Visalia, CA lease award

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, through its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Agriculture Marketing Service, has awarded a sole-source lease extension for 60 months at 7100 West Sunnyview Avenue, Visalia, California, to continue housing its specialized cotton grading laboratory and related administrative operations. The lease, under solicitation number 57-6395-11-007, will run from May 1, 2026, through April 30, 2031, at a fixed rental rate of $20.33 per rentable square foot, resulting in a total estimated contract value of $2,681,405.92. The extension is justified under GSAR 570.405 and 41 U.S.C. § 3304(a)(1) due to the unique, facility-specific requirements essential for cotton classing operations, including precise environmental controls of 70°F ±1° and 65% relative humidity, specialized MacBeth lighting, dust collection systems, compressed air distribution, and a bailer feed hopper. Relocation or replication of these capabilities would incur prohibitively high costs, and the current incumbent facility is the only viable option to ensure uninterrupted mission performance. No competitive solicitation was conducted, and no offeror representations, certifications, or socioeconomic set-asides are applicable. The contracting office is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with Royce Ng serving as the primary contracting officer. The facility includes 26,384 square feet of space dedicated to federal operations critical to national cotton grading standards, and no additional line items, options, or delivery schedules are specified beyond the fixed-term lease. There are no explicit inspection protocols, packaging requirements, or invoicing instructions documented, as the contract pertains solely to real property occupancy under a firm-fixed-price arrangement.