1 THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. THE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT PAY NOR REIMBURSE ANY COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH RESPONDING TO THIS REQUEST. THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT AS A RESULT OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT The Department of Veterans Affairs is conducting market research to identify qualified Construction Contractors capable of performing the full replacement and modernization of pad-mounted electrical transformers for Project No. 630A4 - 26-104 titled Upgrade S7 Canteen Kitchen Elevator located at the St. Albans Medical Center, 179-00 Linden Boulevard, Queens NY 11424-1468. This requirement will be procured under FAR Part 36, Construction and Architect-Engineer Contracts, as a construction acquisition. The applicable NAICS code is 236220 Commercial and Institutional Building Construction, with a small business size standard of $45 million. The estimated Magnitude of Construction, in accordance with FAR 36.204, is between $500,000 and $1,000,000 This requirement is anticipated to be solicited as a 100% Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) set-aside. All interested SDVOSB firms must be registered in SAM.gov and verified in the SBA Veteran Small Business Certification (https://search.certifications.sba.gov/) database at the time of their response to be considered. The Government does not anticipate any expansion of the existing building footprint as part of this effort. The anticipated award date of the construction contract is on or before April 30, 2026. Prospective Contractors must be registered and verified in SBA s Small Business Search and https://www.sam.gov and at time of submission of their qualifications in order to be considered for an award. NOTE: Offerors are reminded of the requirements in VAAR 852.219-10, VA Notice of Total Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Set-Aside, and VAAR 852.219-11, VA Notice of Total Veteran-Owned Small Business Set-Aside. For construction acquisitions, the prime contractor must perform at least 15% of the cost of the contract with its own employees (not including the cost of materials), consistent with the limitations on subcontracting. All firms responding to this Sources Sought Notice must clearly indicate: The percentage of contract work that will be performed with the firm s own workforce. The trades or disciplines the prime contractor will self-perform. The percentage of contract work that will be subcontracted, along with: the name, location, and type/size of business (e.g., SDVOSB, VOSB, 8(a), HUBZone, small, large) for each proposed subcontractor. This information is required to demonstrate compliance with VAAR subcontracting requirements applicable to SDVOSB set-aside construction procurements. In order to assure compliance with 13 CFR 125.6 and VAAR 852.219-10, respondents must demonstrate their ability to comply with the limitations on subcontracting applicable to Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) construction contracts. For general construction, the SDVOSB prime contractor must self-perform at least 25% of the cost of the contract, excluding the cost of materials. Respondents shall provide: The percentage of work the SDVOSB prime intends to self-perform. The specific construction disciplines or tasks the prime will self-perform. Any anticipated subcontracted work (if known), including the business size/status of subcontractors (SDVOSB, VOSB, small, large, etc.). This information is required solely for market research purposes to determine whether adequate SDVOSB competition exists to support a future set-aside determination. SCOPE OF SERVICE REQUIRED: The Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking information from qualified construction contractors capable of performing the following work, as described in the Transformer Scope of Work: The contractor shall provide all labor, materials, equipment, tools, supervision, and coordination necessary to replace outdated pad-mounted transformers T1 and T2 (4160/120/208V, 500 kVA dual-stage transformers with two feeders) at the St. Albans VA Medical Center. The work includes, but is not limited to: Verification of all field conditions based on Drawing E-2 Phased replacement of transformers, one transformer at a time Ensuring peak load requirements are met through generator rental backup or calculated load capacity Development and submission of a shutdown and phasing plan for VA approval Coordination and rental of temporary transformers, including monthly rental of 500 kVA 4160/207Y/120V pad-mounted transformers and rubber assemblies Removal of existing transformers Supply and installation of factory/custom replacement transformers (5kV-208Y/120V, 500 kVA) with A and B feed transformers Compliance with UL and DOE 2016 efficiency standards Furnishing, installing, and testing transformers with mineral oil Independent third-party testing and commissioning Submission of certified test reports and signed, sealed as-built shop drawings Compliance with all applicable VA Technical Information Library (TIL) Master Construction Specifications, including but not limited to Sections 01 00 00, 01 35 26, 26 11 16, 26 08 00, and 26 32 13 Reporting of any additional electrical or mechanical defects discovered during performance Performance Period: 52 weeks LOCATION: St. Albans VA Medical Center 179-00 Linden Boulevard Queens, NY 11424-1468 COST RANGE: Estimated Construction Cost Range: $500,000 and $1,000,000. TYPE OF CONTRACT CONTEMPLATED The Department of Veterans Affairs is contemplating awarding a firm fixed price contract. SELECTION CRITERIA DESCRIPTIONS The purpose of these criteria is to assess the capabilities of construction firms to the full replacement and modernization of pad-mounted electrical transformers in an active hospital environment. All interested parties must demonstrate experience, capacity, and technical capability relevant to construction, vertical transportation modernization, hospital safety controls, and VA standards. Evaluation Factors The below technical evaluation criteria (EC) EC-1 through EC-7 are listed in descending order of importance, and combined are significantly more important than non- technical factor EC-6 through EC-7: EC-1 Professional Qualifications Professional Qualifications necessary for satisfactory performance of required services with a balanced licensed and certified workforce for the disciplines anticipated to be necessary, including: Mechanical Engineering Electrical Engineering Structural Engineering Architecture Health Facility Design Information Technology Communications Systems Control Systems Engineering Systems Integration Fire Protection Engineering Hazardous Material Abate Physical Security The construction team s proposal shall emphasize the team s expertise in: Construction in a Medical Center/DVA facility while maintaining normal operations of the existing adjacent facility. Construction renovation project. Its capacity to devote time to the project. The degree to which the contractor has previous project experience with critical team members. Identify all key members of the construction team in an organizational chart which demonstrates: The specific responsibilities. Specific Control of the project. Include biographical data of all key project personnel to include the following: Name of individual Company employed by Company position title Years with the company Work experience with projects that were of a similar nature. EC-2 Management Plan QA/QC, Risk Management Demonstrate that they understand and are familiar with local St. Albans VAMC site and its conditions. This includes understanding the various complexities with the specific site. Effectively and realistically demonstrates its ability to maintain quality assurance and quality control construction practices. Provide a copy of a Quality Assurance/Quality Control Plan from a previous project of similar size and scope that is in compliance with the Contract Clause titled "Inspection of Construction: QC consists of plans, procedures, and organization necessary to produce an end product which complies with the contract requirements. Cover all construction operations, both onsite and offsite, and be keyed to the proposed construction design and construction sequence. The project superintendent will be held responsible for the quality of work and is subject to removal by the Contracting Officer for non-compliance with the quality requirements specified in the contract. In this context the highest-level manager responsible for the overall construction activities at the site, including quality and production, is the project superintendent. The project superintendent must always maintain a physical presence at the site and is responsible for all construction and related activities at the site, except as otherwise acceptable to the Contracting Officer. Submit no later than 10 days after receipt of Notice to Proceed, the Contractor Quality Control (CQC) Plan proposed to implement the requirements of the Contract Clause titled "Inspection of Construction." The Government will consider an interim plan for the first 7 days of operation. Construction will be permitted to begin only after acceptance of the CQC Plan or acceptance of an interim plan applicable to the particular feature of work to be started. Work outside of the accepted interim plan will not be permitted to begin until acceptance of a CQC Plan or another interim plan containing the additional work. EC-3 Previous Experience of Proposed Team Contractor must show documentation and demonstrate that the contractors and proposed subcontractors have had previous experience in performing work on similar projects. This includes working on Construction renovation. Offeror shall demonstrate corporate experience with no less than 4 projects completed within the last five years similar in size and scope to this Project. In describing project construction experience, provide the following information: Project title, location and brief description including local government agency coordination and contracting method (Construction -build, Construction bid construction, CM at risk, RFP etc.), Project owner, contact name and telephone number and email addresses of owners contract person. Project Design Architect and Engineers (If Construction) and names and telephone number of contact person(s). Note each firm and employee also proposed for this solicitation Project prime contractor and major subcontractors and name and telephone number of contact person(s). Note each firm and managing people also proposed for this solicitation. Project statistics include start and completion dates (original vs actual) for construction; cost (with brief explanation of what is included in the cost), linear footage, significant traffic control or phasing and any awards received. Referenced projects should preferably have dealt with the situation where adjacent areas were required to be protected and all services maintained to keep remaining building occupants in operation. The contractor shall respond within 48 hours of attempted contact either by the Contracting Officer or VAMC Engineering staff. Failure to respond within the specified time may result in your technical score being lowered for this area of evaluation. Demonstrate successful construction safety management and practices on past projects. Provide a copy of the overall company Construction Safety Policy that is in harmony with the requirements of the Code of Federal Regulations 29, Part 1926. Clearly outline utility shutdown needed to perform work and the proposed timeframes for outages in the proposed construction schedule as required by EC-5 below. Also state how you will ensure that the main hospital will continue to maintain normal operating activities throughout the site-prep renovation project. EC-4 Schedule, Capacity to accomplish the work in the required time. The proposed schedule will be evaluated as to how well it meets the objectives of the project: Explain how you would be Maintaining Normal Operations of Building 1, Main Building. Explain your procedures of Planned outages for Building 1. Explain your procedures of fire protection phasing to maintain coverage Discuss the process in scheduling work to be done. Discuss Testing procedures such as medical gas etc. Unless other objectives are stated, the shorter the construction duration that is evaluated to be feasible while maintaining safety and quality in conformance with the RFP is preferred and will receive a higher evaluation. The construction team schedule will: Describe the project schedule (Gantt or CPM type bar chart) identifying major work items including long lead items with start and stop dates that are realistic. The schedule will show the critical path activities highlighted in red. (i.e., main building utility, medical gas outages, etc.) Describe critical suppliers and subcontractors and if they have reviewed and agree to the schedule. The Government required finish date for this Project is Four Hundred Fifty (450) days after NTP for base bid. This includes all design, construction, site work, all contracted modifications, final punch list, site cleanup, com- missioning, and demobilization from the site. EC-5 Miscellaneous Experience & Capabilities Contractor shall provide their philosophy and method of implementing. Contractor shall provide examples of specialized experiences or capabilities beneficial to the completion of the project, including: CADD & Other Computer Applications. BIM Value Engineering & Life Cycle Cost Analyses Energy Conservation & New Energy Resources CPM & Fast Track Construction Alternate Delivery Method CMc, D/B, etc. EC-6 Location and Facilities of Working Offices Contractor shall provide location of prime firms, consultants, subcontractor location and their distance to St. Albans VAMC, 179-00 Linden Blvd, Queens, NY 11424-1468. EC-7 Price All teams must include a firm fixed lump sum price for the Project work with sufficient breakdown to assure that the Team understands the types of work involved in the project. The proposal will be evaluated for cost/price realism. The price proposal MUST include a breakdown of the lump sum price by all current CSI Divisions and show discreet quantities and prices for all equipment including but not necessarily limited to HVAC and associated components etc. Quantities of labor hours and labor hour rates which are at least equal Davis Bacon Wage Determination for all trades and hourly rates are also required. Construction teams are encouraged to propose any value added items that they can deliver within the budget under a section titled Value Engineering . Offerors are advised that if the technical proposals are essentially equal, award will be made on the basis of lowest cost. A proposal that is unrealistic in terms of technical level of effort or unrealistically low in cost and/or price will be considered to reflect a lack of technical competence or inability to comprehend the complexity and risk of contract requirements. The Government Technical Evaluation Team will use the following adjectival rating system, rating each proposal s response to the above evaluation criteria using the following adjectival rating schemes for both past performance and non-past performance factors: Past Performance Only (NEUTRAL RATING INCLUDED): RATING DEFINITION/STANDARD Excellent (Raw score 1) Based on the offeror s performance record, no doubt exists that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort. There is a very low performance risk. Very Good ( Raw score .8) Based on the offeror s performance record, little doubt exists that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort. There is a low performance risk. Satisfactory (Raw score .6) Based on the offeror s performance record, some doubt exists that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort. Normal contractor emphasis should preclude any problems. There is a moderate performance risk. Marginal (Raw score .4) Based on the offeror s performance record, substantial doubt exists that the offeror will successfully per- form the required effort. There is a high-performance risk. Unacceptable (Raw score .2) Based on the offeror s performance record, extreme doubt exists that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort. There is a very high-performance risk. Neutral No performance record is identifiable. Sources Sought Notice Sources Sought Notice Sources Sought Notice *= Required Field Sources Sought Notice Non-past-performance Factors (No NEUTRAL Rating): RATING DEFINITION/STANDARD Excellent (Raw score 1) The proposal demonstrates an excellent understand- Ing of requirements and approach that significantly exceeds performance or capability standards. Has exceptional strengths that will significantly benefit the Government. Good (Raw score .8) The proposal demonstrates a good understanding of requirements and approach that exceeds performance or capability standards. Has one or more strengths that will benefit the Government. Satisfactory (Raw score .6) The proposal demonstrates an acceptable under- standing of requirements and approach that meets performance or capability standards. Acceptable so lution. Few or no strengths. Marginal (Raw score .4) The proposal demonstrates a shallow understanding of requirements and approach that only marginally meets performance or capability standards necessary for minimal but acceptable performance. Unacceptable (Raw score .2) Fails to meet performance or capability standards. Requirements can only be met by major changes to the proposal. LIMITATIONS 852.219-73 VA Notice to Total Set-Aside for Verified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (NOV 2022) (a) Definition. For the Department of Veterans Affairs, Service-disabled veteran-owned small business concern : (1) Means a small business concern: (i) Not less than 51 percent of which is owned by one or more service-disabled veterans or, in the case of any publicly owned business, not less than 51 percent of the stock of which is owned by one or more service-disabled veterans (or eligible surviving spouses); (ii) The management and daily business operations of which are controlled by one or more service-disabled veterans (or eligible surviving spouses) or, in the case of a service-disabled veteran with permanent and severe disability, the spouse or permanent caregiver of such veteran; (iii) The business meets Federal small business size standards for the applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code identified in the solicitation document; and (iv) The business has been verified for ownership and control and is so listed in the Vendor Information Pages database, (http://www.VetBiz.gov). (2) Service-disabled veteran means a veteran, as defined in 38 U.S.C. 101(2), with a disability that is service-connected, as defined in 38 U.S.C. 101(16). (b) General. (1) Offers are solicited only from service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns. Offers received from concerns that are not service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns shall not be considered. (2) Any award resulting from this solicitation shall be made to a service-disabled veteran-owned small business concern. (c) Agreement. A service-disabled veteran-owned small business concern agrees that in the performance of the contract, in the case of a contract for: (1) Services (except construction), at least 50 percent of the cost of personnel for contract performance will be spent for employees of the concern or employees of other eligible service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns; (2) Supplies (other than acquisition from a nonmanufacturer of the supplies), at least 50 percent of the cost of manufacturing, excluding the cost of materials, will be performed by the concern or other eligible service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns; (3) General construction, at least 15 percent of the cost of the contract performance incurred for personnel will be spent on the concern's employees or the employees of other eligible service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns; or (4) Construction by special trade contractors, at least 25 percent of the cost of the contract performance incurred for personnel will be spent on the concern's employees or the employees of other eligible service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns. (d) A joint venture may be considered a service-disabled veteran owned small business concern if - (1) At least one member of the joint venture is a service-disabled veteran-owned small business concern, and makes the following representations: That it is a service-disabled veteran-owned small business concern, and that it is a small business concern under the North American Industry Classification Systems (NAICS) code assigned to the procurement; (2) Each other concern is small under the size standard corresponding to the NAICS code assigned to the procurement; and (3) The joint venture meets the requirements of paragraph 7 of the explanation of Affiliates in 19.101 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. (4) The joint venture meets the requirements of 13 CFR 125.15(b). (e) Any service-disabled veteran-owned small business concern (non-manufacturer) must meet the requirements in 19.102(f) of the Federal Acquisition Regulation to receive a benefit under this program. Submission Requirements: All responses to solicitations must be submitted electronically as described below. Responses submitted in a paper form are unacceptable. Failure to comply with this requirement may jeopardize the possibility of receiving an award due to noncompliance with the submission requirements. EMAIL SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS Interested firms having the capabilities to perform this work must submit: Required Content Company Information Name, address, point of contact, email, phone UEI number and CAGE code Business size (SDVOSB, VOSB, SB, etc.) Bonding Capacity Letter (from surety) Construction Experience Relevant elevator modernization or similar mechanical/construction projects Past performance references (minimum 3) Demonstration of Capability in the 5 evaluation areas above SDVOSB/VOSB SBA https://search.certifications.sba.gov/ PAGE LIMIT Capability Statements shall not exceed 10 pages, excluding: Bonding letter Past performance questionnaires Veteran documentation Minimum formatting: PDF, 11-point font, 1-inch margins, max file size 10 MB Submission Instructions Email submissions to:
[email protected] Subject Line Format: Sources Sought Replace Outdated Transformer [Company Name] Due Date: January 29, 2026 at 3:00 PM EST. Late submissions may not be reviewed.