C -- A-E Services for Programming & Design of Integrated Facility Improvements at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center

Architect-Engineering Services (A&E Services) are required for pre-planning services and the resultant design of facility improvements and enhancements at Plum Island, NY, Animal Disease Center (PIADC). It is the intention of the Government to award the pre-planning and the design services to the same A&E firm. The contract will contain options for additional services to include Construction Administration and Commissioning Services. It is anticipated that a construction contract will be awarded soon after design begins. Plum Island is a federally owned 840-acre island off the northeastern tip of Long Island, New York. The island is approximately 1.5 miles from Orient Point, New York, and approximately 12 miles from New London, Connecticut, accessible only by limited ferry service for research facility employees and approved visitors. PIADC is a unique critical national asset for Agro-defense and the only facility in the United States permitted to handle Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) live virus. The facility is approximately 50 years old and is clearly beyond its design life. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate, Office of National Laboratories (ONL) was charged with assessing the facility and the identification of necessary facility upgrades to extend its lifetime over the next ten years to support the foreseeable combined DHS/USDA mission. The proposed improvements and enhancements at PIADC facility will address necessary corrective actions to the facility, assure the continuation of existing research, and satisfy increased mission responsibilities for Agro-defense of DHS and USDA. The overall A&E services required shall include a combination of new construction, renovation of existing facilities, and the design, staging, commissioning and overall integration of all facilities within the unique constraints of performing work at PIADC. As an island and a secure DHS property, it is critical that the selected A&E Services firm be able to adequately address the development of design documents and estimates that are cognizant of challenging logistics and coordination with ongoing operations. Each of the improvements and enhancements identified below will require various levels of integration with actively utilized existing animal holding facilities and research laboratories, as well as with current facility operation control systems. The A&E Services firm will be required to design these facilities and renovations in conformance with all applicable federal, state and local regulations, guidelines and codes and obtain all necessary permits or revisions to existing permits upon commissioning of all facilities. In addition, the latest available best practices and design standards for USDA (USDA ARS Facilities Design Standards 242.1M-ARS available on the USDA web site) and AALAC shall be utilized. The specific improvements and enhancements to be incorporated in the design may include: - Construct New Animal Wing, consisting of 8,000 net square feet of new BSL-3Ag animal holding capacity with various room sizes and configurations meeting AALAC standards. A batch wastewater sterilization treatment system to handle bio-containment liquid effluent isolated to the new wing would also be required. - Upgrade Chiller Plant - Provide additional chiller with sufficient capacity to service all new construction and interior facility upgrades; replace and upgrade the chilled water transmission line leading to Building 101. - Expand and Upgrade the East and Orient Wing Necropsy Rooms Construct new necropsy capability dedicated to research functions servicing the new animal holding wing. The existing necropsy will be improved and expanded to handle state-of-the-art distance learning equipment, hands-on facilities for veterinary training and sufficient decontamination facilities to support training classes. Retrofit incinerator intake areas will also be required to accommodate necropsy expansion. Project staging and coordination will be required to maintain necropsy and crematory capabilities through all aspects of construction. - Convert the East Service Wing Storage Area to BSL-3+ Laboratory Space - Convert 2500 sq. ft. of existing storage space within BSL containment area to laboratory space for DHS research programs. Project staging and coordination will be required to maintain building services access and to facilitate portions of this design area to be temporarily taken out of containment for construction activities. - Power Distribution/UPS'For the main laboratory (Bldg 101), develop a critical and non-critical electrical load distribution plan and implement by redistributing power and replacing old and/or obsolete equipment; provide reliable power to the critical loads via a battery back up Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) System using 480 volt static switching technology. Aspects of this project will be performed within BSL-3+ containment facilities and other aspects will include the new construction laboratory projects as defined herein. - Bldg. 102 Waste Water Decontamination Upgrades'Provide necessary process upgrades (isolated tank, pump, piping replacements) to the laboratory wastewater decontamination system. Provide a new wastewater transmission line from Building 101 to Building 102. Perform necessary structural repairs, roofing and finishes to ensure the facility meets necessary bio-containment standards. - Upgrade Water Supply System'Provide evaluation of known issues, replacement of antiquated distribution system piping and upgrade of treatment systems related to the domestic water supply system, water purification system and fire suppression system. - Perform an Environmental Assessment - A new Environmental Assessment will be developed prior to the construction and improvements at PIADC to comply with NEPA requirements and DHS policy. The Environmental Assessment shall incorporate potential impacts from all projects listed herein. - Firehouse/Motor Pool - Construct new firehouse/motor pool building to replace the antiquated and inadequate structures and to consolidate within the active area of the island the Firehouse, Motor Pool, and Emergency Operations Center (EOC). This acquisition is a total Small Business Set-Aside under NAICS Code 54310, with a Size Standard of $4.5 million. This is a Request for Qualifications of Small Business A&E firms interested in contracting for this work. A&E firm, as used in this synopsis, is an association, joint venture, partnership or other entity that will have contractual responsibility for the project pre-design services and design documents. The scope of the A&E services required under this proposed contract includes, but is not limited to, the following: Perform pre-design services, including the preparation of a planning document/feasibility study to include the basic requirements and information needed to procure, plan, design and perform the construction required for the Integrated Facility Improvements at PIADC; Prepare design documents for the facility through concepts, design development and construction documentation. The Estimated Cost of Construction (ECC) will be between $22 and $30 million. The purpose of this procurement is to select a highly qualified A&E Services firm with demonstrated expertise in the design of Bio-Safety Level 3, 3 Enhanced, and 3 Ag laboratories, large ungulate animal vivariums, necropsies, or similar facilities. This contract will be procured in accordance with the Brooks A-E Act as implemented in Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Part 36.6. The A&E Services firm will be selected in accordance with the evaluation criteria set forth in this synopsis, the evaluation criteria in FAR Section 36.602-1, through review of Standard Form (SF) 330's and subsequent interviews. The top ranked A&E Services firm will be sent a Request for Proposal based on demonstrated competence and the unique qualifications for the required work. After receipt of the firm's proposal, negotiations will proceed. A single firm-fixed price contract will be negotiated with separate line items for the Pre-design and Design Services. The Government intends to utilize a Construction Manager at Risk or Construction Manager as Constructor (CMc) Contract procedure for this requirement. Two contracts will ultimately be awarded: one to the A&E Services firm selected as a result of this notice; the other to a construction firm. Under this concept, the CMc functions as a collaborative member of the project team. The CMc will be responsible for all construction under a single contract and also provides expertise during the design process for the Government by checking estimates and performing constructability reviews. It is anticipated that award of the CMc contract will follow closely behind the award of the A&E Services design contract so that the CMc can provide preconstruction services during the design phase. At a pre-determined point in the design phase (likely at 70% design), the CMc offers a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) and construction of the project will begin, before design completion. Complete design of this project is expected to take approximately 8 months; however, construction on the Motor Pool/Firehouse, which has already been designed, could begin much earlier. During construction, the A&E Services firm will perform construction administration services and work closely with the Construction Manager as Constructor (CMc). Actual construction is estimated to commence 4-6 months after design begins and be completed within approximately 2 years. SELECTION CRITERIA: In addition to the evaluation criteria in FAR Section 36.602-1, the following criteria will be used in the selection of the A-E firm: 1. Firms will be evaluated in terms of their relevant experience, including relevant experience of staff members and teaming partners, specifically for pre-design services, outlining the basic requirements and information needed to procure, plan, design and construct the Integrated Facility Improvements at the PIADC. 2. Firms will be evaluated in terms of relevancy and quality of their experience, including relevant experience of staff members and teaming partners, specifically on design work required by this procurement, particularly design of BioSafety Level 2/3/3Ag laboratories of similar size and scope, and the design and construction of large battery back up systems with static switching for critical loads. Responsive firms will list all projects completed in the last ten years, not to exceed 10 projects, which are of similar nature and scope as described herein, particularly the firm's ability/past experience in working with CMc's and the Guaranteed Maximum Price process. The list shall include project name, project location, project scope and current contract information, with at least two points of contact. Relevant projects provided with the SF 330 should clearly indicate the percent involvement or responsibilities that each team member firm provided in the performance of each relevant project. 3. Responsive firms will provide a list of key personnel, including subcontractors/consultants, and teaming partners, proposed to work on this contract, and will indicate the percentage of total work the prime contractor expects to complete with its own work force. Submission of the SF 330 should include organization charts of both the proposed team and/or specific staff members with their firm affiliations clearly identified. In addition, the level of past experience working with teaming partners should be clearly identified. 4. Firms shall document the role of Key Personnel in the example projects. 5. Firms shall document each person's role in preparing construction documents. 6. Firms shall document security clearances held by Key Personnel. 7. Demonstrate knowledge of federal, state, and local codes, laws, permits and the latest available industry standards and guidelines on construction materials, best practices and detailed contract specifications as applicable to large-scale bio-containment facilities. 8. Provide information on past performance on contracts with Government agencies and private industry in terms of cost control, quality of work, compliance with performance schedules and current Federal directives for sustainable design. 9. Demonstrate knowledge of environmental conditions/issues to include wetlands, water tables, flood planes, weather/climate conditions, coastal conditions, ecological concerns, and historical/archeological issues. 10. Provide information on the firm's quality control program which the firm uses to ensure (a) technical accuracy, (b) discipline coordination, including cross-discipline design checks, (c) ability to monitor time, (d) costs are kept within assigned limits, (e) quality of design, and (f) coordination and oversight of subcontractors/consultants. No solicitation package is available. Interested firms having the capabilities for this work are invited to submit original and seven (7) copies of SF 330, Architect-Engineer Qualifications, to the Contracting Office listed above, Attn: Robert E. Driggers, Contracting Officer. The SF 330 may be expanded, if necessary, to address the selection criteria fully. The SF 330 shall include information on the responding firm and all subcontractors/consultants/team members, including resumes and other information on key personnel teaming partners who will be involved in this project. All submittals are due no later than 4:00 PM Eastern Time, September 20, 2006. Interested firms are invited to attend a pre-submittal conference in Rooms 2207 at 13200 Woodland Park Road, Herndon, VA 20171 on Wednesday, August 30, 2006 at 10:00 AM EDT. The agenda will include a review of the solicitation/evaluation process and an overview of PIADC facilities as related to this requirement, followed by a question and answer period. Provide names of attendees to the Contracting Officer via e-mail no later than 4:00 PM Eastern Time, Friday, August 25th, with a copy to Paulette Webster. Please note that seating at the conference may be limited. Directions and accommodation information will be provided upon request.