sf330 questions.docx

1. Please can you give us clarification on the Criteria 2 Specialized Team Experience. When reading the requirements in this RFP it sounds as if you are looking for a team that has completed within the past 5 years, 10 large scale projects five being historic and five new constructions with the minimum size of 1M Square feet of space. Is this the correct understanding? If so, the extreme requirement of having projects with that size and scope would eliminate every firm within the RFP 60 mile limit requirement since there aren’t that many historic buildings in the Washington DC area of those sizes. Response: The requirement is that the firm be within a 60 mile radius of Washington DC not that all the work experience be within that 60 mile radius. Offerors should select projects that best demonstrate their ability to meet the requirements of the solicitation, to include experience of the size indicated and projects in the Washington DC area.

2. Demonstrate specialized experience, within the past five years, of the firm and its consultants in the design of five (5) completed renovation projects of similar size and complexity and five (5) completed new construction projects. Similar size is defined as meeting the following two (2) conditions:

a. Building shall be a minimum of one million (1,000,000) gross square feet area and multi-storied. Each construction/renovation phase shall be a minimum of one hundred thousand (100,000) gross square feet.

b. Each renovation project shall be a minimum of $15 million.

Response: These statements are correct.

3. Can you please confirm the 12 point font requirement? Format of the required information within the required page limits may not be feasible with this size. Request consideration of a minimum 10 point font for legibility. Response: Font is to be 12 pitch.

4. Can you please confirm the one page limit for Section F projects, particularly given the detailed data to be provided under Criteria 2 (including performance evaluations) and minimum font size noted above. Response: The requirement is for only page per project.

5. Can you please verify the overall 50-page limit (exclusive of cover letter, resumes of key personnel, and organization chart): does this limit refer to the SF 330 Part I only, or does it include Part II? Response: The 50-page limit is for all parts of the responses except those specifically excluded. The Prime and Subs are each required to submit Part II of the SF 330; therefore, Part II of the SF 330 is not subject to the 50 page limit.

6. Can you please verify the 15 page limit on Section H. Instructions in the first paragraph of Selection Criteria indicate that additional sheets may be used to address Criterion 1 through 7 up to the maximum of 50 total sheets, if required. Response: As indicated in the solicitation “Section H shall not exceed fifteen (15) sheets.”

7. Under required services, it states that Key Personnel shall be licensed or accredited to practice their profession in Washington, DC, Virginia and Maryland. What is considered Key Personnel? Response: Key Personnel are defined in page 1 of the SF-330 instructions as, “Individuals who will have major contract responsibilities and/or provide unusual or unique expertise.”

8. According to the RFQ the Section F is to be one page. When listing an IDIQ/IDC with multiple task orders, it will be difficult to best illustrate our services in one page, especially if multiple members of our team participated in the project. Is it possible to change the requirement to 2 pages? Response: One page.

9. Where could we look to find the copy of the approved 1997 master plan referred to in this proposal? Response: The master plan referred to will be provided the successful contractor(s) in order to provide specific design under the contract. This information should not be necessary in order to provide the required SF330 and attachments.

10. Could we also have access to the following changes and modifications for reference to the anticipated scope of work?

0. Final site and building plans for Phases I and II approved by NCPC on October 2, 1997 and July 31, 1998, respectively.

0. Final site and building plans for Phase III approved by NCPC on October 3, 2002.

Response: A review of previous phases of work on the USDA South Building is not pertinent to providing qualification as request.

11. Please define Construction Management services, as listed under “Required Services” of this contract. Response: See answer to #12 below.

12. Under “Required Services” there is a request for the AE to include Construction Management Services. Is the intent that this include work for the AE as a CMA or is the intent that the AE have the capability to provide construction administration services relative to technical and design issues from the contract documents developed by the same AE? Or do you expect we will add this capability to our team via a subcontractor? Response: The Construction Management Services referred to the requirement that Contractor provide post-design construction management services of a technical and design nature, including daily inspection services to USDA, during construction by a third party.

13. When the RFP refers to page limits (50 pages overall, and 15 for Section H), does that mean 50 single sides, or may we use 50 double-sided pages? Response: The page limits listed in the solicitation are to be interpreted as sheets of paper. If both sides of a single page are utilized that would be one sheet towards the 50 sheet total and towards the 15 for Section H, as applicable. All offerors are encouraged to provide double sided responses.

1. Regarding Criterion 2, Specialized/Recent Team Experience:

Could you please confirm or clarify if the required building size of (a minimum of) 1M gsf refers to one building, under one roof; or, can it also be defined as the total gsf of several buildings on one campus, for the same client? This clarification can also apply to Criterion 3, Management and Resources, allowing a firm to establish the ability to work concurrently on multiple large projects on the same campus. Response: The required building size does not have to be under one roof but could be composed of several buildings in a campus.

1. “This ID/IQ contract will include the design of future phases of the South Building Modernization consistent with the approved 1997 Master Plan and other projects primarily in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.”

We thought it could mean that some projects weren’t in the DC metropolitan area. And pairing it with the following sentence:

“A/E firm's main office responsible for performing contractual obligations, sub-consultants' offices, joint venture partnership's offices and mentor/protégée's offices must be within a 60 mile commute to USDA Headquarters, 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20250 by Personally Owned Vehicle (POV) or Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA).” Response: USDA Headquarters does have responsible for several locations not in the Washington DC metropolitan area which the contractor(s) could be called upon to provided design services for. These projects would be managed with most meetings still taking place in Washington, DC.

1. Is it required that our fire engineers are licensed in Maryland, Virginia and DC? Response: Fire Engineers would be required to be licensed in Maryland, Virginia, and DC.