Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for Design-Build Services for a New United States Courthouse in Hartford, CT

The General Services Administration (GSA) Public Buildings Service is soliciting a Design-Build Firm to provide comprehensive site development, design, and construction services for a new United States Courthouse in Hartford, Connecticut, estimated at a maximum of 281,000 gross square feet. The facility will accommodate up to eleven courtrooms, eighteen judicial chambers, and office space for multiple federal judicial entities including the U.S. District Court, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services, Federal Public Defender, U.S. Attorney's Office, and U.S. Marshals Service. The design must incorporate classical or traditional architecture in accordance with Executive Order 14344. Phase 1 qualifications proposals are due by April 24, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, with GSA expecting to select a maximum of three firms to advance to Phase 2. Phase 1 evaluation will be weighted as follows: Technical Qualifications of Firms (60%), Approach to Design Build (20%), and Lead Designer (20%), with offerors required to demonstrate experience with design-build delivery, courthouse or judicial facility construction, projects of similar or greater scope and complexity within the last ten years, and institutional buildings in urban areas.

No set-aside designations apply to this solicitation. The design and construction cost limitation is $292,000,000, including allowances, with a contract period of performance of 48 months (1,460 calendar days from Notice to Proceed for substantial completion, plus 60 days for final completion), and a stipend of up to $500,000 will be paid to short-listed but unsuccessful offerors providing fully compliant responsive Phase 2 proposals. The project site is located at 180 Allyn Street in Hartford, Connecticut, currently a 2.19-acre urban parking lot with a complex environmental and geotechnical history requiring remediation of contaminated soils from historical industrial uses and management of significant groundwater and fill conditions. Key project deliverables include a Critical Path Method schedule with cost-loading, Building Information Modeling with Common Data Exchange data, comprehensive commissioning of all systems prior to beneficial occupancy, and compliance with sustainable design requirements under EISA 2007 and EPAct 2005, including ASHRAE 90.1-2019 baseline compliance with 30 percent improvement where life-cycle cost effective. A Project Labor Agreement is required, and the Contractor must submit performance and payment bonds within 10 calendar days after award, with liquidated damages assessed at $14,163.79 per calendar day for delays beyond the Substantial Completion deadline.