Sole_Source_-_redacted.pdf

U.S. General Services Administration

GSA Region 9

Real Estate Acquisition Division

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

PROJECT NUMBER: 8CA3444

Agency Name:

1. NATURE AND/OR DESCRIPTION OF ACTION BEING APPROVED.

The General Services Administration currently leases 21,574 ABOA/22,324 rentable square feet (RSF) of office space at 1415 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 under lease number GS-09B-94651 for the

. The current lease expired February 12, 2019. Approval is requested to negotiate five-year lease extension with the incumbent Lessor without full and open competition for continued occupancy at this leased location.

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE SUPPLIES OR SERVICES REQUIRED TO MEET THE AGENCY’S NEEDS

(INCLUDING ESTIMATED VALUE).

The submitted a continuing need letter on April 28, 2015 for 22,324 rentable square feet of office and related space. To satisfy the ’s mission requirements, the facility must be centrally located within the city limits of Santa Barbara in order to service the clients from the neighboring cities . The service population is determined by the residential zip codes. Since the general area is difficult to travel to with one highway to access the surrounding cities between the mountains and the ocean, Santa Barbara is ideal due to the availability of public transportation. The service population can easily access Santa Barbara by the means of freeway, buses, and trains. Other surrounding cities do not have as many public transportation options available.

This requirement is for 21,574 ABOA/22,324 RSF of space for a five-year term to commence on February 13, 2019. The estimated cost of this lease is per rentable square feet per year for an annual cost of $ and a total contract value of $ . The delineated area is the city limits of Santa Barbara, California.

3. IDENTIFICATION OF STATUTORY AUTHORITY PERMITTING OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN

COMPETITION.

41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1): Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. In accordance with GSAM 570.402-4, a contracting officer is authorized to negotiate a long term lease directly with an incumbent lessor where advertising and a market survey have not identified alternative sources.

4. DEMONSTRATION THAT THE PROPOSED CONTRACTOR’S UNIQUE QUALIFICATIONS OR

NATURE OF THE ACQUISITION REQUIRES THE USE OF THE AUTHORITY CITED.

Advertising and market research did not reveal any available sources. See part 7 for details.

5. DESCRIPTION OF EFFORTS MADE TO ENSURE THAT OFFERS ARE SOLICITED FROM AS

MANY POTENTIAL SOURCES AS IS PRACTICABLE.

Per the requirements of GSAR 570.402-2, the GSA Lease Contracting Officer placed an advertisement on FedBizOpps (FBO) on February 6, 2019 for 14 days. In addition, GSA conducted market research using CoSTAR to search for available buildings. There were no responses to the posted advertisement and there were no buildings with the available square footage within the delineated area.

6. DEMONSTRATION BY THE CONTRACTING OFFICER THAT THE ANTICIPATED COST TO

THE GOVERNMENT WILL BE FAIR AND REASONABLE.

Market research was conducted on January 28, 2019 by GSA in Santa Barbara, California, for 21,000 to 50,000 square feet. The results indicated that there were no buildings within the delineated area for the requested square footage. The source of market research was CoSTAR.

Another market research was conducted without any square footage limitations. The results are listed in Section 7. The results indicate that the fully service asking rate ranged from $ /RSF to $ /RSF with an average of $ /RSF for the properties listed.

Therefore, the proposed rental rate for this lease extension of $ /RSF, which is a 3% increase from the current rate, is deemed fair and reasonable by the GSA Lease Contracting Officer.

7. DESCRIPTION OF MARKET RESEARCH CONDUCTED AND THE RESULTS.

GSAR 570.402-4 allows for negotiation with the incumbent Lessor when advertising and a market survey does not produce any available sources that can meet the requirement. On January 28, 2019, GSA conducted market research using CoSTAR and identified zero potentially acceptable locations. The incumbent is the only building that meets the agencies’ needs within the delineated area. In addition, GSA placed an advertisement conforming to GSAR 570.402-2 on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site (fedbizopps.gov) on February 6, 2019. The incumbent Lessor’s expression of interest indicated that the rate would be per RSF.

See Figure 1 below for the results of the market research.

Address Source Asking Full Service

Rental Rate*

1415 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA [incumbent] Expression of interest $ / RSF

1212-1216 State Street, Santa Barbara CoSTAR $ /RSF

733-735 State Street, Santa Barbara CoSTAR $ /RSF

21 E. Carrillo Street, Santa Barbara CoSTAR $ /RSF

1155 Coast Village Road, Santa Barbara CoSTAR $ /RSF

Average $ /RSF

* For purposes of comparison, fully serviced rates for all locations above (except current space) include $ to reflect an average operating rental rate in the Santa Barbara area. The average operating rent is obtained fromcurrent GSA leases.

Figure 1: Market Research Comparables

8. OTHER FACTS SUPPORTING USE OF OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION.

The current Lessor is the only responsive offeror and insists on completing this procurement as an extension instead of a new lease. It is in the Government’s best interest to do a long term extension.

9. LIST OF SOURCES, IF ANY, THAT EXPRESSED, IN WRITING, AN INTEREST IN THE

ACQUISITION.

10. STATEMENT OF ACTIONS, IF ANY, THE AGENCY MAY TAKE TO REMOVE OR OVERCOME

ANY BARRIERS TO COMPETITION BEFORE ANY SUBSEQUENT ACQUISITION.

In advance of an existing lease contract’s expiration, considerations will be given to allow for sufficient time to conduct a full and open procurement. The Government will consider the time and cost of moving from the existing location, and the time and cost to build out new space when deciding whether it is economically advantageous to stay at the existing building or to undergo a competitive action.

Additionally, consideration will be given to the customer agency’s mission and security requirements (if applicable) to include limiting any agency space requirements that may be deemed unduly restrictive and thus favor the incumbent. The Government will remain conscious of the effort to continuously encourage competition when practicable.

11. CONTRACTING OFFICER CERTIFICATION.

By signature on this Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition, the GSA Lease Contracting Officer certifies that the award of a lease extension of 22,324 RSF is in the Government’s best interest and that this Justification is accurate and complete to the best of the GSA Lease Contracting Officer’s knowledge and belief.

2019-03-19 _ Date Linda Luong, Lease Contracting Officer

12. PREPARER’S TECHNICAL CERTIFICATION.

I certify that the supporting data used to form the basis of this Justification is complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Linda Luong, Lease Contracting Officer

_ Date

2019-03-19

CONCUR:

Veronica Montoya, Area Manager

Pedro Zepeda, Branch Chief

1415 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA [incumbent]

Pamela Collins, Director Real Estate Acquisition Division

Indrek Aasmaa, Reviewing Attorney R9 Assistant Regional Counsel

APPROVED:

Jessica L. Escobedo, LAO R9 Regional Competition Advocate