GA. Quick Start EV Training Center - Bryan County

The Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission (GSFIC), on behalf of the Technical College System of the State of Georgia (TCSG) and Georgia Quick Start, solicited Statements of Qualifications for design professional services for the Georgia Quick Start EV Training Center in Bryan County under Project No. TCSG-398, with SOQ responses due March 14, 2023. SSOE has been selected as the awarded design professional.

The facility is an 80,000–100,000 gross-square-foot training center supporting electric vehicle assembly and lithium-ion battery production training with a maximum capacity of 500 trainees. The scope includes classrooms, technical labs, high-capacity manufacturing simulation spaces with robotics and welding capabilities, hazardous materials handling areas, networking infrastructure, and safety and security systems. The design professional must perform a minimum of 50 percent of architectural design services in-house, with up to 50 percent available through associated firms or consultants.

The preliminary stated construction cost limitation is $44.1 million. Design services are anticipated to commence in the second quarter of 2023, with 75 percent construction documents completed by the fourth quarter of 2023 and construction beginning no later than the first quarter of 2024, with substantial completion targeted for the second quarter of 2025. The delivery method is construction manager at-risk (CM/GC).

The project must comply with Georgia's Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Construction Act of 2008 and requires Georgia Peach certification with commissioning at a minimum of three peaches or greater. Enhanced sustainability features encouraged include mass timber construction, solar or geothermal systems, energy modeling, and water conservation systems.

Initial SOQ evaluation weighted firm stability (25 percent), experience and qualifications (45 percent), and suitability to the project (30 percent). Finalist proposals were evaluated on previous performance (15 percent), design team qualifications and experience (20 percent), quality of proposed design plan (15 percent), methodology presented in interviews (25 percent), and team communications and project solutions (25 percent). Four finalists were shortlisted: Lord Aeck Sargent, LS3P Associates + Praxis3, Pond & Company, and SSOE. Georgia provides reciprocal preference to in-state proposers and encourages participation of minority-owned, woman-owned, and small business enterprises.