EHRM Infrastructure Upgrades Construction - Washington, DC - Proj. 688-22-700

SOURCES SOUGHT SYNOPSIS

INTRODUCTION:

This Sources Sought Notice is for market research and information purposes only at this time and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

The Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Program Contracting Activity Central (PCAC) is conducting a market survey and is seeking potential sources for the EHRM Infrastructure Upgrades Construction project at the VA Medical Center located in Washington, DC.

Address: 50 IRVING STREET NW WASHINGTON, DC 20422

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

This project will include construction work required to facilitate modifications at multiple existing buildings on the VA medical center campus to upgrade the infrastructure in support of the new Electronic Health Records Modernization (EHRM) system.

A. Contractor shall completely prepare site for building operations, including demolition and removal of existing structures, and furnish labor and materials to perform work as required by the drawings and specifications

B. Facility Fiber Infrastructure – Upgrade fiber optic cables per the OIT standard. Project scope includes fiber distribution within building corridors and necessary connections for new fiber.

C. Telecommunication Rooms (TR) – Upgrade new TRs in multiple buildings throughout the campus in compliance with the OIT standard. This includes architectural, electrical, and mechanical work in addition to TR equipment room fittings and cabling.

D. Work Area Outlets (WAO) – Upgrade the existing horizontal cabling from the TRs to the WAOs.

E. Upgrade of supporting electrical/mechanical systems.

F. Physical Security upgrade of the data center and TRs to comply with the OIT standards and the Physical Security and Resiliency Design Manual (PSRDM).

PROCUREMENT INFORMATION:

The proposed project will be a competitive, firm-fixed-price contract utilizing the design-bid-build approach (final specifications and drawings will be provided). The anticipated solicitation will be issued as a Request For Proposal (RFP), in accordance with FAR Part 15, considering Technical (ex. Project Experience) and Price Factors. The type of socio-economic set-aside, if any, will depend upon the responses to this notice and any other information gathered during the market research process.

This project is planned for advertising in November 2026. In accordance with VAAR 836.204, the magnitude of construction is between $20,000,000.00 and $50,000,000.00  The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 236220 (size standard $45.0 million) applies to this procurement. The duration of the project is currently estimated at 689 calendar days from the issuance of a Notice to Proceed (NTP). The services for this project will include providing all construction related services such as: providing labor, materials and equipment required to complete the project as per contract documents prepared by an independent Architect-Engineer firm.

CAPABILITY STATEMENT:

Respondents shall provide a general capabilities statement to include the following information:

Section 1: Provide company name, Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), company address, Point-of-Contact name, phone number and email.

Section 2: Provide company business size based on NAICS code 236220. Also, provide business type (i.e., Large Business, Small Business, Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business, Women-Owned Small Business, Hub Zone Small Business, etc.).

Section 3: Provide a Statement of Interest in the project.

Section 4: Provide the prime contractor’s available bonding capacity in the form of a letter of intent from your bonding company with this submission. *Please ensure that the individual bonding capacity is in line with the VAAR Magnitude of Construction listed above. Note: The estimated cost of construction is anticipated to be in the mid-range of the stated magnitude.

Section 5: Provide the type of work your company has performed in the past in support of the same or similar requirement. This section is IMPORTANT as it will help to determine the type of socio-economic set-aside, if any. Please provide the following in your response:

Examples of specialized experience and technical competence in various disciplines required for the specific project.

Specifically, the offeror shall demonstrate proof of experience that the proposed prime and subcontracted company personnel have prior experience as a contractor on a minimum of two (2) and a maximum of five (5) relevant projects involving the installation or upgrading the mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and telecommunications infrastructure related to Data Centers construction projects as detailed below. To be deemed relevant, projects must have a total contract value of $18 Million or more and be at least 75% complete within the six (6) years preceding the RFP posting date.

Projects must have been performed at an operational medical facility and, when viewed collectively, must demonstrate experience in all the technical areas listed below. (Note: The required technical elements may be distributed across the submitted projects, provided all elements are represented within the 2 - 5 project submission limits.)

• Performance as contractor on a construction project performed in an occupied medical facility requiring uninterrupted service lines, such as an emergency or surgical environment, with use of infection control permits and barriers. [at least two (2) relevant examples required]

• Performance as contractor on a construction project that executed the specified phasing identified in a CD package. [at least one (1) relevant example required]

•  Performance as contractor on a construction project where staging and laydown areas near the project site were unavailable. [at least one (1) relevant example required]

• Performance as a contractor on a construction project where the site allowed minimal or no parking spaces for the contractor. [at least one (1) relevant example required]

• Performance as contractor on a construction project that primarily consisted of off-hours work. [at least one (1) relevant example required]

• Performance with mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and telecommunications infrastructure. [at least one (1) relevant example required]

• Performance dealing with work that would cause interruptions of facility utilities and/or tying-in to existing structures. [at least one (1) relevant example required]

• Performance with on-site work installing fiber optic cables in an occupied medical facility. [at least one (1) relevant example required]

• Performance with phasing of telecommunication work resulting in seamless switch over from old to new system. [at least one (1) relevant example required]

IMPORTANT: Provide the project name, location/address, scope, contract value, and construction period start and completion (or estimated) date.

A client POC will be required to confirm all experience information upon submission of an offer.

Section 6: Project Labor Agreement (PLA) - A PLA is defined as a pre-hire Collective Bargaining Agreement with one or more labor organizations that establishes the terms and conditions of employment for a specific construction project and is an agreement described in 29 U.S.C. 158(f). The PLA questionnaire must be filled out and returned with the Sources Sought response. The questionnaire can be found at the end of this document, or as a separate attachment.

In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 22.5 - Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects, Policy:

(a) Project Labor Agreement (PLA) is a tool that agencies may use to promote economy and efficiency in Federal procurement. Pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14063, Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects, requires agencies to use project labor agreements in large-scale construction projects.

(b) An agency may, if appropriate, require that every contractor and subcontractor engaged in construction on the project agree, for that project, to negotiate or become a party to a project labor agreement with one or more labor organizations if the agency decides that the use of project labor agreements will-

(1) Advance the Federal Government's interest in achieving economy and efficiency in Federal procurement, producing labor-management stability, and ensuring compliance with laws and regulations governing safety and health, equal employment opportunity, labor and employment standards, and other matters; and

(2) Be consistent with law.

(c) Agencies may also consider the following factors in deciding whether the use of a project labor agreement is appropriate for the construction project:

(1) The project will require multiple construction contractors and/or subcontractors employing workers in multiple crafts or trades.

(2) There is a shortage of skilled labor in the region in which the construction project will be sited.

(3) Completion of the project will require an extended period of time.

(4) Project labor agreements have been used on comparable projects undertaken by Federal, State, municipal, or private entities in the geographic area of the project.

(5) A project labor agreement will promote the agency’s long term program interests, such as facilitating the training of a skilled workforce to meet the agency’s future construction needs.

(6) Any other factors that the agency decides are appropriate.

See FAR Provision: 52.222-33 Notice of Requirement for Project Labor Agreement and FAR Clause 52.222-34 Project Labor Agreement for further details.

It is requested that interested contractors submit a response (electronic submission) of no more than twelve (12) single sided pages, single-spaced, 12-point font minimum that addresses the above information (this is inclusive of the PLA questionnaire). This response must be submitted as a single application-generated (not scanned) PDF document that is less than or equal to 4MB in size. Please note that hard copies will not be accepted. Please also include a cover page, which includes, at a minimum: the company’s name, address, Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), if available, socio-economic status, point-of-contact name, phone number, and e-mail address. Responses must include the Sources Sought number and project title in the subject line of their e-mail response. Submissions (responses) shall be submitted via email to the primary point of contact listed below by September 22, 2026, at 4:00 PM ET. Phone calls will not be accepted.

The Capabilities Statement submitted in response to this Sources Sought shall not be considered to be a bid or proposal. This notice is for information and planning purposes only, and is neither to be construed as a commitment by the Government, nor will the Government pay for information solicited. No evaluation letters and/or results will be issued to the respondents. After completing its analyses, the Government will determine whether to limit competition among the small business categories listed above, or proceed with full and open competition. 

At this time no solicitation exists; therefore, please do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released it will be synopsized in Contract Opportunities at https://sam.gov/. It is the potential offeror's responsibility to monitor this site for the release of any solicitation or synopsis.  

Contracting Office Address: 

VHA Program Contracting Activity Central (VHA-PCAC)

6100 Oak Tree Blvd. Suite 300

Independence, OH 44131

Primary Points of Contact:

Ric Sochor (contractor)

Contract Specialist

ric.sochor@va.gov

Ben Niznik

Contract Specialist

Benjamin.Niznik@va.gov

Secondary Point of Contact:

Samantha Mihaila

Contracting Officer

Samantha.Mihaila@va.gov

PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENT (PLA) QUESTIONNAIRE

(Please respond to the questions below)

1. Is your company familiar with Project Labor Agreement (PLA) and its use on construction projects?

Yes/No

Comments:

2. Would your company likely submit a proposal for the VA construction solicitation that requires the use of a PLA?

Yes/No

Comments:

3. If VA requires a PLA, would your proposed construction cost likely to increase or decrease and what is the likely percentage of cost increase or decrease?

Comments:

 4. Does the VA requirement to use of a PLA on a construction project restrict competition?

Yes/No

Comments:

5. Do you expect subcontractor resistance should VA requires the use of a PLA on this construction solicitation?

Yes/No

Comments:

6. Do you have additional comments regarding the use of a PLA for this project?

Comments:

7. Has your Firm participated in projects with PLA agreements?

Yes/No

 
a. Were there cost increases, labor shortages, or other issues experienced on contracts that had the labor union clauses? If so, please provide more details.
 

b. Did pricing remain as expected? If not, did it increase or decrease as a result?

c. Was the project completed on time?

d. Was craftsmanship acceptable (or better) than a level typically seen on other non-union projects.

--- End of PLA Questionnaire ---