, appropriate equipment access, lifecycle cost considerations, and coordination with District operational standards.

The District is not seeking unnecessary architectural complexity or over-designed solutions. The District places substantial importance on practical, maintainable, and appropriately scaled design solutions that can be realistically supported by District operations and maintenance staff over the life of the facility.

Code, permitting, and agency coordination The consultant team must be prepared to actively coordinate required reviews and approvals, including local jurisdiction review, North Logan City entitlement coordination, utility coordination, applicable health department coordination, State Fire Marshal review, and other agency reviews required for public school construction.

Construction administration The District expects substantial consultant involvement during construction, including regular site presence, timely response to RFIs and submittals, active issue resolution, change review, pay application review, punch list participation, and closeout support.

VIII. SCOPE OF PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

The selected consultant team will be expected to provide comprehensive professional services associated with the project.

A. Programming and Planning

The programming phase is a major part of the project and should not be treated as a minor pre-design task. The District intends to place substantial emphasis on educational programming, stakeholder engagement, operational planning, and space definition prior to advancing into formal drawing production.

The District believes that introducing formal drawings too early in the process can distract discussions toward layout reactions or premature design assumptions rather than the actual educational, operational, and functional needs of the program.

The District anticipates the programming process may include development of adjacency studies, conceptual operational diagrams, preliminary space allocations, functional relationship discussions, conceptual layout options, and related programming documentation intended to guide future design decisions and project scope development. The District therefore expects the consultant team to support a thoughtful and deliberate programming effort before advancing heavily into formal design development.

The selected consultant team will be expected to lead a thoughtful process that helps the District define space needs, adjacencies, equipment needs, safety requirements, technology needs, operational expectations, and future flexibility.

The District requests proposing teams to clearly describe how they will:

1. Facilitate educational programming with instructors and District staff.

2. Translate profession-based learning into physical space.

3. Engage industry partners in a productive and practical manner.

4. Balance instructional vision with budget limits.

5. Coordinate specialized instructional needs without over-designing the facility.

6. Identify adjacencies, shared spaces, and flexible-use opportunities.

7. Coordinate maintenance, IT, security, custodial, and operations input during design.

8. Document programming decisions in a way that can guide design and control scope.

B. Design Services

The District expects proposing teams to provide coordinated, permit-ready documents suitable for public bidding and construction. The services below represent the anticipated baseline design expectations for the project.

Design services are anticipated to include the following:

Design and Documentation

1. Schematic Design

2. Design Development

3. Construction Documents

4. Multi-discipline consultant coordination

5. BIM/Revit coordination

6. Digital clash detection coordination

Code and Regulatory Coordination

1. Code analysis and compliance

2. Accessibility compliance

3. Energy code compliance

4. Educational occupancy coordination

5. Coordination with local agencies and utilities

6. Coordination with North Logan City, applicable code officials, and reviewing agencies

7. Coordination with the Utah State Fire Marshal’s Office and related educational occupancy review requirements

8. Preparation of documents necessary to advance the project to permit-ready status

9. Response to agency review comments and required plan revisions 10.Resubmittal coordination as necessary to obtain required approvals 11.Compliance with applicable Utah school safety and security requirements

Site and Building Systems Coordination

1. Building systems coordination

2. Site development design

3. Parking and circulation planning

4. Utility infrastructure coordination

5. Drainage and stormwater coordination

6. Coordination of security, access control, surveillance, and life-safety systems

7. Integration of District operational standards where applicable

8. Coordination of owner-provided FF&E and specialized instructional equipment

9. Conceptual rendered perspectives, space visualization graphics, and presentation materials appropriate for stakeholder and Board communication 10.Evaluation of multiple conceptual site and building layout options during programming and early schematic design 11.Discussion and planning considerations related to future expansion opportunities and potential shell-space concepts

12.Coordination with commissioning-related services or consultants if required due to evolving state requirements or project schedule considerations

C. Bidding and Procurement Support

The selected consultant team will be expected to assist the District during bidding, including:

● Preparation of bid-ready construction documents

● Preparation of addenda

● Responses to bidder questions

● Attendance at pre-bid meetings if requested

● Review of bid results

● Assistance with evaluation of alternates, substitutions, and bidder questions

● Recommendation support as requested by the District

D. Construction Administration

The District expects active and engaged construction administration services throughout the construction phase.

Construction administration services should involve regular consultant participation and timely response to project issues.

The District expects active construction administration services. Construction administration shall not be limited to occasional document review. The consultant team should also be prepared to attend and participate in stakeholder meetings, District administrative meetings, Board of Education meetings, community meetings, and public presentations as reasonably requested by the District. The District currently anticipates approximately three such meetings or presentations during the course of the project.

Construction administration services are anticipated to include: Construction Coordination

1. Regular construction meetings

2. Site observations

3. Coordination with consultants and District staff

4. Assistance in resolving field issues in a timely manner

Document and Review Services

1. Submittal and shop drawing review

2. RFI review and response

3. Change order review

4. Pay application review

5. Record drawing coordination

Project Closeout

1. Punch list participation

2. Closeout support

IX. REQUIRED CONSULTANT TEAM

The District expects proposing firms to identify a complete consultant team appropriate for the project.

At a minimum, the proposed team should identify the following disciplines and responsibilities:

Core Design Disciplines

1. Prime Architect

2. Civil Engineer

3. Structural Engineer

4. Mechanical Engineer

5. Electrical Engineer

6. Landscape Architect

Technology and Systems Coordination

1. Technology / Low-Voltage Consultant or design responsibility

2. Security Consultant or design responsibility

Site and Cost Support Services

1. Cost estimating responsibility

2. Geotechnical Engineering

3. Surveying

4. Cost estimating responsibility

Additional consultants may include traffic, commissioning, envelope, or other specialty consultants if recommended by the proposing team.

For each discipline, the SOQ shall clearly identify whether the work will be self-performed by the prime firm or provided by a subconsultant.

The District reserves the right to request additional specialty consultants during project development.

X. SOQ RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS

The District requests concise, direct submissions. Elaborate marketing packages, excessive graphics, promotional materials, and oversized binders are discouraged. The District is most interested in the actual team, relevant experience, project understanding, and approach.

Each SOQ shall include the following sections in the order listed below.

A. Cover Letter

Provide a cover letter signed by an authorized representative of the proposing firm. Include the primary contact, office location responsible for the project, a brief team overview, and acknowledgment of the firm’s ability to perform the work.

B. Firm and Team Overview

Describe the prime firm and consultant team. Identify all proposed subconsultants, their roles, office locations, and relevant experience. Clearly identify which disciplines are self-performed and which are provided by subconsultants.

C. Key Personnel

Identify the actual personnel proposed for the project, including the project manager, lead designer, educational programming lead, lead engineers, and construction administration lead.

For each key person, include role, office location, relevant experience, specific relevant experience with CTE/CAPS or comparable profession-based learning environments, professional registration if applicable, and anticipated level of involvement.

The District reserves the right to require approval of key personnel substitutions after selection.

D. Relevant Project Experience

Provide a minimum of three and a maximum of five relevant projects completed within the last ten years.

Relevant experience may include:

● K-12 CTE facilities

● CAPS or profession-based learning facilities

● Technical education facilities

● Higher education instructional or lab facilities

● Flexible learning environments

● Public education projects

● Utah or intermountain public-sector projects

For each project, include project name, location, owner, size, construction cost, completion date, delivery method, services provided, reference contact information, and a short explanation of why the project is relevant.

E. Project Understanding and Approach

The District places substantial importance on the proposing team’s ability to understand the operational and educational goals of the project rather than simply providing a standard school building response.

Describe the team’s understanding of this project and the challenges it presents.

The response should address:

1. How the team understands CAPS-style profession-based learning.

2. How the team would approach educational programming.

3. How the team would balance a professional/industry-oriented environment with budget limits.

4. How the team would coordinate building systems, site design, security, technology, and operations.

5. How the team would support a durable, maintainable, and operationally practical facility.

6. How the team would support code review, State Fire Marshal review, entitlement, permitting, and permit-ready document development.

F. Budget Management and Cost Control

The District expects proposing teams to demonstrate a practical and disciplined approach to cost management throughout programming, design, bidding, and construction administration.

Describe the team’s approach to designing within fixed public funding limits, including cost estimating, escalation management, value analysis, bid alternates, constructability review, and scope control.

The District requests proposing teams discuss how they manage scope growth during programming and design, maintain alignment between owner expectations and available funding, and avoid late-stage redesign caused by budget overruns.

The District is particularly interested in understanding how the proposing team approaches proactive budget management during early programming and design phases rather than relying heavily on reactive late-stage value engineering efforts.

G. BIM, Revit, and Quality Control

The District expects a coordinated digital design process capable of supporting accurate document coordination, clash detection, and efficient consultant communication.

Describe the team’s use of BIM/Revit, consultant model coordination, clash detection, document quality control, and coordination procedures.

H. Schedule and Capacity

The District desires a consultant team capable of maintaining project momentum while still allowing sufficient time for meaningful educational programming and project coordination.

Describe current workload, staffing availability, anticipated project capacity, and ability to support the project from programming through construction closeout. As part of the SOQ response, the proposing team shall provide a preliminary project schedule identifying anticipated durations for programming, conceptual site and building layout options, schematic design, design development, construction documents, agency review/permitting, bidding, and construction administration services.

I. Construction Administration Approach

The District is seeking a consultant team that remains actively engaged during construction and responsive to field conditions, contractor questions, and District concerns.

Describe the team’s construction administration philosophy, expected site presence, RFI/submittal response approach, consultant coordination during construction, and method for resolving field issues.

J. Lessons Learned / Project Challenges

Provide one or two examples of difficult project challenges involving budget, schedule, programming, entitlement, permitting, or stakeholder conflict. Describe the issue, the team’s role, and the result.

K. References

Provide at least three owner references for relevant projects, including owner name, contact person, phone number, email address, and project name.

L. Required Disclosures

Disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest.

Disclose any significant litigation, claims, or disputes involving the firm or proposed consultants within the last five years related to professional services.

XI. SUBMISSION FORMAT

All Statements of Qualifications must be received by June 30, 2026, 3:00 pm (MST)

The SOQ shall be limited to 25 pages, excluding cover, cover letter, table of contents, divider pages, resumes, project data sheets, licensing documentation, and required forms.

● Electronic PDF submissions shall be bookmarked and searchable.

● Submit SOQs electronically in PDF format and submit via: U3P Bonfire

● The subject line shall clearly identify the submission as:

○ “RFSOQ Submission – CAPS/CTE Facility – [Firm Name]”

● Late submissions will not qualify for review

Bids will be submitted electronically through a secure mailbox at the Utah Procurement Place (U3P) Bonfire:

https://utah.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=openOpportunities.

When submitting a bid electronically through Bonfire, please allow sufficient time to complete the online forms and upload documents. This IFB will close at the closing time specified. If you are in the middle of uploading your bid at the closing time, Bonfire will stop the upload, your bid will not be received, and it will not be reviewed by the CCSD.

https://utah.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=openOpportunities

Electronic bids may require uploading of electronic attachments. Bonfire will accept a wide variety of document types as attachments. Documents containing embedded encryptions cannot be processed by Bonfire. Additionally, the submission of documents containing embedded documents, zip files, MOV, WMP, and MP3 files is prohibited. All documents should be attached as separate files

XII. EVALUATION CRITERIA

The District is not necessarily seeking the largest or most nationally recognized firm, but rather the consultant team best able to support the District’s educational, operational, budgetary, programming, and project delivery goals.

SOQs with the District may select the highest-ranked firm based on written submissions alone. If written evaluations are inconclusive, the District may shortlist firms for conversational work-session style interviews before final ranking.

Evaluation Criteria Scoring Points

Relevant K-12 CTE/CAPS profession-based learning experience 20

Qualifications and availability of proposed key personnel 15

Programming and stakeholder engagement approach 15

Project understanding and approach 10

Budget management and cost control approach 10

Demonstrated past budget performance and scope control 10

Consultant team coordination, BIM/REVIT, and quality control 10

Construction administration approach 5

References and past performance 5

XIII. SELECTION PROCESS

The District currently anticipates the following process:

1. Advertisement of RFSOQ

2. Receipt of SOQ submissions

3. Evaluation committee review

4. Optional shortlist determination (3 highest scoring proposals that meet all the requirements)

5. Optional interviews or work-session discussions

6. Final ranking

7. Negotiation of scope and fee with the highest-ranked firm

8. Board approval if required

9. Contract execution

The District reserves the right to reject any or all submissions, waive informalities or irregularities, request clarifications, request additional information, conduct interviews, shortlist firms, modify the project scope, cancel the solicitation, terminate negotiations, proceed to the next-ranked firm, or reissue the solicitation.

XIV. INTERVIEWS, IF CONDUCTED

If interviews are conducted, the District anticipates using a conversational work session format rather than a formal marketing presentation.

The District may ask shortlisted teams (3 highest scoring proposals that meet all the requirements) to discuss project approach, programming, conceptual site and building layout options, budget control, permitting, stakeholder coordination, industry advisory input coordinated through the District’s CTE department, construction administration, and lessons learned from comparable projects.

The District may request attendance by the actual proposed project manager, programming lead, lead designer, and construction administration lead.

XV. LICENSING, INSURANCE, AND AGREEMENT REQUIREMENTS

All firms and individuals performing professional services shall maintain all licenses and registrations required under Utah law.

The prime architect shall be properly licensed to practice architecture in the State of Utah. Engineering consultants shall be properly licensed in the State of Utah.

The selected consultant team shall maintain insurance coverage meeting District requirements, including professional liability/errors and omissions coverage.

The selected consultant team will be required to enter into the District’s professional services agreement. The agreement may include provisions related to the scope of services, compensation, insurance, indemnification, schedule, ownership of documents, standard of care, termination rights, compliance with applicable laws, record retention, and public records compliance.

XVI. PUBLIC RECORDS AND COSTS OF RESPONSE

Submitted materials may be considered public records subject to disclosure under the Utah Government Records Access and Management Act. Any information claimed to be protected shall be clearly identified by the submitting firm. The District does not guarantee that any submitted information will be protected from disclosure.

The District shall not be responsible for any costs incurred by firms in preparing SOQs, participating in interviews, or engaging in related procurement activities.

XVII. ANTICIPATED SCHEDULE

RFSOQ Advertisement June 10, 2026

Questions Due June 24, 2026, at 3:00 PM

SOQ Due Date June 30, 2026, at 3:00 PM, MDT

Evaluation Period June 30 - July 10, 2026

Interviews, if needed July 14, 2026

Selection/Negotiation Beginning no later than July 20, 2026

Notice to Proceed No later than July 27, 2026

The District reserves the right to modify the schedule.