Presolicitation Notice for Design-Build (DB) Services for New United States Courthouse Project in Hartford, CT

This Synopsis is a Presolicitation Notice for the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), Public Buildings Service.  This notice is neither a solicitation announcement, nor a request for proposal or related documents. 

Project Description: This Presolicitation Notice is for Design-Build (DB) services required for the new United States Courthouse Project located at 180 Allyn Street in Hartford, CT.  The existing Hartford Courthouse, the Abraham A. Ribicoff Federal Building and Courthouse was constructed in 1963. The facility does not have the space functionality, security and existing conditions to meet the needs of the court. Additionally, the location of the courtrooms and detention areas creates a significant circulation challenge for the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) prisoner movement throughout the public spaces of the courthouse that does not meet the operational and safety needs of the Judiciary.

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), Public Buildings Service (PBS), is seeking a highly qualified contractor to provide comprehensive site design and construction services for a new U.S. Courthouse in Hartford, CT.

The proposed new courthouse is estimated to have a maximum total area not to exceed 281,000 gross square feet of office, storage, and special use space. The site selection for a new project site has been completed. The site consists of a 2.19 acre parcel located at 180 Allyn Street in Hartford. The new facility is to be designed to accommodate all court functions, specifically up to 11 total courtrooms, and up to 18 separate chambers, to house the US District Court and US Bankruptcy Court judges. The facility will also house the US District Clerk, US Bankruptcy Clerk, the US Probation and Pretrial Services Offices, and the US Marshals Service (USMS).  

The DB Contractor shall be a member of the project development team during the design and construction phases, along with GSA as owner/developer and GSA’s selected Construction Manager as Agent (CMa) firm. At the time of contract award, the DB Contractor’s firm price for design and for construction phase services will form the basis of the contract. The services requested of the DB Contractor shall cover a wide range of design and construction activities, which are often performed by both Architects and Engineers (A/Es) and General Contractors (GCs).

The services under this proposed contract will include the following: Design Phase Services (DPS) and Construction Phase Services (CPS). DPS shall include, but may not be limited to, preparation of concept, design development and construction documents, project schedule development, recommendation and implementation of phased construction (fast-tracking), cost estimating/tracking, development of subcontractor and supplier interest and identification of long-lead items. CPS shall include, but not be limited to, site remediation, construction of the courthouse, administration of the construction contract (whether the work is performed with the DB Contractor’s own forces and/or under subcontract), conducting regular construction meetings, Critical Path Method (CPM) scheduling with time and resource loading, daily logs and monthly reports, monitoring of construction costs, record keeping, progress reporting, schedule control, inspections, testing and other required supplemental services. The DB Contractor shall provide GSA with sound management advice regarding the approach to the project, how to achieve the best value in the work being accomplished, necessary actions, schedule control, alternative ideas, problem/claim prevention and budgeting. The DB Contractor shall have a full understanding of the project, the principles of Federal construction contracting and contract administration. Most importantly, the DB Contractor shall have complete responsibility for the design and construction of the facility. This project is utilizing a design to budget approach for this project. The highest priority of the Government is obtaining full scope within budget utilizing a Scope Prioritization Matrix that is intended to help offerors identify areas of betterments or scope reductions to achieve maximum scope for the prescribed budget.  The design of the new U.S. Courthouse shall align with Executive Order 14344, Making Federal Architecture Beautiful Again, dated August 28, 2025.

Contract Type: The contract type will be Firm-Fixed Price. 

Selection and Schedule: This requirement will be procured under Full and Open Competition in accordance with FAR Subpart 6.1.  The selected offeror will be competitively chosen using Source Selection Procedures in accordance with FAR Subpart 15.3.  The objective of the Source Selection Process is to select a proposal that represents the best value to the Government.  

The period of performance for the Design Phase Services is anticipated to be August 2026 to November 2027.

The period of performance for the Construction Phase Services is anticipated to be July 2027 to June 2030.

Magnitude of Construction: The Estimated Cost of Construction at Award is $282,000,000 - $292,000,000.   

NAICS: The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code associated with this procurement is 236220, Commercial and Institutional Building Construction, and the Small Business Administration size standard is $45 million.

Solicitation Information: GSA anticipates issuing the Solicitation on or about September 18, 2025 with receipt of proposals at a minimum of forty-five (45) calendar days later.  The Government intends to hold virtual proprietary meetings with offerors on October 6-7, 2025. All information, amendments and questions concerning this solicitation will be electronically posted to the Governmentwide Point of Entry at www.sam.gov.  No telephone requests will be accepted and no paper copies will be mailed to prospective offerors.

All offerors are required to have an active registration in the System for Award Management (www.sam.gov) at the time of offer submission.

In addition, in order for contractors to have access to Federal space, the contractor will be required to adhere to the HSPD-12, Directive Clearance Process, in accordance with FAR 

52.204-9 – Personal Identity Verification of Contractor Personnel (JAN 2011).

Place of Performance: 180 Allyn Street 

Hartford, CT 06103

Contracting Office Address: GSA, Acquisition Management Division

One World Trade Center

55th Floor, Room 55W09

New York, NY 10007 

Primary Point of Contact: Douglas Tumbrello

Contracting Officer

douglas.tumbrello@gsa.gov