Heating Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Studies

The Comptroller of Maryland is soliciting proposals on an expedited basis for four comprehensive HVAC studies on Variable Refrigerant Flow systems installed at four Baltimore City public schools—Arlington Elementary, Arundel Elementary, Govans Elementary, and Pimlico Elementary/Middle—with proposals due August 14, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. and questions due July 31 at 4:00 p.m. This is a Small Business Reserve (SBR) procurement limited to Maryland-certified small businesses, with a 10% MBE subcontracting goal.

The contractor must conduct rigorous technical evaluation including visual inspections, staff interviews, document review, and analysis of system design and installation practices; identify root causes of chronic VRF failures that have forced emergency school closures; assess remediation approaches and provide cost estimates; and analyze nationwide VRF performance data in public school settings. Separate root-cause assessment reports for each school, remediation recommendations with cost estimates, and a cumulative comparative analysis are required by November 9, 2026, to support the Comptroller's legislatively mandated submission to the Maryland General Assembly by December 1, 2026.

The contract value is a maximum of $150,000 on a firm fixed-price basis, commencing upon award and running through December 1, 2026. No travel reimbursement is provided. Invoices must be accompanied by a Deliverable Product Acceptance Form from the State.

Bidders must comply with Maryland Living Wage Requirements (Tier 2 classification applies), submit an MBE Utilization and Fair Solicitation Affidavit (Attachment D-1A), complete the Maryland Living Wage Requirements Affidavit of Agreement, provide a minimum of three customer references from work within the past five years, disclose all current or prior Maryland state contracts from the last five years, and submit Attachment P (Prime Contractor List of ALL Subcontractors) identifying anticipated and actual subcontractors with their Maryland certification numbers. Only Maryland State Department of Transportation (MDOT) certified MBEs may be counted toward the MBE goal. A pre-proposal conference was held July 29, 2026; twelve firms attended including The Edgecombe Group, A.J. Adam Engineering LLC, GAI Design, Henry Adams, Chesapeake Testing & Balancing Engineers, Tri Crest, and Flo-Tron.