Sources Sought Notice - USCG Waterfront Optimization, Coast Guard Yard, Curtis Bay MD

THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. THERE WILL NOT BE A SOLICITATION, SPECIFICATIONS, OR DRAWINGS AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME.

Project Title: United States Coast Guard Waterfront Optimization

Project Location: US Coast Guard Yard, Baltimore MD    

Product Service Code: Y1PZ, Construction of Other Non-Building Facilities

Project NAICS: 237990, Marine Construction

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District (NAB) requests letters of interest from qualified Contractors interested in optimizing the Coast Guard’s waterfront located in Baltimore, Maryland.  This Sources Sought Notice is issued as a means of conducting market research to identify parties having an interest in and the resources to support the requirement. The responses to this Notice will be used for planning purpose. Therefore, this Notice does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP); it does not guarantee the future issue of an RFP; nor does it commit the Government to contract for any supply or service.

The purpose of this notice is to gain knowledge of interest, capabilities and qualifications of various members of industry, to include the Small Business Community: Small Business (SB), Section 8(a), Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZones), Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB), Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB), Service-Disabled VeteranOwned Small Business (SDVOSB), and Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB). The Government must ensure there is adequate competition within any given socioeconomic category of responsible contractors. Large businesses are not prohibited from submitting a response to this notice; however, SB, Section 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, SDB, VOSB, and WOSB are highly encouraged to participate.

Further, this Agency will not accept unsolicited proposals. Respondents are advised that this Agency will not pay for any information or administrative cost incurred in response to this Notice; all costs associated with responding to this Notice will be solely at the responding party's expense. At this time, proprietary information is not being requested, and respondents shall refrain from providing proprietary information in response to this Notice. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. Not responding to this Notice does not preclude participation in any future Solicitation, if any is issued. Responses to this sources sought announcement will be used by the Government to make appropriate acquisition decisions. It is the responsibility of the interested parties to monitor this site for additional information pertaining to this notice.

The Government intends to pursue the Design Build to Budget Procurement Method, culminating in awarding a Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) contract as a result. The expected Magnitude of Construction is $100M-$250M.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Coast Gard (CG) Yard is responsible for construction, repairs and renovation of vessels and various aids to navigation, and for the manufacturing of miscellaneous Coast Guard equipment. The CG Yard is planning for the arrival, and maintenance and repair of a new class of USCG Cutters (Offshore Patrol Cutter [OPC] and National Security Cutter [NSC]) at the Yard anticipated to arrive in 2030. The arrival of the new Cutters will require greater water depths, and the CG Yard needs to update its waterfront infrastructure to be capable of supporting and dry-docking these new vessels.

The infrastructure that is planned to be updated at the CG Yard includes the following:

• The demolition and reconstruction of Pier 2.
• The demolition and reconstruction of Pier 3.
• The demolition and site reconstruction of the South Wharf
• The demolition and site restoration of Building 68
• All associated infrastructure work, utility connections, etc.  

SUBMISSION DETAILS (CAPABILITIES STATEMENT)

Interested parties are required to submit a capabilities statement. Though no page limits are provided, please be concise when submitting your response. in. The deadline for responses to this request is no later than 11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time (EST) on 20 November 2025. All responses under this Sources Sought Notice must be e-mailed to the Contract Specialist, Mr. Samuel Vido at samuel.p.vido@usace.army.mil and the Contracting Officer Ms. Tamara Bonomolo at tamara.c.bonomolo@usace.army.mil. Please reference the Sources Sought Notice number PANNAD-25-P-0000 027686.

Prior Government contract work is not required for submitting a response to this sources sought. Responders should address ALL of the following in their submittal:

1. Firm’s name, address, point of contact, phone number, e-mail address, CAGE code and Unique Entity ID.
2. Indicate if your company is currently registered with the Systems for Award Management (SAM) database. If not, indicate if it has been registered or does it plan to register. Contractors must be registered in SAM at time of bid/proposal due date. Please see https://sam.gov/portal/SAM/ for additional registration information.
3. In consideration of NAICS code 237990, with a small business size standard of $45,000,000, indicated the firm’s size (large or small).
4. Indicate if your company is interested in performing as a prime or a subcontractor for the above project.
5. Provide at least three (3) example projects similar to the project description above completed by the interested prime contractor in the last  six (6) years. While a minimum dollar value is not required, the example provided must clearly illustrate the scope and magnitude illustrated. Include Contract Number and Point of Contact information for the examples provided, in order for the Government to verify the past performance on indicated projects.
6. A narrative statement demonstrating the primary nature of your business, an overview of your firm’s capabilities of projects of similar nature to this requirement. Include specific information regarding the following criteria: Marine Construction, Construction Completed in the Mid-Atlantic Region, Experience in Multi-Site Construction Management, Completed Work at the Designated Magnitude

We had previously asked industry partners for their feedback on the questions included below in response to the Industry Day held the 22nd and 23rd of October but welcome any more information.

1. USCG is currently planning to procure the pier cranes, however, the Government is interested in feedback as to whether it would offer efficiencies and cost savings for the DB contractor to procure and install the crane that the pier would be designed to?
2. The Government is interested in understanding what a reasonable performance period is. Government desired completion of the waterfront optimization scope elements is December 2029/January 2030. What flexibilities does the government need to provide to facilitate the shortest amount of down time and/or disruption for CG to maintain industrial operations?
   1. Considering the target construction completion date of December 2029/January 2030, by what date would the contract award need to be finalized to ensure sufficient time for design and construction?
3. Based upon the layouts of the site provided, what space would be necessary for laydown areas? What flexibilities does the government need to consider to allow the contractor methods to reduce laydown area considering space considerations?
4. There is a requirement to dredge the channel to an appropriate depth to accommodate the new cutters. This requirement will be completed via a separate Design-Bid-Build contract. There is a requirement to dredge around the piers to accommodate the cutters. The government is considering whether to include this dredge requirement in the overall dredging contract to bring the channel to the appropriate depth, or whether to include the dredging around the piers as a component of the larger design-build waterfront revitalization project. (See Exhibit A).
   1. Would you recommend including the dredging around the piers be included in the design-build contract? If so, why? If not, why not?
   2. If the government choses to include the dredging around the pier in the larger dredge contract, what risks does the government need to consider?
   3. Please provide any feedback on how the berth area dredging might affect the waterfront optimization work.
5. The design-build construction project will require a project labor agreement unless an exception applies. What impacts to labor and cost should the government consider with a project labor agreement included in the contract?
6. Does this project necessitate the use of specialized equipment or construction techniques? If so, please specify the equipment or techniques required.    
7. The government is leaning toward using a design-build to budget approach utilizing some of the new flexibilities included in the FAR.
   1. Please provide your opinion on procurement methods. Are there other innovative approaches the government should consider that would balance cost risk between the contractor and government and maximize scope?
   2. Given the objective of seamlessly integrating operations and effectively executing the project, what specific areas or topics do you believe would be the most valuable to address during our proprietary meetings?
8. What would be the recommendation for a stipend amount for unsuccessful Phase 2 offerors based on what you know today? What is the basis of your recommendation? (e.g., percentage, level of effort, etc.)
9. Considering the scope and scale of this project, what are some realistic and achievable small business goals?
10. The Government plans to provide geotechnical investigation findings. Are there additional investigations you would recommend to further expedite the design process and mitigate potential risks for both your organization and the government?
11. For Phase I of the 2-phase DB process, what criteria should the Government consider when down-selecting to the three (3) most qualified firms?
12. For Phase II of the 2-phase DB process, what criteria should the Government consider when selecting the successful offeror?
13. How do we work collaboratively within the proprietary meetings to ensure we are getting alignment on scope, schedule and budget? How would you convey to the government your approach to validate the solution.

Responses will be shared with the Government and the project design team but otherwise will be held in strict confidence.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

All interested companies shall be actively registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database to be eligible to receive any future issue of a solicitation and for award of Government contracts. Information on registration and annual confirmation requirements may be found at http://www.sam.gov.

Interested parties who consider themselves qualified to perform the above-listed requirement are invited to submit a response to this Sources Sought Notice no later than 20 November 2025 at 11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time (EST). All responses under this Sources Sought Notice must be emailed to the Contract Specialist, Mr. Samuel Vido, at samuel.p.vido@usace.army.mil  and the Contracting Officer Ms. Tamara Bonomolo at tamara.c.bonomolo@usace.army.mil referencing the sources sought notice number PANNAD-25-P-0000 027686.

Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions. If you have any questions concerning this opportunity, please contact: Mr. Samuel Vido via email samuel.p.vido@usace.army.mil.