RFP 260-18687-AE for Professional Services for Replace Buchanan and Tazewell Halls at Southwest Virginia Community College, PC# 260-18687-000

Southwest Virginia Community College, operating under the Virginia Community College System (VCCS), is requesting proposals for architectural and engineering professional services to design a replacement facility for Buchanan and Tazewell Halls, with sealed proposals due by 5:00 p.m. on September 30, 2026. Firms must be authorized to do business in the Commonwealth of Virginia with demonstrated experience designing academic facilities for higher education institutions — a capability-gating requirement.

The scope encompasses the design of a new 75,000 gross square foot, two-story administrative and classroom facility consolidating functions from the existing 1968-era buildings. The facility will house administration, academic programs (biology, art and craft, administration of justice), student services, teaching laboratories, workforce development programs, and support spaces on a constrained campus site. The programming study identified approximately 45,400 net square feet of required space. The project follows a phased demolition and construction approach: Buchanan Hall demolition first, new building construction on its cleared site, then Tazewell Hall demolition and central campus landscape and parking reconfiguration.

The estimated opinion of probable construction costs is $53.7 million, comprising $45.9 million in building construction costs (including minor renovations to existing buildings and a temporary bookstore trailer) and $7.8 million in sitework costs. This hard-construction estimate excludes soft costs and incorporates a 15% design contingency; VCCS advises carrying an additional 3–5% construction contingency for unforeseen conditions, with cost escalation calculated at 36 months to the mid-point of construction. The procurement is structured as a competitive negotiation process, subject to VCCS standards and the Virginia Construction and Professional Services Manual. A Small Business Subcontracting Plan attachment establishes small business participation and subcontracting goals. Prospective firms must submit completed Forms AE-1 through AE-6, Forms VCCS-S1 and VCCS-S2, and other required documentation. The scope of services may be modified by mutual agreement in subsequent negotiations.