Amberly Elementary Bid Package 2 Early Foundation

Portage Public Schools is soliciting sealed bids for Amberly Elementary Bid Package 2 Early Foundation, a construction project involving footings and foundation work for the school's early foundation phase located at 6637 Amberly Street, Portage, Michigan. The procurement specifically targets concrete footing and foundation work, with demolition, earthwork, and general trades categories previously awarded to other contractors. Bidders must provide sealed bids in triplicate for the concrete (footing and foundations) category, with bids due by 11:00 a.m. on March 31, 2026, and public bid opening scheduled for 2:00 p.m. the same day at the Portage Public Schools Administration Building. A virtual pre-bid conference was conducted on March 17, 2026 via Zoom. The project encompasses cast-in-place concrete work for footings, foundation walls, slabs-on-grade, suspended slabs, and concrete toppings, along with thermal insulation installation using extruded polystyrene foam-plastic board with specific compressive strength requirements (15-psi to 60-psi depending on application). Bidders must demonstrate at least five years of successful experience on similar work, maintain proper licensing, possess adequate financial resources, and comply with comprehensive safety requirements including site-specific safety plans and workers' compensation documentation. The construction schedule indicates the Footings and Walls phase beginning July 20, 2026, with a three-week duration, followed by subsequent construction phases, with the successful bidder required to commence work within ten days of the Notice of Pending Award.

The bid documents do not specify any set-aside designations or restrictions limiting responses to particular organization types or disadvantaged enterprises. Owen-Ames-Kimball Co. is identified as the Construction Manager overseeing the project, while Tower Pinkster Titus Associates, Inc. serves as the Architect, neither of whom would be bidders for the concrete work package. Bid security of five percent of the base bid amount is required in the form of a certified check, cashier's check, or bid bond from a surety company with an A- or better rating, and successful bidders for contracts exceeding $50,000 must furnish separate Performance, Labor, and Material Bonds for the full contract amount. Bids are binding for sixty days from opening, and the bid sum must include all applicable Michigan Sales and Use Tax and the cost of required performance and payment bonds. Bidders must provide unit labor rates for potential change order work, with a ten percent fee applied to work performed by the contractor's own forces and a five percent fee for subcontractor work. While the procurement documents do not explicitly state an award value or budget range, the project scope and bond requirements suggest contracts exceeding $50,000, with the foundation design based on Michigan Building Code 2021 standards and requiring 4,000 PSI concrete strength for footings and foundation walls and 4,500 PSI for weather-exposed retaining walls.