REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) 2 / MARKET INTELLIGENCE NOTICE –

SPECIAL NOTICE W912PL26QA006

Notice: This is a Request for Information (RFI) for market intelligence and for informational purposes only. This announcement does not constitute a Solicitation or a Request for

Proposal (RFP), and no solicitation is currently available. Participation in this RFI is strictly voluntary. The Government will not be obligated to award any agreement or contract because of this RFI, nor will it reimburse respondents for any costs associated with the preparation or submission of information. Submitting a response will not affect a firm’s ability to submit a proposal should a formal solicitation be issued in the future.

NAICS Code: 236220 – Commercial and Institutional Building Construction Small Business Size Standard: $45 Million

Note: While Other Transaction Authority is not subject to FAR-based small business regulations, this NAICS code is provided for market research to help the Government understand the size and demographics of the interested industrial base.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Los Angeles District (SPL), is conducting market intelligence to assess industry interest, capability, capacity, and commercial best practices for upcoming Progressive Design-Build (PDB) projects under 10 U.S.C. § 2808a (Facility construction or repair: transactions other than contracts and grants) at Vandenberg Space Force

Base (VSFB), Santa Barbara County, California.

This RFI specifically services the two (2) multi-project Progressive Design-Build agreements planned for award:

1. Agreement #1 (OTA-PDB): Launch Support Infrastructure (ECF, SLC-5, and

Telecom) o Project Program Amount: ~$90.6 Million (combining three critical components under DD Form 1391 Project Number XUMU262914):

▪ South Base Entry Control Facility (ECF) ($65.0M): Construction of an approximately 1,100 SM (11,840 SF) permanent access control point providing a controlled commercial-vehicle entry to South Base out of the

100-year floodplain. Scope includes a commercial vehicle inspection station; large-vehicle inspection shelter (~90 ft long, 34 ft clear width, 50 ft clear height); masonry gatehouse; overwatch guard tower with UL 752-rated glazing and gun ports; active and passive vehicle barriers; security control and surveillance systems; roadways, parking, lighting, and Energy

Monitoring and Control System (EMCS) connections.

▪ Improve Road and Infrastructure to Space Launch Complex 5 (SLC-

5) ($13.3M): Upgrading access and utility infrastructure to unlock SLC-5 launch capabilities. Includes connection to the Surf Road waterline;

~2,188 LF of new 12-inch water main along Delphy Road; roadway reconstruction from Coast Road to Surf Road; a 24-foot-wide roadway with 4-foot paved shoulders from Surf Road to SLC-5 (~14,600 SM); two

4-inch concrete-encased duct banks; a new 12.47 kV underground primary electrical distribution circuit (~975 M); removal of overhead lines; and utility pole relocations.

▪ Telecommunications Lines South Base to North Base ($13.2M):

Installation of ~6,050 meters (~19,849 LF) of underground telecommunications duct banks and large concrete manholes/handholes along 13th Street through the Mission Development Zone. Provides high-strand-count fiber-optic backbone cabling between South Base and North

Base, creates diverse routing, establishes a new Point of Presence (PoP), and completes the South Base telecommunications resiliency loop.

2. Agreement #2 (OTA-PDB): Consolidated Airfield Operations Facility (ATCT, Fire

Station 41, Base Ops) o Project Program Amount: $152.0 Million (DD Form 1391 Project Number

XUMU063000):

▪ Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) (1,280 SM / 13,778 SF):

Construction of a state-of-the-art aircraft control tower in accordance with

UFC 4-730-10 and FAA Order 6480, replacing a 1953-era facility.

Features include an elevated control tower cab with catwalk, training and briefing rooms, ATC officer spaces, weather observation facilities, redundant mechanical/electrical rooms, elevator machinery, pad-mounted backup transformers, advanced airfield communications, and specialized collision-avoidance/radar surveillance lines of sight.

▪ Crash/Fire Station 41 (1,825 SM / 19,644 SF): Construction of a modern, multi-bay Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) and structural satellite fire station per UFC 4-730-10 and DoD 6055.06.

Includes drive-through apparatus bays sized for modern ARFF vehicles, protective gear lockers/laundry, decontamination areas, foam/agent storage, station officer offices, dormitory sleeping rooms, day room, kitchen, training classrooms, and physical fitness areas.

▪ Base Operations Facility (540 SM / 5,813 SF): Modern airfield operations facility integrating flight planning, airfield management, weather operations, and emergency response administration.

▪ Airfield Supporting Infrastructure & Demolition: Construction of a

2,508 SM aircraft parking apron, airfield beacon, pavements, walks, curbs, gutters, utilities, and demolition of four aged facilities totaling 2,432 SM

(Buildings 1740, 1748, 1754, and 1755). Designed for high-corrosion coastal conditions and compliant with UFC 4-010-01 Anti-

Terrorism/Force Protection (AT/FP) standards.

INFORMATION REQUESTED

• Company Profile:

• Firm Name, Address, and Point of Contact (Name, Title).

• Phone Number, Email Address, and Unique Entity ID (UEI).

• Socioeconomic Status (Large, Small, 8(a), SDVOSB, etc.).

• Other Transaction Authority (OTA) & Statutory Compliance:

• Innovative Technologies: The authority for this OTA (10 U.S.C. § 2808a) is focused and specifically designed to bring the fast-paced, iterative, and flexible principles of

Other Transaction Authority (OTA), which traditionally governs research and technology prototyping, into the physical infrastructure and military construction

(MILCON) domain. Describe any innovative materials, methods, or technologies your firm could propose for the project that could lead to cost savings, schedule acceleration, or enhanced facility performance and resilience.

• OTA Experience: Describe your firm's previous experience (if any) executing prototype projects under an OTA.

• Barriers to Innovation: What commercial or Government-imposed barriers currently make it difficult to propose or implement innovative construction technologies on traditional military construction projects? How could the flexibility of an OTA help overcome these barriers?

• PDB-OTA Suitability: What specific project characteristics (e.g., undefined subsurface utility alignments, active coastal launch corridors, complex mixed-use airfield operations) make PDB with OTA particularly advantageous or disadvantageous for these VSFB packages?

• Progressive Design-Build (PDB) & Integrated Team Execution

• Baseline Definition: A delivery method where the owner procures a single integrated design-build team on qualifications, advancing the design collaboratively from early concepts through open-book pricing, schedule integration, and risk sharing before committing to a construction GMP.

• Integrated Designer-Builder Synergy: In a PDB model, the Designer of Record (DOR) and the General Contractor operate as a unified entity under a single agreement.

Describe your firm’s approach to managing internal designer-constructor alignment to prevent friction, control design scope creep, and ensure continuous constructability and budget adherence during Phase 1.

• Collaborative Framework with USACE: What collaborative mechanisms (e.g., co-located design summits, "over-the-shoulder" reviews, digital Building Information

Modeling [BIM] integration, daily or weekly issue escalation ladders) have proven most effective in your PDB projects to keep the Owner, Design-Builder, and Base stakeholders fully synchronized?

• Experience with PDB & Collaborative Delivery: Detail your firm’s specific experience delivering projects utilizing Progressive Design-Build (PDB), Design-Build to Budget

(DBtB), or commercial negotiated Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) delivery models.

• Open-Book Transparency: How do you execute "open-book" pricing during Phase 1?

Specifically, how does your firm share subcontractor bids, labor burden worksheets, material quotes, contingencies, and general conditions to establish trust and prove fair market value to the Government?

• Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP), Risk Allocation & Compensation:

• Design Milestone for GMP Establishment: In your experience with Progressive Design-

Build, at what design maturity milestone (e.g., 35%, 60%, 65%, or 90%) is it most advantageous to establish and lock in the binding GMP or FFP for (a) heavy civil horizontal utility infrastructure and (b) complex vertical airfield/security facilities? What are the key risks of establishing a GMP too early or too late?

• Phase 1 Off-Ramp Compensation: If the Government and the Design-Builder are unable to agree on a final scope, GMP, or target schedule at the Phase 1 decision gate, what commercial compensation structures (e.g., firm-fixed design milestone fees, pre-priced

Phase 1 CLINs, time-and-materials for defined preconstruction services) provide fair compensation for your preconstruction effort without exposing the Government to open-ended costs?

• Phase 1 Payment Milestone Structure: Because OT agreements allow flexible milestone-based financing rather than rigid standard progress payments, what payment schedule structure during Phase 1 (e.g., completion of specific design review gates, delivery of validated open-book cost models, submission of BCOES packages) best supports your team’s cash flow and dedicated staffing?

• Intellectual Property & Data Rights under Off-Ramp: If the Government exercises an off-ramp at the conclusion of Phase 1, the Government requires ownership and complete data rights to the design deliverables, calculations, and specifications to allow completion of the project through other procurement methods. What commercial terms or licensing structures would your firm expect to protect your proprietary means and methods while providing the Government unrestricted rights to utilize the project design?

• Procurement of Long-Lead Items & Early Work: For long-lead critical components

(e.g., medium-voltage electrical substation equipment, 12 kV switchgear, airfield visual beacon systems, specialized fire suppression pumps, large-diameter fiber-optic cabling), how can the PDB agreement best be structured to authorize early procurement packages during Phase 1 prior to executing the comprehensive construction GMP?

• Contingency Pools & Target Cost Trending: How does your firm recommend managing design and construction contingencies within a PDB GMP model? What level of cost trending or budget variance would you normally anticipate between initial conceptual programming and final Phase 2 GMP lock-in?

• Technical Expertise and Infrastructure Construction Expertise:

• Airfield & Operational Facility Construction: Describe your experience designing and constructing complex airfield facilities, specifically Air Traffic Control Towers, crash/fire rescue stations, or high-bay aviation facilities. Detail your familiarity with

UFC 4-730-10 (Air Traffic Control Tower Design), FAA Order 6480, and DoD 6055.06 fire protection standards.

• Entry Control Facilities (ECFs) & Perimeter Security: Detail your experience designing and constructing military access control points (ACPs), commercial vehicle inspection stations (CVISs), passive/active vehicle crash barriers, ballistic-rated overwatch towers, and large-vehicle inspection bays.

• Extensive Horizontal Utility Infrastructure: Describe your experience installing underground utility infrastructure to include both conventional open trench methods and directional drilling. in active, security-controlled environments.

• Roadway Repairs and Improvements: Describe your experience installing new roadways and shoulders.

• Coastal and Corrosive Environmental Mitigation: Vandenberg SFB is situated in a severe marine coastal environment with high atmospheric salt content. What design choices, specialized materials, and construction practices does your team employ to mitigate severe corrosion across structural steel, concrete masonry, exterior mechanical/electrical enclosures, and airfield systems?

• California Central Coast Market Constraints: What specific constraints do you foresee regarding craft labor availability (e.g., electrical, mechanical, concrete, utility civil), concrete/asphalt batch plants, specialized equipment, and subcontractor trade capacity in the Santa Barbara / San Luis Obispo County area? How would a PDB-OTA approach enable your team to mitigate these market risks early?

• Minimizing Mission Disruptions: Both project sites are located on active Space Force installations with ongoing space launch missions, flight operations, and strict base access controls. Describe your methodology for executing concurrent horizontal and vertical work packages without impacting active launch countdown operations, airfield flightline operations, or secure perimeter security.

• Teaming & Subcontractor Integration:

• Integrated Team Composition: How does your firm plan to structure its PDB team

(e.g., integrated design-build joint venture, prime contractor with lead designer under a single contractual umbrella, or dedicated design-build entity)?

• Trade Partner On-Boarding: At what point during Phase 1 design development do you recommend onboarding critical specialty trades (e.g., electrical distribution, airfield communications, fire protection, deep foundations)?

• Subcontractor Competition & Transparency: How will you balance early subcontractor constructability and estimating input with competitive trade bidding to ensure the Government receives competitive, transparent market pricing within the open-book GMP?

• Feedback on the Acquisition Strategy & Alternatives:

• Incentivization: Does the proposed PDB-OTA two-step selection strategy (Step 1

White Paper down-select to up to 3 firms; Step 2 Pitch Presentation; single team selected for Phase 1 negotiation) incentivize your firm to invest the resources required to compete? Why or why not?

• Commercial Best Practices: Are there specific terms, conditions, or commercial project delivery practices that USACE should adopt—or standard Federal contracting clauses that USACE must avoid—to maximize industry participation, speed, and cost efficiency under 10 U.S.C. § 2808a?

• Alternative Approaches: Are there alternate project packaging, grouping, or phasing frameworks for the two PDB agreements that would deliver better value, reduce installation friction, or accelerate delivery?

• Bonding Capability:

• Phased Bonding Framework: In an OTA Progressive Design-Build project, the

Government anticipates establishing bonding requirements in phases: initial Phase 1 performance security covering design/preconstruction services, with full 100%

Performance and Payment Bonds deferred until Phase 2 construction authorization and

GMP negotiation. Would this phased bonding approach successfully preserve your bonding capacity and incentivize participation?

• Surety Commitment & Underwriting: What specific information, timeline, and level of design definition does your surety require to issue a commitment letter for Phase 1, and subsequently underwrite the full Phase 2 construction amount ($90M+ for Launch

Support; $150M+ for ATCT)?

• Surety Holding Periods & Funding Realignment: If there is a scheduled transition window (e.g., 60 to 120 days) between GMP agreement and formal obligation of Phase 2

MILCON construction funding, what terms or mechanisms will your surety require to hold performance and payment commitments open without cost escalation?

• Bonding Capacity Limits: State your firm's current Single Project and Aggregate

Bonding Capacity (Sole Prime or Joint Venture).

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS: Please email your responses in PDF format to Cameron

Stokes at cameron.stokes@usace.army.mil and Raj Cooper at Raj.Cooper@usace.army.mil by 15 October 2026 at 1:00PM Pacific Standard Time.

mailto:cameron.stokes@usace.army.mil mailto:Raj.Cooper@usace.army.mil