DBHDD-043-DP New Behavioral Health Hospital - Georgia Regional Hospital - Atlanta

The Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission (GSFIC), on behalf of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD), is procuring Design Professional Services through a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for a new behavioral health hospital at Georgia Regional Hospital Atlanta Campus in DeKalb County. The project involves designing a 427,250-square-foot facility that will add 300 secure inpatient beds, consisting of 100 beds for the Adult Mental Health Program and 200 beds for the Forensic Services Program, along with supporting clinical, administrative, and operational spaces. Design services will be delivered under a Construction Manager at-Risk (CM/GC) delivery method, with design services anticipated to commence in June or July 2026 and construction estimated at 30 months from notice to proceed. Deliverables include comprehensive design professional services encompassing site planning, campus circulation, utilities coordination, infrastructure assessment, program validation, and functional programming in compliance with FGI 2022 Facility Guidelines incorporating 2026 concepts, with Statements of Probable Construction Costs prepared at CSI Format Level 3 for schematic and design development phases. Required qualifications include current registration to do business in Georgia, absence of debarment or suspension from state or federal agencies, and no history of termination for cause on public works contracts. The selection process is two-tiered: Step I requires submission of Statements of Qualifications (not exceeding 50 pages in PDF format) by April 6, 2026, at 2:00 PM via GSFIC Egnyte FTP site; finalist firms will be announced by April 10, 2026, and must attend a mandatory pre-proposal site visit on April 15, 2026, at 9:30 AM and participate in formal interviews on April 23, 2026. Evaluation criteria during the RFQ phase weight qualifications and experience at 45 percent, firm stability at 25 percent, and approach and suitability at 30 percent; during the interview phase, qualifications and experience comprise 50 percent, project approach 25 percent, and overall impression 25 percent.

Georgia offers reciprocal preference to in-state proposers and encourages participation by minority-owned, woman-owned, and small business enterprises; however, no formal set-asides or restrictions limiting response eligibility to specific business categories are specified in the procurement documents. Four firms have been shortlisted as finalists: HKS, Jericho Design Group, Nelson Architecture, and STV Incorporated, having successfully advanced from the initial Statement of Qualifications evaluation phase. The design professional must comply with Georgia's Energy Efficiency & Sustainable Construction Act, including Georgia Peach certification requirements, and will be required to execute the GSFIC Design Professional Contract Agreement without modification and utilize the Owner's E-Builder project management system for contract administration. The project design team should include all key consultants such as MEP, structural, civil/site, dietary, landscape, security, and IT specialists, with the predesign study team eligible to participate in the design selection process. The preliminary stated cost limitation for construction is estimated at $360,000,000, subject to revision based on final programmatic requirements and funding availability; the project will operate as substantially independent from existing campus infrastructure except for security systems and will be licensed under existing Georgia Regional Hospital Atlanta arrangements with CMS deemed status maintained through TJC certification.