Approved JA_Tapestry Granite for CEAC_Redacted.pdf

Control No. 19-007

JUSTIFICATION REVIEW DOCUMENT FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

CONTROL NO. 19-007

PROJECT/EQUIPMENT: PN 78804 Engineering Center and PN 78805 Parking Structure, West Point, NY/Exterior Granite Stone Facade

AUTHORITY: 10 U.S.C. § 2304(c)(1) AMOUNT:

Prepared By:

NAME/TITLE: William Maher, Technical Manager

TELEPHONE: 917-790-8584

SIGNATURE

Contracting Officer NAME/TITLE: Francis Cashman, Contracting Officer

TELEPHONE: 917-790-8173

Requirements NAME/TITLE: Silas Bowman, Project Manager

TELEPHONE: 917-790-8249

SIGNATURES ARE REQUIRED BELOW

I have reviewed this J&A and find the justification adequate to support other than full and open competition.

District Small Business Specialist NAME: Justin Helfman

TELEPHONE: 917-790-8004

Business Oversight Branch Chief NAME: Lisa Assim

TELEPHONE: 917-790-8180

Project Manager NAME: Silas Bowman

TELEPHONE: 917-790-8249

Office of Counsel NAME: Lorraine Lee

TELEPHONE: 917-790-8055

DCC/CCC Contracting Chief NAME: Francis Cashman

TELEPHONE: 917-790-8173

Counsel for SCO-ATL NAME: Tristan Brown

TELEPHONE: 202-761-8541

SCO Atlanta/Alternate Advocate for Competition

NAME: Laura J. Eichhorn

TELEPHONE: (404) 562-5051

SEE APPROVAL PAGE

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

Tapestry Granite for the Exterior Façade of PN 78804 Engineering Center and

PN 78805 Parking Structure West Point, NY

Solicitation No. W912DS19R0019

1. CONTRACTING ACTIVITY:

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), New York District (NAN), Contracting (CT), 26 Federal Plaza, New York, NY 10278.

2. DESCRIPTION OF ACTION:

This Justification and Approval (J&A) supports the use of brand name components in an upcoming construction project. The government will not purchase the components directly, but rather will require that offerors include Tapestry Granite from Fletch quarry located in Milford, New Hampshire, (Tapestry Granite) as part of proposals submitted in response to a design-bid-build solicitation that will lead to the award of a new firm-fixed-price (FFP) construction contract. The MILCON project being procured is located at the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, NY. USACE is responsible for the acquisition and administration of a new construction contract to furnish and install the new Cyber Engineering Academic Center (CEAC) and Parking Structure military construction project (MILCON) at West Point, NY. The construction contract shall be procured via a competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) solicitation. Funding for this acquisition will be MILCON. The FFP construction contract for the new Cyber Engineering Academic Center (CEAC) and Parking Structure will be advertised under solicitation number W912DS19R0019, utilizing FAR Part 15, best value trade-off procedures.

3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES:

The requirement is to provide Tapestry Granite on the façade of the new Cyber Engineering Academic Center (CEAC) and Parking Structure. The Tapestry Granite on the Cyber Engineering Academic Center (CEAC) and Parking Structure will allow the new building to physically match the existing façade on Mahan Hall (located across the street), which is important because the new CEAC façade granite will physically touch the existing Mahan Hall façade granite where the new bridge from CEAC connects to Mahan Hall. Mahan Hall is clad with Tapestry Granite. Tapestry Granite will cover the exterior of the CEAC building on the South, East and North Facades (the West Facade is not as visible to the public and is designed for non-sole source faux limestone blocking). Tapestry Granite will also be used for all site granite, such as outdoor benches, exterior wall cladding and cladding of the nearby guard booth. Such use of Tapestry Granite is necessary for CEAC to meet the aesthetic requirements of the existing designated National Landmark Historic District. The estimated total cost for the construction portion of this project is The estimated cost of the requested brand-name requirement for Tapestry Granite for the CEAC is estimated at The required period of performance is 1,461 calendar days, based upon an analysis of the total work required, estimated production rates and site availability.

4. AUTHORITY CITED:

10 U.S.C. § 2304(c)(1), Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements, as implemented by FAR 6.302-1(a)(2).

5. REASON FOR AUTHORITY CITED:

A. Background:

The United States Military Academy at West Point is a designated National Historic Landmark District. The location was first used by the Continental Army in 1787 as a fort to prevent the British from utilizing the Hudson River for shipping. West Point was then turned into a military artillery and engineering school in 1797. Then West Point was designated as the location for the United States Military Academy in 1802. As a historic district, all changes to the area need to have New York's State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) approval. Changes that need approval include any exterior change to an existing building, any new building, site work and demolition. changes do not have an adverse effect on the historic nature of the USMA landmark district.

CEAC is across the street from Mahan Hall. The CEAC project includes a pedestrian bridge over the street, connecting from CEAC into Mahan Hall. CEAC will have a physical connection to Mahan Hall and therefore must appear consistent with Mahan hall to meet the historical aesthetic requirements of SHPO. All major buildings in the central area of West Point are clad with granite, many with Tapestry Granite. The exterior of Mahan Hall is clad with Tapestry Granite from Fletch located in Milford, New Hampshire. Some nearby buildings that are clad in Tapestry Granite include: Washington Hall built in 1929, Eisenhower Hall built in 1968, MacArthur Hall built in 1972 and the Jewish Chapel built in 1984.

B. Justification:

As part of the required National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review process, the project needed to receive approval from SHPO. The CEAC project needs to meet the requirements for construction in the West Point Historic Landmark District. As the CEAC project has a physical connection to Mahan Hall, by way of the new pedestrian bridge, the connection needs to consist of matching stone in order to meet the historical aesthetic requirements of SHPO. To meet this requirement, the CEAC will be clad in the same Tapestry Granite from the same quarry, Fletch located in Milford, New Hampshire, which clads Mahan Hall. A detailed on-site inspection of the Fletcher Quarry was made and sufficient matching minable stone exists to ensure a consistent look to the entire CEAC façade. The Tapestry stone on the face of Mahan Hall has performed exceptionally well during the 50 years it has been in service. Cracking, spalling, freeze damage and particularly staining from iron nodules has been limited or non-existent on Mahan Hall. Ensuring such performance delivers maximum value to the government over the life of the building and would be impossible to guarantee with any other stone source.

C. Alternatives:

While there are numerous granite quarries, granite is not a manufactured product with salient technical specifications or characteristics. Granite is a natural resource, and the appearance of granite will vary from quarry to quarry. Alternative cladding considered included pre-cast stone blocks and granite sourced from other quarries. Use of an alternative stone, whether natural and sourced from another quarry or manufactured as a pre-cast block, would not match the existing granite on Mahan Hall where the new granite will physically touch existing granite. Stone from another supplier simply could not provide a match of veining, color and brilliance/quartz distribution seen in the existing Mahan Hall tapestry granite.

D. Impact:

If a granite other than Tapestry Granite is used for the exterior cladding of the CEAC, the facility will not match Mahan Hall, which would be an unacceptable adverse effect to the West Point Historic Landmark District.

As the SHPO consultation and agreements have already occurred under the assumption that the façade of the CEAC building will be clad in Tapestry Granite, use of a different cladding material would not conform to the approved NEPA documentation.

The most recent major new construction project completed at West Point was Davis Barracks. The granite cladding on Davis Barracks was not sole sourced, which eventually led to a large modification to the construction contract. The Davis Barracks construction contractor submitted sample granite that they intended to use for the exterior cladding of the building. The granite sample met the specification of the contract, but U.S. Army Garrison West Point and SHPO did not approve the aesthetic of the submitted sample. The Government was forced to find acceptable granite after contract award. The selected granite was over more than the material cost of the initially submitted granite, so the Government had to modify the contract to pay for the more expensive granite with contingency funds. To avoid a similar situation on the CEAC project, the granite for exterior cladding was selected before construction contract award and needs to be included in the solicitation as a sole source material.

6. EFFORTS TO OBTAIN COMPETITION:

The brand name product has been published as required by FAR 5.201, a Notice of Intent (NOI) to determine sources for this system was synopsized on May 3, 2019. No responses were received for the Notice of Intent. The brand name justification and approval will be posted with the solicitation. As stated in paragraph 5 above, Tapestry Granite is the only brand available to ensure matching aesthetic within the West Point Historic Landmark District and meet the project s current NEPA and SHPO requirements. Based on on-going informal market research, availability in the market for Tapestry Granite has not changed since the NOI was completed last FY. Tapestry Granite is available from one vendor for purchase and installation by all offerors.

7. ACTIONS TO INCREASE COMPETITION:

This is a one-time action necessitated by the reasons described above and no follow-on action is contemplated. All other services for this project are being procurement competitively through a Request for Proposal solicitation.

8. MARKET RESEARCH:

A Notice of Intent (NOI) to determine sources for this system was synopsized on May 3, 2019.

The NOI was published for the required 15 days on the beta.SAM.gov website. There were no responses to the NOI.

9. INTERESTED PARTIES:

There were no responses to the NOI posting. The solicitation will be will be synopsized in accordance with FAR 5.201 and responses will be evaluated per FAR Part 15.

10. OTHER FACTS:

N/A

11. TECHNICAL CERTIFICATION:

I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the justification and approval are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Name: William Maher Date:

Title: Technical Manager

12. REQUIREMENTS CERTIFICATION:

I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the justification and approval are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Name: Silas Bowman Date:

Title: Military Programs Branch Project Manager

13. FAIR AND REASONABLE COST DETERMINATION:

I hereby determine that the anticipated cost or price to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable. This determination is based on the Independent Government Cost Estimate, the items being procured, and historical data.

Name: Francis Cashman Date:

Title: Contracting Officer

14. CONTRACTING OFFICER CERTIFICATION:

I certify that this J&A is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Name: Francis Cashman Date:

Title: Contracting Officer

APPROVAL

Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the brand name requirement for Tapestry Granite , for the Exterior Façade, estimated at in support of the Cyber Engineering Academic Center (CEAC) and Parking Structure at West Point, NY as authorized by 10 U.S.C. § 2304(c)(1), and as implemented by FAR 6.302-1(a)(2), subject to availability of funds and provided that the product herein described has otherwise been authorized for this acquisition.

Date:

Signature:

Laura J. Eichhorn Alternate Advocate for Competition

7 May 2020