Sources Sought: PN 103069 Net-Zero Carbon – Unaccompanied Personnel Facility

*Amended 11/28/23 to add questions recieved regarding this sources sought notice along with respones. No other changes have been made as a result.*

                                                       SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE

                                                                           FOR

                                                                 W912PM24R0003

                      PN 103069 Net-Zero Carbon – Unaccompanied Personnel Facility

                                                      Fort Liberty, North Carolina

This is a Sources Sought/Request for Information only. This is NOT a Solicitation Announcement, nor is it a Request for Proposal. This request does not obligate the Government in any contract award.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District, is conducting research to determine the market capabilities of potential contractors to design and construct a Net-Zero Carbon – Unaccompanied Personnel Facility located at Fort Liberty North Carolina. 

The project scope of work consists of construction of a Net-Zero Unaccompanied Personnel Housing Facility at Fort Liberty in North Carolina. The housing facility will provide a new 146 soldier 4-story Barracks meeting the 2021 Army Standard requirements. This barracks will include dwelling units that consist of sleeping quarters with walk-in closets, kitchen, living area, bathroom, and laundry. Commons areas include a dayroom, lobby, Charge of Quarters, fitness room and vending area. The building exterior wall will utilize materials and products with “low” Global Warming Potential as defined in the Carbon Leadership Forum’s 20 July 2021 Material Baselines reports. The projects include materials such as: Concrete, Masonry, Steel, Aluminum, Insulation and Cladding. Additional Sustainable features are to include optimal solar orientation and shading, daylighting, natural ventilation, superinsulation, high performance glazing, elimination of thermal bridges and increased airtightness of construction.

The proposed delivery method for construction is Integrated Design and Construction (IDaC). This is a simplified version of Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) and uses the Design-Bid-Build method of delivery.  The proposed delivery method will permit award of the construction contract early on in the project’s development through a competitive firm-fixed-price and fixed-price incentive contract type. This early construction Contractor involvement enables the selected construction Contractor to provide constructability and cost input to the Designer of Record as the design progresses, who is simultaneously performing under a contract separately awarded pursuant to Brooks Act procedures. The IDaC contract includes pre-construction phase consultation services at a firm-fixed-price, with an option to construct.  The option to construct utilizes a fixed-price incentive arrangement until the option is ready to be exercised.  Once exercised, the option becomes firm-fixed price throughout administration of the construction.   

The Government will ask the contractor to develop a Technical and Price Proposal that will be evaluated under a Best Value Trade-off process in accordance with FAR Part 15.  The Price proposal will have the contractor develop an Initial Target, Initial Profit, and Initial Ceiling for each option item.

In accordance with DFARS 236.204(ii) the magnitude of construction for this project will be between $50,000,000.00 and $100,000,000.00. The performance period for pre-construction services and construction will be identified within the Request for Proposal.   

All interested firms with 236220 as an approved NAICs code have until 8 December 2023 at 2:00 p.m. to submit the following information:

- Name & Address of your Firm

- Point of Contact (Name/Phone/E-mail)

- Current SAM

- Business Size, to include designation as HUBZone, 8(a), Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business, Woman-Owned Business, and Large Business. Any supporting documentation that confirms your socio-economic status should be provided, i.e., letter of certification from VA confirming SDVOSB status. The Government must be able to verify SBA certification of HubZone and 8(a) via SAM.

- Bonding capability - Firms shall provide evidence of bonding capability for both single and aggregate bonding programs by means of a letter from a Surety Company.  This correspondence should explicitly state the firms authorized bonding program in addition to documenting the firm’s capacity on current contracts and/or task orders. Submittals including what a Surety can provide does not meet the requirement of what a firm can receive as a bonding instrument.   

- Qualifications of the contractor or team and experience in performing the work requirements stated above. Firms must submit past demonstrated experience to include any examples of an Early Contractor Involvement (ECI), ECI-IDaC, CM at Risk, or Integrated Project Delivery, similar in scope and magnitude to this project that the contractor or team has performed. The examples must demonstrate complex building construction and should highlight demonstrated experience with construction with management, coordination, and execution of a multi-discipline (architectural, civil, structural, mechanical/electrical/plumbing (MEP), etc.) project. Examples that include LEED Platinum, Net-Zero and Passive Design should also be included.  The past experience examples must have been performed within the last six (6) years. Identify the team’s major subcontractor(s), including their prior experience and qualifications, which will be used to support the effort.  Describe the teaming relationship and contract structure between the Construction Contractor, the owner and the Designer of Record, and how the Construction Contractor improved the quality of the final design.
 

Include the project name and description of the key/salient features of the project (i.e., square footage, multi-story, phased renovation, etc.), completion date, total contract construction value, whether it was Design-Build, Design-Bid-Build, Construction only, Renovation or Rehabilitation, and your company's level of involvement in the project, i.e., subcontractor (type), prime, GC, etc. and your specific role. Additionally, if you were teaming with another firm, clearly identify your role on the project(s) submitted. Please provide at least one point of contact (with e-mail address and phone number) for project validation. The Government will not give credit to projects if the lack of information hinders the ability to determine relevancy and/or level or experience.

- Firm's capability to perform, to include geographic span and project size.

- Information on Teaming Arrangement (if applicable). Although we are not looking for formal signed agreements at this time, if you intend to "team" with another firm, formally or informally, you must submit information, not more, than one (1) page, about your team's involvement. More specifically, you must submit sufficient information for the Government to determine the roles each team member will play and what your socio-economic status is or will be considering the proposed arrangement. Therefore, included in your one (1) page if you are a Small Business and you intend to mentor/protégé and/or JV with a large business both team members must sign agreeing that 40% of the labor will be performed by the 8(a) firm. Additionally, if the team is a mentor/protégé arrangement, identify the areas that will be mentored. Any supporting documentation that confirms your socio-economic status as a team should be provided.

The Government may not give credit to your socio-economic class if there is not sufficient documentation to support it or if the Government cannot verify through other means that your business is as such.

The requested information shall be submitted electronically to the following Email addresses:

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Attn: Karri L. Mares and John T. Hill

E-mail:   karri.l.mares@usace.army.mil

                john.t.hill@usace.army.mil

The email should be entitled: PN 103069 Net-Zero Carbon – Unaccompanied Personnel Facility - Sources Sought_COMPANY NAME.

Upon receipt of the contractors’ responses to this sources sought, the Government may interview each contractor team to evaluate the firm's ability to fulfill all project requirements. Once the responses to this sources sought are submitted, the Contractors (those who respond to this sources sought) shall contact, Karri L. Mares to schedule the interviews. Interviews will be schedule on or about 12 December 2023 and 13 December 2023.

Do not send hard copies of advertising or promotional materials. Please ensure that all responses are comprehensive and provide a name and point-of-contact for your firm for follow-up by this office or the procuring contracting officer. If you have responded to any previous e-mail messages or had other communications with our office regarding preliminary market research for this project, please be advised that it will be necessary for you to respond to this e-mail and the questions contained therein. Any responses involving teaming agreements should delineate between the work that will be accomplished by the Prime Contractor and work accomplished by the teaming partner.

All information is to be provided on a voluntary basis at no charge to the Government. There is no entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs related to or arising out of responding to this request for information. All information provided becomes property of the Government. There is no guarantee, expressed or implied, that the market research for this acquisition will result in any guarantee of award or acquisition strategy.