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 seeking a qualified Architect-Engineering (AE) firm to provide Schematics, Design Development, Construction Documents, Technical Specifications, Construction Period Services, Site Visits, Cost Estimates, As-Built Documentation, and all other related information for Project No. 561-26-101 Improve and Upgrade Electric System at the VA New Jersey Healthcare System East Orange Campus. This Project will provide for professional design services including site investigation, assessment, and the preparation of a complete construction document package for the renovating and upgrading emergency generators and associated components such as Automatic Transfer Switches (ATS s). This requirement is being procured in accordance with the Brooks Act as implemented in FAR Subpart 36.6. Applicable NAICS code is 541330 and small business size standard of $47 Million. Magnitude of Construction is between $1,000,000.00 and $5,000,000.00. This is a 100% Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business Set Aside. The anticipated award date of the proposed A-E Contract is on or before February 27, 2026. Potential contractors must be registered in SAM (www.sam.gov ) and are visible/verified/certified as SDVOSB in Dynamic Small Business Search (https://dsbs.sba.gov/search/dsp_dsbs.cfm) at time of submission of their qualifications in order to be considered for an award. In order to assure compliance with VAAR clauses, 852.219-75 VA Notice of Limitations on Subcontracting Certificate of Compliance for Services and Construction (JAN 2023) and 852.219-73 VA Notice to Total Set-Aside for Verified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (JAN 2023), all firms submitting a SF 330 for this notice are required to indicate what percentage of the cost of contract performance will be expended on the concerns employees and in which discipline(s) and percentage of cost of contract performance to be expended (and in what disciplines) by any other consultant/subcontractor or otherwise used small or large business entity(s). Any consultant/subcontractor or otherwise business entity(s) used must be identified by name, office location and size/type of business (i.e., SDVOSB, VOSB, 8(a), small, large, etc.). Failure to provide this information will deem the firm s SF 330 submittal as nonresponsive and preclude further evaluation All A/E firms are advised that in accordance with VAAR 836.606-71 the total cost of the production and delivery of designs, plans, drawings and specifications shall not exceed six (6) percent of the estimate cost of construction. Other A-E fees are not included in the six (6) percent. Additionally, FAR Clause 52.236-22 (c) - Design Within Funding Limitation, will be applicable to this procurement action. SCOPE OF SERVICE REQUIRED Project No. 561-26-101 Improve and Upgrade Electric System LOCATION VA New Jersey Healthcare System, 385 Tremont Ave., East Orange, NJ 07018 COST RANGE Estimated Construction Cost Range: Greater than $10,000,000. TYPE OF CONTRACT CONTEMPLATED The Department of Veterans Affairs is contemplating awarding a firm fixed price contract. DESIGN COMPLETION PERIOD: The Department of Veterans Affairs requires design and contract support services. The A/E shall deliver 100% bid documents in 390 calendar days from the Notice to Proceed (NTP). SELECTION CRITERIA DESCRIPTIONS The selection criteria descriptions are provided below. PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS NECESSARY FOR SATISFACTORY PERFORMANCE OF REQUIRED SERVICES. Provide resumes for all proposed key personnel who will specifically serve for this project only. Resumes are limited to one page each and should cite project specific experience and indicate proposed role in this contract. Provide professional registration, certification, licensure and/or accreditation. Indicate participation of key personnel in example projects in the SF-330 Part 1 Section G Include specific experience and qualifications (i.e., education, training, registration, certifications, overall relevant experience, and longevity with the firm). The Designers of Record shall perform and direct the design within their respective discipline and shall sign and seal the drawings. The lead designer in each discipline must be registered but does not have to be registered in the particular state where the project is located. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE AND TECHNICAL COMPETENCE Specialized experience and technical competence required for this specific project, including, where appropriate, experience in energy conservation, pollution prevention, waste reduction, and the use of recovered materials. Offerors will be evaluated on specialized experience and technical competence in the performance of services similar to those anticipated under this contract regarding: Experience with design of inpatient medical care facilities. Experience with specialized electrical studies and design of emergency generators for healthcare facilities. Experience in developing a phased project plan, coordinating with multiple Government stakeholders as we addressed in this project VA NJ HCS EO. Experience in providing post construction award services (shop drawing review, as-built drawing and Quality Assurance Plan (QAP) preparation, construction inspection services, and Operating and Maintenance Manuals). Experience with government designs and construction. Experience with extensive site survey skills Provide up to five (5) projects completed or substantially completed within the past five (5) years that best illustrate specialized experience of the proposed team in the areas outlined above and the scope of work of the project. Example projects shall note project s square footage. All projects provided in the SF-330 must be completed by office/branch/regional office/individual team members proposed to manage and/or perform work under this contract. To enable verification, firms should include the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number along with each firm name in the SF-330 Part 1, Section F Item 25 Firms from Section C Involved in this Project, block (1). Include a contract number or project identification number in block 21. Include an e-mail address, and phone number for the point of contact in block 23(c). Include in the project description the contract period of performance, award contract value, current contract value, a summary of the work performed that demonstrates relevance to specialized experience as outlined above. If the contractor served as a subcontractor on a project, indicated the value of the work they provided towards the performance of the overall project. If a project was performed by a joint venture, and not all joint venture partners are on the team proposed for this contract, the offeror/team should specifically address the work performed by the joint venture partner offering/teaming on this contract. Likewise, if the offeror/team member worked as a subcontractor on a project, the description should clearly describe the work actually performed by the offeror/team member and the roles and responsibilities of each on the project, rather than the work performed on the project as a whole. If the project description does not clearly delineate the work performed by the entity/entities offering/teaming on this contract, the project could be eliminated from consideration. NOTE: If the Offeror is a joint venture, information should be submitted as a joint venture; however, if there is no information for the joint venture, information should be submitted for either joint venture partner, not to exceed a total of five (5) projects for this criterion. Projects shall be submitted on the SF-330. For submittal purposes, a task order on an IDIQ contract is considered a project, as is a stand-alone contract award. Do not list an IDIQ contract as an example of a completed project. Instead, list relevant completed task orders or stand-alone contract awards that fit within the definition above. Examples of project work submitted that do not conform to this requirement will not be evaluated. Failure to provide requested data, accessible points of contact, or valid phone numbers could result in a firm being rated lower. All information for Criterion 1 should be submitted in Part 1, Section F of the SF-330. The Government WILL NOT consider information submitted in addition to Part 1, Section F in evaluating Criterion 1. CAPACITY This factor evaluates the ability of the firm, given their current projected workload and the availability of their key personnel, to accomplish the possible myriads of design projects in the required time. The general workload and staffing capacity of the design office will be evaluated. List current projects with a design fee of greater than $20,000 being designed in the firm s office. Indicate the firm s present workload and its availability of the project team (including sub-consultants) for the specified contract performance period. Describe experience in successfully delivering projects per performance schedule, providing timely construction support, and successfully completing multiple projects with similar delivery dates PAST PERFORMANCE: VISN2 will evaluate past performance on recent and relevant contracts with government agencies (emphasis on VA work) and private industry in terms of cost control, quality of work, compliance with performance schedules and a record of significant claims against the firm. Recent is defined as performance occurring within 5 years of the date of this Sources Sought, except those ongoing projects must have begun no less than one (1) year prior to the issuance of this Sources Sought. Relevancy is defined as performance of work on projects that are similar in scope within a VA hospital setting in relation to the type of projects anticipated under the resultant contracts. Respondents with no previous past performance shall state this when addressing the selection criteria. Where there is no record of past performance, the proposal will be evaluated neither favorably nor unfavorably. Superior performance ratings on relevant projects may be considered more favorably in the evaluation. SUBMIT A COMPLETED CPARS/ACASS EVALUATION FOR EACH PROJECT UNDER CRITERION 1. IF THERE IS NOT A COMPLETED CPARS/ACASS EVALUATION, the Past Performance Questionnaire (PPQ) included in this notice is provided for the offeror or its team members to submit to the client for each project the offeror includes under Criterion 1. AN OFFEROR SHALL NOT SUBMIT A PPQ WHEN A COMPLETED CPARS/ACASS IS AVAILABLE. IF A CPARS/ACASS EVALUATION IS NOT AVAILABLE, ensure correct phone numbers and email addresses are provided for the client s point of contact. Completed PPQs should be submitted with your SF-330. If the offeror is unable to obtain a completed PPQ from a client for a project(s) before the response date set forth in this notice, offerors should complete and submit with their responses the first page of the PPQ (Attachment), which will provide contract and client information for the respective project(s). Offerors may submit a PPQ previously submitted under a different Notice/RFP (legible copies are acceptable) as long as it is on the same form as posted with this Synopsis. Offerors should follow up with clients/references to ensure timely submittal of questionnaires. If requested by the client, questionnaires may be submitted directly to the Government's point of contact, Network Contracting Office 2 Attn: Amanda Baumler via email at amanda.baumler@va.gov prior to the response date. Offerors shall not incorporate by reference into their response PPQs or CPARS previously submitted in response to other A/E services procurements. However, this does not preclude the Government from utilizing previously submitted PPQ information in the past performance evaluation. Location in the general geographical area of the project and knowledge of the locality of the project; provided, that application of this criterion leaves an appropriate number of qualified firms, given the nature and size of the project To be rated ACCEPTABLE for this evaluation factor, the A/E firm must be within 450 miles from the prime contractor s main office or official satellite office to the VA New Jersey Healthcare System, 385 Tremont Ave., East Orange, NJ 07018. This distance is determined according to http://maps.google.com/ This factor evaluates the distance the AE firm's design office or official satellite office(s) from the location of work (VA Medical Center). Please provide the address (es) and distance of your closest office to the address listed in iv. above. Indicate firms/teams location, including main offices, branch office and any subconsultants offices and demonstrate how this will be advantageous to the Government. The extent to which potential contractors identify and commit to the use of service-disabled Veteran-owned small businesses, Veteran-owned small businesses, and other types of small businesses as subcontractors. Experience in construction period services to include professional field inspections during the construction period, review of construction submittals, support in answering requests for information during the construction period, and support of construction contract changes to include drafting statements of work, and cost estimates shall be included as an evaluation criterion when construction period services is included in the statement of work for A-E services. EXPERIENCE Specific experience and qualifications of personnel proposed for assignment to the project and their record of working together as a team. Offerors shall submit evidence of individuals experience and qualifications in their respective fields. Additionally, documentation must be provided to show these individuals have worked together as a team on previous projects and their role. (Completing Sections E, F, and G, on the SF-330 meets the documentation requirement). Furthermore, offerors shall describe the ability of the firm to manage, coordinate and work effectively with team members, both internal staff and consultants. Discuss the history of working relationships with team members, including joint venture partners where applicable. CLAIMS - Record of significant claims against the firm because of improper or incomplete architectural and engineering services. Offerors with substantiated claims against the firm as a result of improper architectural and engineering services provided in the last three (3) years. Records and any other documentation of substantiated claims highlighting improper or incomplete architectural engineering services against the firm within the last three (3) years. The SF-330 shall contain a statement affirming that there are no records of significant claims because of improper or incomplete architectural and engineering services. PLEASE NOTE: The AE Evaluation Board must be provided with complete and accurate information for ALL nine (9) evaluation factors above in order to rank as qualified and eligible firms. Therefore, the AE firm must expand upon, as it deems necessary, on any evaluation factor not well demonstrated or addressed with Part 1A to Part IG and Part II of the SF330. The AE firm shall use Part IH and/or use additional sheets to supplement/address all evaluation factors to clearly demonstrate its qualifications. LIMITATIONS 852.219-10 VA Notice of Total Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Set-Aside (DEC 2009) (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 Small Business Pages database, (SBA s Small Business Search); (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: Unless paper offers are specifically authorized in an individual solicitation, 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: ONE (1) ELECTRONIC SF 330, including Parts I and II, and attachments (if any) to mitchelle.labady@va.gov no later than 2:00 PM, Eastern Standard Time (EST) on January 12, 2026. Submittals received after the date and time identified will not be considered. The submittal will be date and time stamped by the Microsoft Email system and will be the official record of receipt for the submission. All SF 330 submissions shall be clearly indicated in subject line, displaying the solicitation number and project number and title (abbreviated and shortened is okay). Submission is to be no more than a total of fifty (50) pages; size of emails is not to exceed 10 megabytes (MB). If more than one email is sent, please number emails in subject line as 1 of 2, 2 of 2 etc. All SF 330 submissions must include the following information either on the SF 330 or by accompanying document: Cover Page with Solicitation Number, Project Number and Title Table of Contents Copy of valid state registration for each lead designer Copy of current https://veterans.certify.sba.gov/ SDVOSB/VOSB certification Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) Number Cage Code Tax ID number Email address and Phone number (including the area code) of the Primary Point of Contact. See attached document: 561-26-101 Improve and Upgrade Electric System - AE Design SOW - 20251124.
