Carl B. Stokes Federal Building & U.S. Courthouse Fire Alarm Replacement

The General Services Administration (GSA) is procuring a Design-Build contract for the modernization of the fire alarm and life safety systems at the Carl B. Stokes U.S. Courthouse in Cleveland, Ohio, a 23-story, 767,000-square-foot federal facility. This procurement follows a two-phase selection process under FAR 36.101-2 and GSA Class Deviation RFO-2025-36, with Phase I focusing on evaluating the technical qualifications of offerors to create a shortlist of no more than three firms, whose names will be publicly announced on SAM.gov. Selected firms will proceed to Phase II, where they must submit detailed technical and price proposals evaluated separately under FAR Part 15 using a best-value trade-off methodology, not lowest price technically acceptable. The contract is full and open to both large and small businesses, with large firms required to submit an approved small business subcontracting plan per FAR Part 19.7. A $22,390 stipend will be provided to up to two unsuccessful Phase II offerors who meet proposal requirements. The project requires seamless integration of new fire alarm, voice evacuation, smoke control, and sprinkler systems into an occupied building with minimal disruption, adhering to federal and industry standards including NFPA and IBC codes. Work must be performed in compliance with stringent security protocols, including Enter on Duty determinations and HSPD-12 compliance for long-term personnel, and all CUI documents must be properly marked and submitted to GSA for approval. The contract is Firm Fixed Price, with substantial completion required within 1,220 calendar days from the Notice to Proceed and full contract completion within 60 days thereafter. Proposal submissions are due by 4:00 PM CST on August 21, 2026, and must be sent via email to the Contracting Officer, Neal Deodhar, with a maximum file size of 25MB, excluding executable or script files. Electronic representations and certifications via SAM.gov are mandatory, and all offerors must hold an active Unique Entity ID. The estimated contract value ranges between $10 million and $20 million, and evaluation priorities are weighted toward the firm’s technical qualifications (40%), lead designer experience (25%), design-build approach (20%), and past performance (15%), with risk assessed through price realism and proposal balance.