Palmetto sites project

The South Carolina Department of Commerce (SCDOC) is seeking a contractor to establish and implement the Palmetto Sites Program, a statewide site evaluation initiative focused on assessing properties for economic development potential across four regions: Upstate, Midlands, Lowcountry, and PeeDee. The primary deliverables include comprehensive desktop evaluations, site visits, and due diligence reports for approximately 35 sites annually, organized in two rounds per year. The contractor must provide monthly executive briefings, create property designation brochures, and offer a multi-phase evaluation process consisting of Phase I (initial desktop evaluation and site visits) and Phase II (detailed due diligence). Qualified offerors must demonstrate at least five years of experience in location advisory services, competitive analysis, and industrial site evaluation for economic development purposes. Proposals will be evaluated on three key factors: Qualifications and Experience (45 points), Project Understanding and Approach (35 points), and Price (20 points). Critical dates include a pre-bid conference on February 28, 2024, at 10:30 AM ET, a question submission deadline of February 29, 2024, at 5:00 PM ET, and a proposal submission deadline of March 29, 2024, at 11:00 AM ET, with award notification scheduled for May 20, 2024.

The contract will be awarded to a single legal entity and will have an initial one-year term with four optional one-year renewal periods, creating a potential five-year contract running from December 21, 2024, to December 20, 2029. No specific set-aside designations or disadvantaged enterprise requirements are mentioned in the solicitation. The program is non-competitive, meaning all qualifying applicants will receive site designation and funding. Pricing structure includes a cost-per-site evaluation fee, with travel expenses billed separately according to state travel policy, and value-added services to be proposed with hourly rates. While a specific budget range is not explicitly stated, the contract anticipates approximately 500 to 1,000 hours of value-add services. Contractors will be responsible for all program development costs, including designing and building the statewide site evaluation program, with the SCDOC covering contractor fees for Phase I and Phase II evaluations. This represents the first external contract of its kind, as the department previously performed these services internally.