JOFC-_Redacted.pdf

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN

COMPETITION

41 U.S.C. 3304

In accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 6.302, I hereby determine that the Reis Subscription Service listed on (EQPA-19-0025) is required through a sole source procurement and competition is precluded for the reasons indicated below.

Please select the appropriate statutory authorities in accordance with FAR Part 6.302, Circumstance Permitting Other Than Full and Open Competition:

X FAR 6.302-1 Only one responsible sources and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements;

� FAR 6.302-2 Unusual and Compelling Urgency;

� FAR6.302-3 Industrial Mobilization; Engineering, Development, or Research

Capability; or Expert Services;

� FAR 6.302-4 International Agreement;

� FAR 6.302-5 Authorized or Required by Statute;

� FAR 6.302-6 National Security; or � FAR 6.302-7 Public Interest.

1. Identification of the Agency and the Contracting Activity:

The General Services Administration (GSA), Public Buildings Services (PBS), Contracting Office of Acquisition Service Division, proposes to enter into a contract on a basis of other than full and open competition for the GSA Public Buildings Service (PBS), Office of Leasing , Division, 1800 F Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20005.

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved:

Pursuant to the authority of the Competition In Contracting Act (CICA) and as implemented by FAR Subpart 6.302 and GSA Acquisition Manual (GSAM) 506.3 for justifying other than full and open competition, GSA intends to award a Firm Fixed price, sole source contract to REIS Inc.

The period of performance for this procurement is as follows:

Base Year: September 08, 2019 - September 07, 2020 Option Year 1: September 08, 2020 - September 07, 2021

Option Year 2: September 08, 2021 - September 07, 2022 Option Year 2: September 08, 2022 - September 07, 2023 Option Year 2: September 08, 2023 - September 07, 2024

3. A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the estimate value)

Contractor to provide:

1. Office market and submarket rental rates for a wide range of markets across the United States and its territories.

2. Detailed tenant improvement information and leasing commissions at the submarket level for various space types broken out for both new leases and renewing leases.

3. Detailed operating costs and rent concessions at the submarket level various space types.

4. Forward-looking projections of supply, demand, operating expenses and rent levels at the submarket level various space types.

5. Raw data files that can be provided on a quarterly basis at the sub-market level for office space with all rental, tenant improvement, and market concessions information

6. Geographical shape files for mapping the individual office submarkets that are covered

7. An internet-based platform with several years of historical market data

8. Historic, current, and anticipated supply and demand for real estate markets

9. Detailed qualitative submarket analysis reports

The overall IGCE of the anticipated contract is $900,000 over the course of 1 base year with 4 option years.

4. An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition In accordance with 41 U.S.C. 3304, GSA has determined that the procurement requires a sole source in order to satisfy the Agency’s need. Specifically, the basis for other than full and open competition is that GSA has an inherent business need for office market data, building operations and tenant improvement information, and other various market data points in order to support the Bullseye

Program used for negotiating lease that are beneficial to the taxpayer, to maintain and report out on GSA’s Agency Priority Goal which is the Lease Cost Relative to Market (LCRM) performance metric, and to execute on the Lease Cost Avoidance Plan, which is the PBS Commissioner’s number one priority. The contractor has proprietary rights over his data .Therefore, in accordance with FAR 6.302-1-Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements, GSA must pursue a sole source selection.

5. A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited The success of the Office of Leasing, as well as the PBS organization as a whole is deeply rooted in the Bullseye reports that are put together by Central Office analysts in the Office of Leasing. A Bullseye report is a blended target market rate compiled from three market sources that dictates the current office market rates being awarded. These bullseye reports are used as an essential negotiation tool for GSA's Lease Contracting Officer's (LCO) when procuring a new lease and very often lead to an LCO being able to secure a lower negotiated rental rate, thus saving the taxpayer money. In addition to being used as a negotiation tool, the bullseye program directly feeds the LCRM performance measure, which is GSA's sole Agency Priority Goal. Furthermore, it is crucial to the success of the Lease Cost Avoidance Plan, which is the PBS's commissioner's #1 priority.

As previously mentioned, a Bullseye report is compiled using data from three market sources:

, and REIS. and REIS are third party market sources that provide up to date market prices for a variety of the real estate financial figures that is relevant for the office space market such as average asking rate for a submarket, operating cost figures, and the vacancy and absorption of buildings in a particular market. Having three data sources is essential to the validity of the Bullseye Program because the market data that is provided can greatly vary, and by having three, a system of checks and balances can be put into place. For instance, source A may say the average rental rate is $30 per square foot, Source B may say $31 per square foot, and Source C may say $19 per square foot. Clearly the data from source C is vastly different from A and B, and therefore we would exclude source C from this particular bullseye analysis. Without 3 sources though, there would be no way of telling which source is accurately depicting the market, and therefore jeopardizing the accuracy of the bullseye program, GSA's sole Agency Priority Goal, and the Commissioner's #1 priority.

Having said all of this, with the exception of REIS, , there is no other market provider that can:

1. Provide the in depth type of market data we need

2. Provide the breadth of markets covered in GSA's $5.6 Billion dollar annual budget portfolio

3. Provide data in an aggregate and geographically-tied format that is essential to the numerous programs that rely on it.

Thorough market research has showed that only three(3) contractor are able to provide the nationwide data needed to negotiate on leasing for the General Service Administration .The three are and RIES and out of the three, GSA has a contract with . It is clear there is no other provider that can fulfill this requirement. The services that are provided by REIS are irreplaceable and similar services cannot be procured from other companies outside of and which are already under contract by GSA.

6. A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Subpart

5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies This requirement has been reviewed and tested in the market. Request For Information (RFI) was posted months ago and only three contractors responded as expected. And they are and REIS. For this procurement, extensive research has been conducted, GSA has communicated with major industry participants on potential market sources, and current requirements were re-evaluated and no additional providers have been identified. PBS meets with industry leaders on a quarterly basis, and the Bullseye Program is often a topic of discussion and the market sources used.

When asked how this program could be run differently, there is no mention of using different market sources than the three already provided. In addition to communicating with the market, extensive internet research was completed looking into various potential product alternatives.

7. A determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable The following Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE) of $900,000 represents a fair and reasonable value to the government based on market research, historical procurement data, and/or specific industry knowledge by the technical representative.

8. A description of the market research conducted (see part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted

GSA Center for Strategic Planning and Measures in the Office of Leasing staff conducted market research to determine contractors that would be appropriate for use on this case by contacting industry regarding market capabilities to meet our requirements. We also reviewed the results of recent market research undertaken with our previous acquisitions to meet similar or identical requirements.

Request For Information was posted on FedBizOpps and the three known contractors , and RIES )were the only ones that responded .Other products cannot produce the data in a raw format or cover the amount of markets needed for this contract. Furthermore, after discussing market sources from various leaders in the real estate industry, these three data sources have been identified as the most commonly used and reliable sources available in the market. Therefore, the only reasonable path forward would be to pursue a sole source selection with REIS.

9. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition (see FAR 6.303- 2(b)(9) for examples however this list is not inclusive) As mentioned in section 5, can provide similar type of data. However, they are two of the three contractors currently providing commercial real estate market data services for the Bullseye Program. If were to compete for this contract, the Government runs the risk of either as awardee of two separate contracts of exact scope for the exact program providing more or less the same data results and only two data sources for the Bullseye Program. Furthermore, as a contractor with duplicate contracts for the same of services of the Bullseye Program, either would receive double compensation for the duplicate data results. This, in turn, would greatly reduce the overall validity of the program. The next step since cannot fulfill the need of this contract would be to go out to the market for a different third market source. However as previously mentioned, other listed products cannot meet the required services. Other companies cannot provide the data in the necessary format or do not cover the markets required. Therefore, the only reasonable path forward would be to pursue a sole source selection with REIS.

10. A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition

REIS, Inc.

530 Fifth Ave New York, NY 10036

11. A statement of actions, if any, that agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent for the supplies or services required GSA will continue to poll the market in an effort to develop a competitive environment for future requirements. Furthermore, GSA meets with the industry on a regular basis, and will be sure to include market research as part of the ongoing dialogue. Request For Information will always be posted to solicit other contractors to can possibly provide the service.

Program/Technical Official Certification:

I hereby certify and accept the responsibility that any and all supporting data provided above or used to justify the above requested for a sole source procurement (e.g., verifying the Government’s minimum needs, schedule requirements, and/or other rationale for other than full and open competition) is accurate and complete to the best of my personal knowledge and belief.

7/10/2019

Signed by: General Services Administration

Mark Kinslow Contracting Officer Representative Office of Leasing

Contracting Officer’s Certification

I hereby certify that the information contained in this Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition, is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge.

Theophilus Hlovor Contracting Officer

THEOPHIL

US

HLOVOR

Digitally signed by THEOPHILUS

HLOVOR

Date: 2019.07.10 11:32:10 -04'00'