RFQ 26-0207

Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for Interior Design Services for Arlington Air Center Fixed-Base Operator at Arlington Municipal Airport

Evaluation Criteria and Qualification Submission

The City will conduct a comprehensive and impartial evaluation of all responsive qualifications received in response to this RFQ. The City reserves the right to use any and all reasonable and relevant criteria in making its decision as to the most advantageous respondent. Discussions may be conducted with vendors determined to be reasonably qualified, and the City reserves the right to reject any and all qualifications. The City reserves the right to determine the overall qualifications under the RFQ.

A committee comprised of various city staff will evaluate all responsive qualifications. At the City’s option or in order to make a final determination, respondents may be invited to a second round of scoring which may include oral presentations or interviews. The evaluation committee will determine the responsiveness and acceptability of each qualification according to established criteria.

Vendors shall be treated fairly and equally with respect to any opportunity for discussion and revision of their offer. To obtain the best and final value offers, revisions may be permitted after submissions and before award of the Contract.

The City will evaluate and score each of the qualification submittals received from responsive respondents based on established criteria listed below. Only the top ranked respondents will proceed to the Negotiation Phase. No order of preference is required during this phase.

Evaluation Criteria:

An evaluation committee will assess the information provided by respondents in response to the criteria established below. The scores of all evaluators will be used to determine the ranking of each qualification. Qualifications will be evaluated on a matrix of the following criteria/weights.

Maximum Possible

Points Evaluation Criteria

Project Approach and Methodology

• Clarity and creativity of the design approach.

• Understanding of FBO operations and aviation-specific requirements.

• Methodology for delivering design solutions, including sustainability, functionality, and user experience considerations.

• Stakeholder engagement and communication plan.

• Ability to demonstrate procuring furnishings needed to complete the project based off design work.

• Experience with furniture procurement and installation.

• Approach to pilot comfort and amenity-focused design.

• Proposed timeline for completion.

Experience and Qualifications of Firm:

• Demonstrated experience in interior design projects, particularly in Aviation or FBO environments.

• Quality and relevance of past project portfolio.

• Provide past project design and furnishing photos and samples.

• Proven ability to meet project goals on time and within budget.

• Experience with aviation facilities, FBOs, hospitality, or similar commercial environments.

• Expertise in furniture procurement and vendor coordination.

• Experience designing for high-traffic, customer-focused environments.

• Strong understanding of durability, maintenance, and lifecycle considerations.

• Proven ability to deliver cohesive, branded interior environments.

Project Team and Past Performance:

• Qualifications, expertise, resumes and experience of the proposed project team.

• Past performance on similar projects, including client references and outcomes.

• Ability to meet deadlines and adapt to project challenges.

• Project team qualifications and roles.

• Resumes of key personnel assigned to the project.

• References (minimum of three recent clients).

Design Quality, Functionality, and Durability

• Ability to create and deliver interior designs that are aesthetically cohesive, functional and durable.

• Consideration of long-term durability, maintenance, and adaptability of materials and finishes.

• Integration of best practices for safety, accessibility (ADA), and regulatory compliance (FAA or airport-specific).

100 TOTAL POINTS

Each vendor is responsible for submitting all relevant, factual, and correct information with their submission. The evaluation committee will assign a ranking score to each vendor based on the available data.

Short-Listing:

The Evaluation Committee at its sole discretion may create a short-list of the highest scored qualifications based on the preliminary evaluation against the evaluation criteria. Only those short-listed Respondents would be invited to participate in interviews and/or presentations, demonstrations or product testing. Upon conclusion of any interviews and/or presentations, demonstrations or product testing, the Evaluation Committee will finalize the scoring against the evaluation criteria.

Oral Presentations:

Respondents who submit a QUALIFICATION in response to this RFQ may be required to give an oral presentation of their QUALIFICATION to the City. The City will schedule the time and location of these presentations. Oral presentations are an option of the City and may or may not be conducted.

Notwithstanding the possibility of a request for an on-site interview and presentation, Respondents shall not rely on the possibility of such a request and shall submit a complete and comprehensive written response to this solicitation. Any costs incurred for the interviews and the oral presentation are the responsibility of the Respondent.

The Evaluation Committee will then discuss the oral presentation results and arrive at an overall score for each respondent. Negotiations with the respondent having the highest overall score will then begin.

Negotiations:

If negotiations do not result in a contract, the city will then begin negotiations with the respondent having the second highest overall score. This process will continue until either a contract is awarded or the RFQ is cancelled. Once the city and the respondent determine that an agreement cannot be reached and the decision is made to move on to the next highest scoring respondent, negotiations cannot be reconvened with a respondent with whom agreement previously could not be reached.

Other Considerations:

The City reserves the right to consider historical information and facts, whether gained from the qualification, references, or any other source, in the evaluation process, including Respondent’s past working or business relationship with the City, if any.

The City will also consider the impact on the ability of the City to comply with rules, policies, and practices relating to contracting with historically underutilized businesses and nonprofit organizations employing persons with disabilities. The City reserves the right to consider a Firm’s background, personnel, experience, financial and other references, exceptions to this RFQ or subsequent contract, and any working relationships, past or present, a respondent may have with its other clients.