Emergency replace HVAC system

The State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education (SBTCE)/SC Technical College System issued an Emergency Procurement Notice on March 10, 2026, for the emergency replacement of HVAC equipment at the Workforce Training Center located at 1090 Newton Way, Summerville, South Carolina. The scope of work includes replacing five rooftop units (RTUs) and retrofitting forty-four variable air volume (VAV) units with RIRO kits to address critical failures in the original 20-year-old HVAC system that resulted in building temperatures reaching 85-90 degrees in certain areas and rendered two of five rooftop units completely non-functional. The emergency procurement was justified based on threats to public health, welfare, and safety, as well as disruption to critical workforce training operations essential to regional economic development, with individual repair estimates exceeding $100,000 each and continued repairs deemed economically unfeasible due to obsolete parts and escalating costs. The procurement was conducted pursuant to S.C. Code Ann. 11-35-1570 and S.C. Regulation 19-445.2110, utilizing an expedited competitive process where DWG Engineering Consultants prepared specifications and drawings that were distributed to four pre-selected qualified vendors, with the lowest bidder demonstrating the ability to meet emergency timelines selected as the award recipient. The posting was made in the South Carolina Business Opportunities (SCBO) system on March 25, 2026, with a due date of April 2, 2026, and the notice remained posted for the required minimum of 10 business days. Interested parties retain the right to protest the award, with protests of intent to award required within five business days of posting and formal protests permitted within fifteen days of posting to the Chief Procurement Officer at the Materials Management Office, 1333 Main Street, Suite 700, Columbia, South Carolina 29201, or via email at protest-mmo@mmo.state.sc.us.

Cullum Services, Inc. was selected as the emergency vendor following the expedited competitive process among the four pre-selected qualified vendors. The notice does not identify specific set-aside designations, disadvantaged enterprise restrictions, or preferences for particular organization types, indicating this was an open competitive procurement limited to the four pre-selected qualified vendors. No information regarding incumbent vendors, current contractors, or existing infrastructure integration requirements beyond the retrofit specifications for the forty-four VAV units is provided in the procurement notice. The total project cost is estimated between $900,000 and $950,000, representing the budget range for the complete HVAC system replacement and retrofitting work. As this is an emergency procurement that has already been awarded to Cullum Services, Inc., the notice serves primarily to provide transparency and allow for protest of the award decision rather than to solicit new bids from additional contractors.