IFalls LPOE GC Industry Day slides.pdf

International Falls Land Port of Entry Project GC Industry Day

May 19, 2025

Thank you for joining us today!

● Opportunity for a construction firm to partner with the Federal Government on this exciting and important project in northern Minnesota.

● Project overview

● Upcoming solicitation logistics and next steps

● Answer questions and general discussion.

Type questions in the chat, or hold until the end of the presentation

● A copy of this slide deck will be provided to those who RSVP’d

● Notes will be captured and distributed within the next week

Existing Primary Inspection Lanes

Project Team

U.S. General Services Administration (GSA):

● Project Manager - Seth LaRocque

● Contracting Officer - Anna Vanko

● Contract Specialist - Ulyana Gunkelman

● Project Management Specialist - Matt Heiman

● Contracting Officer Representative - Brad Taplick

● Property Manager - Thomas Wasut

● Project Sponsor - Don Melcher

● OIG- Jeffrey Ryan

Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Design Firm - Snow Kreilich Architects

CMa/Commissiong - Jacobs Technology

Contact anna.vanko@gsa.gov with any questions about the project during the procurement stage.

mailto:anna.vanko@gsa.gov

What has changed?

● This project was originally solicited about a year ago as a CMc delivery method

● GSA received no awardable proposals

○ Team has applied lessons learned from the first solicitation and has made necessary adjustments through the planning and design processes

● No longer a CMc project. This will be a General Contractor (GC) contract with a firm fixed price

● Construction Documents have been developed to the 75% CD stage

● Fewer unknowns compared to concept phase

● Project Labor Agreement (PLA) requirements have been rescinded

● Simplified Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) requirements

● Reduced risk for construction firm

○ Example: High-voltage transmission line relocation no longer part of the construction scope

Project Background and Overview

● Existing Land Port of Entry (LPOE) sits at the foot of the International Bridge on a small, constrained site.

● Building and site are currently too small to allow Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to operate effectively.

● Current project intends to expand the LPOE program by building new facilities on a 20-acre site to be purchased along the Rainy River.

● Project is currently at the 75% Construction Document design stage. The construction is planned to start next spring/summer and be completed by 2029.

● GSA intends to issue a solicitation for General Contractor (GC) construction services in July 2025.

○ Notices/updates will be provided on sam.gov

EXISTING LPOE

SITE (RED)

INTERNATIONAL FALLS, MN

Existing Site

FORT FRANCES, ON

RAINY RIVER

EXISTING PCA

TRAILER PARKING

FIRST CREEK

HWY 11

PCA CHIP YARD

2n d

AV

E

PCA MILL

MD&W

LPOE EXPANSION

AREA (GREEN)

Existing PCA Trailer Parking

Existing PCA Pneumatic Chip Line

Existing High Voltage Transmission Line

HV TRANSMISSION

LINE (YELLOW)

PCA CHIP LINE

(PURPLE)

IN

T’

L

BR

ID

G

E

EXISTING LPOE SITE

INTERNATIONAL FALLS

RELOCATED

FIRST CREEK

Proposed Site Plan Note: a full set of Construction Documents (drawings, specifications, etc.) will be issued with the GC solicitation. Images shown here are a general overview.

Existing/Proposed Floor Plans- Main and Non-Commercial Garage Buildings

Existing LPOE, Level 1

Existing LPOE, Level 2

Proposed Floor Plans- NII and Commercial Inspection Building

Port Expansion / Size Comparison

● Existing LPOE= 10,685 NSF

● Proposed LPOE= 114,955 NSF 10x!

Materials Selection

● Federal Agencies

● City of International Falls

● City of Fort Frances

● City of Ranier

● Voyageurs National Park

● Koochiching County

● Local citizens, businesses, and community organizations

● Packaging Corporation of

America (PCA)

● MD&W Railway

● Bridge owners

● Duty Free America

● Rainy Lake Medical Center

● Minnesota DNR

● Minnesota DOT

● Utility Providers

● ...and many others

Stakeholders

International Falls, Minnesota

Fort Frances, Ontario

In t’l

B rid ge

PCA

MD&W

Ranier and Voyageurs Nat’l

Park

Rainy River

Rainy Lake Med. Center

Border Patrol

Nat’l Park HQ

Falls International Airport

Canadian Border Service

New wellness district development

CN Rail

Minneapolis

~1 hr 20 min flight

Schedule Overview

● Construction Duration is planned for 36 months (2026-2029).

● A preliminary master schedule and phasing plan have been developed as part of the constructability review by our CMa. The GC will be provided those documents as information only for the purposes of communicating the complexities of the project schedule/phasing plan.

● The awarded GC Contractor will be responsible for developing their own construction schedule that aligns with the period of performance, coordination items, constraints, risks, etc.

GC Contract Procurement Schedule

We are here

NOTE: all dates are subject to change

We anticipate using the RFI’s received during the bidding process to help finalize the drawings from the 75% to the 95% CD’s

GC as a Project Partner We seek another strong partner to join our team!

Project Mission Statement: Create a welcoming gateway to the International Falls community and our Nation that is secure, resilient, and restorative.

Shared Goals:

● We will resolve pending issues within an average of 30 days of identification

● Achieve Level 5 for Schedule Variance Measure

● CPARS - Exceptional for all prime contractors

● Define and exceed minimum threshold for community engagement

Images from the Project’s first Partnering Session, Nov. 2023

S

GC Responsibilities and Expectations

● Proactive and Collaborative Planning

● Phasing construction activity to limit disruption

● Delivering the project on schedule

● Directing subcontractor work force

● Submitting and following detailed work plans

● Procuring labor, materials, and equipment

● Monitoring and controlling risks

● Coordinating with other stakeholders for gov’t furnished items

● Understanding and following contract drawings, specifications, and other relevant documents

● ...and more. Refer to the GC SOW for the full requirements.

Budget Overview

● Federal funding is via the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)/Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)

● Total Estimated Cost of Construction at Award (ECCA): $184M to 194M

● Contract will be awarded as a firm-fixed-price

● GC will be responsible for managing the contract to stay within the awarded price

● Costs will need to be submitted and tracked separately for various scope items

● Options will be defined on the construction documents

● Unit Costs will be established for handling contaminated soils (with a base bid total quantity of each unit cost item)

Procurement

Overview

● General Contractor (GC) Delivery

Method

○ No CAS Requirement, firm fixed price

Evaluation Factors

● Past Experience

● Management Approach

● Key Personnel

● Past Performance

Site Visit

● Date/time are TBD, but likely in

July or August

○ Refer to sam.gov for updates

A

Requirements

● Small Business Subcontracting Plan

J

Preventing Fraud, Waste, and Abuse

● All project team members are responsible for delivering projects that provide the best possible value to the American taxpayers.

● GSA has placed an emphasis on eliminating sources of fraud, waste, and abuse.

● Jeffrey Ryan, GSA Office of the Inspector General (GSA-OIG) has been assigned oversight of this project.

○ Contact: Jeffrey.ryan@gsaig.gov (312) 353-0836 mailto:Jeffrey.ryan@gsaig.gov