Architectural Services

LEAD Public Schools is soliciting sealed proposals from qualified architectural firms to provide comprehensive professional architectural and consultant coordination services for the renovation and conversion of an existing 312,900 gross square foot commercial building located at 550 Metroplex Drive in Nashville, Tennessee into a phased K-12 campus serving approximately 1,250 students at full build-out. The scope of services includes full professional architectural design, code analysis, consultant coordination, Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP)-ready construction documents, permitting support, bidding/procurement support, and construction-phase services across two project phases: Phase I targeting completion by July 1, 2027, includes elementary school build-out and shared core spaces such as gymnasium, cafeteria, kitchen, and auditorium with infrastructure sized for full campus development; Phase II targeting completion by July 1, 2028, includes middle and high school interior build-out and final occupancy support. Deliverables must be submitted as a firm fixed price lump sum fee broken out by phase and service category (Schematic Design, Design Development, Construction Documents, Permitting Support, Bidding/Procurement Support, and Construction Administration), with consultant costs either included in basic services or itemized separately, and reimbursable expenses proposed as not-to-exceed amounts. Evaluation will occur in three stages: Stage I preliminary review of mandatory submission requirements; Stage II technical evaluation scoring up to 70 points across five criteria including firm management and team (15 points), experience with similar facilities (30 points), project schedule and workload capacity (15 points), and quality and technical approach (10 points); and Stage III financial evaluation scoring up to 30 points with the highest-scoring bidder invited to contract negotiations and selection based on 70 percent technical and 30 percent financial weighting. Key dates include optional site visits on March 4-5, 2026, and March 17, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM CDT (with firm representatives requiring pre-notification by 2:00 PM on March 3, 2026); written question deadline of March 10, 2026, at 5:00 PM CST with responses provided by March 16, 2026; proposal due date of March 27, 2026, at 5:00 PM CDT through LEAD's Bonfire online portal; finalist interviews scheduled for April 1, 2026; and contract award anticipated for April 20, 2026.

The RFP does not identify any set-aside designations, disadvantaged enterprise restrictions, or limitations on organization types eligible to respond. No incumbent vendors or current contractors are listed in the solicitation documents. The selected architect must maintain current federal, state, and local licenses and provide a local field representative available during the contract period, and must demonstrate the ability to design within strict budget constraints while supporting value engineering efforts throughout the design process. Required insurance includes Comprehensive General Liability Insurance with minimum limits of $1,000,000 per occurrence, Automobile Liability Insurance with a combined single limit of $1,000,000, and Workers Compensation Insurance at statutory limits, with LEAD Public Schools named as additional insured except for workers compensation. Civil engineering, landscape architecture, low voltage, security, audiovisual, and kitchen design services will be contracted separately by the owner, though the architect must coordinate with these owner-retained consultants. No specific award value or budget range is disclosed in the available solicitation documents; however, the contract will be structured as Firm Fixed Price only and may be amended by mutual written consent.