ABAC_J-447-DP, Renovations for Student Success and Career Services

The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia on behalf of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College is requesting qualifications for design professional services for Project J-477, Renovations for Student Success and Career Services, with qualifications due July 30, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. The applying firm must perform a minimum of 50 percent of architectural design services in-house, with an associated firm permitted to provide up to 50 percent of services.

The scope is adaptive reuse of a 14,850-square-foot historic building originally constructed in 1960 as a library and vacant since 2020 into a Student Success and Career Services center with flexible meeting and event space. The Design Professional will provide schematic design, design development, construction documents, and construction administration. The project incorporates requirements of the Energy Efficiency & Sustainable Construction Act of 2008 and requires Georgia Peach certification with commissioning. A Program Manager and Commissioning Agent will be included in addition to design services.

The estimated Design Professional Base Fee is approximately $520,000, with preliminary construction cost limitation estimated at $6.6 million. Design services are anticipated to commence by October 2026, with construction documents targeted for completion in June 2027. The project delivery method is Construction Management at Risk.

Qualifications evaluation criteria are firm stability and resources (25 percent), relevant project experience and previous performance (45 percent), and apparent suitability for the project including public safety, accessibility, and environmental expertise (30 percent). A mandatory pre-proposal site visit for finalist firms is scheduled for August 13, 2026. Fee proposals are due August 19, 2026, with finalist interviews on August 20, 2026. Evaluation at the finalist stage shifts to design team qualifications and experience (50 percent), design plan and methodology (25 percent), and team communications and project solutions (25 percent). Qualifications submissions must be one electronic PDF limited to 50 pages through the BOR Egnyte platform and must include required exhibits: certification forms, professional liability insurance certificates, minority status declaration, project team composition, contractor affidavit confirming E-Verify enrollment, proposer disclosure statement, and Section 179D allocation agreement election.