CDBG-DR - Owner's Representative and CEI Services for the Century Community Shelter - HS020: Re-Solicit

Escambia County, Florida is seeking a consulting firm to provide Owner's Representative and Construction, Engineering, and Inspection (CEI) Services for the Century Community Shelter project, a Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funded initiative. The project involves programming, preliminary design up to 30%, construction administration, and CEI services for a single-story emergency shelter approximately 16,000 square feet, located at 720 Hecker Road in Century, Florida. Proposing firms must have at least ten years of experience in consultant services, with a registered architect and civil engineer, and knowledge of local, state, and federal regulations. The evaluation process will be conducted in two phases, with a total of 100 points available across five criteria: Experience (30 points), Personnel Qualifications (15 points), Personnel Availability (15 points), Project Administration and Federal Compliance (25 points), and Performance (15 points). A pre-solicitation meeting is scheduled for August 5, 2025, at 9:00 am, with electronic responses due through the ProcureNow portal by August 28, 2025, at 10:00 am. The project aims to provide the Town of Century with a resilient emergency shelter that can also serve as a multi-purpose facility, addressing infrastructure damage from Hurricane Sally in 2020 and an EF-3 tornado in 2016.

The procurement includes specific Section 3 requirements, which provide employment and economic opportunities to low and very low-income persons, particularly HUD assistance recipients. Contractors must comply with HUD regulations, including numeric goals of 25% of total project hours worked by Section 3 workers and 5% by Targeted Section 3 workers. The county has implemented a preference system for bidders using the highest number of qualified Section 3 subcontractors or workers, provided their bid is within 10% of the lowest responsive bid. Businesses can qualify as Section 3 Business Concerns if they are 51% owned by low-income individuals or have 75% of work hours performed by Section 3 workers. Insurance requirements include $2 million in general liability coverage for general contractors and $1 million for subcontractors. The project is funded through a $10,015,000.00 federal grant, with the contract term spanning the life of the project and commencing upon a Notice to Proceed from the County. Potential sanctions for non-compliance include contract termination, default, and potential debarment from future HUD-assisted contracts.