511/21177. AGY; Dowagiac Armory - Replace Boiler

The State of Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget (DTMB) and the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) are procuring a boiler replacement project at the Dowagiac Armory located at 700 W. Prairie Ronde Street in Dowagiac, Michigan (DMVA Project No. 26A8515020). The procurement requires contractors to furnish all labor, equipment, and materials necessary to replace the existing fire-tube boiler system and associated feed system components with a new boiler installation. Key deliverables and objectives include complete removal of the existing boiler, installation of a new fire-tube boiler, installation of all related boiler feed system components, and maintenance of the facility's heating system throughout construction with a minimum 55-degree temperature maintained in occupied office spaces, restrooms, and the boiler room. Required qualifications include bonding capacity sufficient to meet performance and payment bond requirements for contracts exceeding $50,000, compliance with Michigan prevailing wage requirements, experience with boiler installation and related mechanical systems, technical capability to prepare shop drawings and coordinate with the designer and inspector, and ability to maintain a full-time superintendent or project manager on-site throughout the project duration. The evaluation criteria for selecting the apparent low bidder include responsiveness and responsibility assessments based on specification compliance, financial resources, technical capabilities, past performance, and bonding capacity; qualified disabled veteran (QDV) preferences are applied, allowing a 10 percent deduction from QDV bids during evaluation. Critical dates include a mandatory pre-bid conference and facility tour on August 25, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. local time (attendance required for all prospective bidders), a deadline of September 1, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. local time for Request for Information submissions, a bid opening on September 8, 2021, at 2:00 p.m. local time with electronic submission through the SIGMA VSS website, and a contract completion requirement of 120 calendar days from the Notice-to-Proceed date.

The procurement includes a qualified disabled veteran (QDV) set-aside preference that applies a 10 percent bid deduction during evaluation to encourage participation by certified QDV-owned enterprises. No incumbent vendors or current contractors are identified in the solicitation documents. Contractors must comply with Davis-Bacon Act requirements, Michigan occupational safety and health standards, environmental protection laws, and nondiscrimination provisions; the project is also subject to COVID-19 construction safety protocols and special security requirements due to the National Guard Armory location, which necessitates coordination with Armory management and potential restricted access procedures. Existing infrastructure considerations include the building's current heating system connections, the facility's roof structure (metal panel attached to a 7-1/2" metal roof deck in the boiler room), and the requirement that contractors may not remove exterior walls for boiler removal or installation but may remove and reinstall portions of interior walls at the boiler room door. Bid security of five percent of the base bid is required, submitted as a certified check, cashier's check, or bid bond payable to the State of Michigan. While no specific award value or budget range is published in the solicitation documents, the project includes a $10,000 contingency allowance and is funded through state appropriations with liquidated damages assessed at $200 per calendar day for schedule delays beyond the substantial completion date.