Decatur Laboratory Upgrades & Renovations

The Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission (GSFIC), procuring on behalf of the Georgia Department of Public Health, solicited Statements of Qualifications for design professional services on Project No. DPH-011 Decatur Laboratory Upgrades/Renovations in Decatur, Georgia, with SOQs due January 25, 2022. Lord Aeck Sargent was awarded the contract following a competitive RFQ and interview process.

The scope encompasses programming, schematic design, design development, and construction documents for a new two-story Administrative and Training Building (approximately 15,000 square feet with 30 parking spaces) and renovation of existing laboratory building floors to include BSL-2 and BSL-3 areas, diagnostic testing spaces, sequencing/data analytics areas, specimen receiving, modular laboratory configurations, and a new elevator system for specimen transport. The design professional must provide construction contract administration services including attendance at bi-weekly OAC meetings. The primary contracting firm must perform a minimum of 50% of architectural design services in-house. The project employs a Construction Manager at-Risk delivery method with a preliminary stated construction cost limitation of $20,073,175.

Design professional services commence in the first quarter of 2022 with anticipated design completion by end of 2022; construction is estimated at 10 to 11 months to Material Completion, targeting project completion by June 30, 2024. The project must meet the Energy Efficiency & Sustainable Construction Act of 2008 (O.C.G.A. 50-8-18) and achieve Georgia Peach certification with commissioning. GSFIC encouraged participation by MBE, WBE, and SBE firms. Finalist notification occurred by February 1, 2022, with a mandatory pre-proposal site visit on February 4 at the Georgia Public Health Laboratory, design proposals due February 17, and finalist interviews on February 22. SOQ evaluation criteria weighted firm stability (25%), experience and qualifications (45%), and suitability (30%). Finalist criteria weighted previous performance (15%), design team qualifications (20%), proposed design plan quality (15%), methodology (25%), and team communications/project solutions (25%).