2026-085P25-Enhanced Protective Placement at CMHHIP

The Colorado Department of Human Services is requesting qualifications for architectural and engineering consulting services for the Enhanced Protective Placement Unit project at the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo (CMHHIP), RFQ 2027000004, with qualifications due August 20, 2026 at 1:00 PM Mountain Daylight Time.

The scope is design and renovation of Cottage 137, a 9,622-square-foot facility built in 1982, converting it from a hospital (I-2 occupancy) to an Interim Care Facility (ICF) to serve individuals placed under Enhanced Protective Placement, a court-ordered status for defendants with mental health disabilities. The project will use Design/Bid/Build delivery with construction expected to begin in spring 2027 and conclude in fall 2027, with full operational status required by November 2027. The estimated project cost is $1.5 million.

Minimum qualifications require prior design experience on at least two projects each exceeding $2 million in hard costs using Colorado office resources, completion of a mental health, behavioral health, or intellectual disabilities design project within the last five years, and no prior termination by the State for non-performance. Colorado labor must perform at least 80 percent of work. The Buy Clean Colorado Act applies, requiring Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) meeting maximum acceptable global warming potential limits for eligible materials (asphalt, cement, concrete, glass, steel, and wood structural elements). Preference is given to Colorado resident vendors and Colorado labor as provided by law.

Qualifications are limited to ten single-sided pages excluding cover letter and required forms, formatted per Appendix A. The mandatory pre-submittal conference and site tour was July 30, 2026. The short list will be announced August 28, 2026, with oral interviews the week of September 7 and selection anticipated the week of September 14. Contract negotiation is scheduled September 21 through October 2, with design start anticipated November 1, 2026. Addendum 1 clarifies that hazardous materials testing and remediation are excluded from scope and that CDHS will provide existing facility documentation in multiple formats following contract execution.