Design Services - Belleview Middle School HVAC Upgrades

The Marion County Public School District issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for Design Services to procure architectural and engineering services for the Belleview Middle School HVAC Upgrades project (Project 26-103). The procurement seeks qualified design professionals licensed to practice in Florida to replace the existing campus-wide water-to-air package heat pump system with a modern, energy-efficient chilled water system across the 40-acre campus located at 10500 SE 36th Avenue in Ocala, Florida. The selected design firm must provide comprehensive services including a full HVAC study, design development, and construction administration, with key deliverables including bid documents by October 2026 and permit documents by December 2026. Required qualifications include current Florida licensure, General Liability and Auto Insurance of at least $1,000,000 each, statutory Workers' Compensation Insurance, proof of insurance, and professional reference letters for at least three school projects. Firms were required to attend a mandatory pre-bid meeting held on February 12, 2026 at 9:00 AM at the Marion County Public Schools Purchasing Department Conference Room (2091 NE 35th Street, Ocala, Florida 34479); failure to attend resulted in ineligibility. Qualifications submittals not exceeding 20 pages were due through the VendorLink portal by 2:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on February 26, 2026, with bid opening on February 27, 2026. The evaluation process utilized a two-phase scoring methodology: an initial submittal review phase evaluated firms on related project experience (30 points), project team qualifications (10 points), professional/technical office staff (20 points), staff adequacy (10 points), Florida public school systems experience (20 points), other project experience (10 points), office location (5 points), and minority/woman-owned or small business status (5 points) for 105 total points; shortlist interviews held on April 1, 2026 evaluated the top-ranked firms on project team composition (25 points), approach and methodology (25 points), timeline and quality control (15 points), cost controls and value engineering (15 points), and knowledge of site and local conditions (20 points) for 100 additional points.

The RFQ process included provisions for minority-owned, women-owned, and small business designations as evaluation criteria, though no mandatory set-asides were specified. Construction will be conducted in two phases: Phase I from January 2027 through August 2027 for the Central Plant and Buildings #1, #5, #6, #7, and #8, with a construction budget of $6 million available September 2026, and Phase II from June 2028 through August 2028 for Buildings #3, #4, and #4, with a construction budget of $6 million available September 2027. The project scope requires integration of newly installed kitchen and gym systems with brand-new DX units into the comprehensive chilled water system, evaluation and potential replacement of existing IT room redundant DX systems, and assessment of electrical infrastructure to support electric heat components given documented power fluctuation issues at the school. Nine firms submitted qualifications through the VendorLink portal, and following the two-phase evaluation process, DDC Engineering, Inc. achieved first place with 100 points in the shortlist interview phase, followed by SGM Engineering, Inc. with 98.50 points and Engineering Matrix, Inc. with 82.25 points. The selected design professional must execute the District's Standard Design Professional Service Agreement and provide all necessary consultants for the design; contract negotiations regarding the fee for services and construction document delivery timelines were scheduled to occur following Board approval of the highest-ranking firm.