Kimbrell Fiber Innovation Center Reactor Room Project

Gaston College is procuring MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) installation services for the Fiber Innovation Center Reactor Room Project (Project ID: GC 2026-003) located at the Kimbrell Campus in Belmont, North Carolina. This is an informal contract procurement requiring contractors to furnish and install new process equipment components including a chilled water system with a 350-gallon stainless steel knockdown tank, rooftop exhaust fans, window replacements with makeup dampers/louvers, stainless steel piping installations, electrical systems with power distribution modifications, plumbing fixtures and drainage systems, HVAC equipment, ductwork, and associated controls and connections. Contractors must submit sealed lump sum bids with separate material and labor breakdowns, proposed construction schedules, lists of public projects completed in the last three years, three current references, valid North Carolina licensures, warranty information, signed contract forms, certificates of insurance, and W-9 forms. A mandatory pre-bid conference is scheduled for February 5, 2026, at 10:00 AM, with sealed bids due by 2:30 PM on February 17, 2026, submitted to Stephen Sharp at Harney Hall Building at Gaston College. All work must be completed by May 30, 2026, with work scheduled during times that do not interfere with student courses, preferably on weekends and evenings with advance scheduling. Award will be based on the lowest responsive bid meeting written specifications, though the State reserves the right to make separate awards to different vendors for individual line items or cancel without award. The contractor must comply with the 2018 North Carolina Building Code, 2024 North Carolina Mechanical Code, National Electrical Code, NFPA standards, and ASHRAE standards, and must provide one-year warranties on completed work with extended five-year warranties on refrigeration compressors.

The procurement documents do not specify any set-aside designations, disadvantaged enterprise restrictions, or incumbent vendors. However, all contractors must register with North Carolina E-Procurement within seven days of contract award and maintain workers' compensation insurance with employer's liability coverage of minimum $100,000, comprehensive general liability insurance with minimum limits of $500,000 bodily injury per occurrence and $100,000 property damage per occurrence, and property/builder's risk insurance on the entire work. Performance and Payment Bonds in the full contract amount are required, executed by a surety company authorized to do business in North Carolina. No specific budget range or award value is disclosed in the procurement documents; however, the scope includes multiple mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems with an alternate bid option for exhaust fan removal and replacement if preconstruction testing determines the existing unit cannot achieve the required 4,620 CFM capacity. Payment will be issued thirty days after the project supervisor's acceptance of pay requests, with retainage not to exceed 5 percent and no further retainage withheld following 50 percent project completion if work is satisfactory. Final payment will be made within forty-five days after acceptance of work, receipt of marked-up as-built drawings, and submission of a notarized contractor's affidavit.