Construct Arabian Leopard Exhibit at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park

The Smithsonian Institution is issuing this Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to identify qualified firms for the Phase 2 construction of the Arabian Leopard Facility (Project #2533105) at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park, located at 3001 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008. The proposed contract listed here is UNRESTRICTED. All responsible sources are encouraged to submit a proposal, which will be considered by the Smithsonian.

This procurement will be conducted as a two-step solicitation process. This RFQ constitutes Step One and is intended to identify qualified firms for participation in Step Two of the procurement for Phase 2 construction of the Arabian Leopard Facility, which consists of the Habitat areas and Animal Care Building. Phase 1 – Early Site was solicited previously from IDIQ Contractors and that award is in process. See Phase 1 – Early Site Drawings and Specifications attached hereto as Appendices 1 and 2 for Phase 1 scope of work, which is provided for reference only. At the conclusion of Phase 1, offerors will be expected to coordinate and take over responsibility for site logistics and overlapping scope such as, but not limited to, the laydown area and erosion and sediment control (E&S) measures.

Background and Project Description

The Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoological Park (NZP) in Washington DC is one of the most visited zoos in the world, attracting millions of visitors annually. The National Zoo was founded by an act of Congress in 1889 and opened in 1891. The campus is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Arabian Leopard Facility (ALF) will be located southeast of the Connecticut Avenue entrance to the National Zoo. It replaces the former Bison Habitat and the existing Zoo in Your Backyard, which is situated along the historic Olmsted Walk, across from the Africa Trail Exhibit (currently under renovation), just north of the Elephant House, and abuts the Panda Habitat.

The Smithsonian’s NZCBI has entered a partnership with the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) in Saudi Arabia to advance Arabian Leopard conservation efforts. The proposed new Arabian Leopard Facility will provide year-round public viewing of adult and cub leopards that will support education around conservation of this unique species. The Facility has three main components: 1) Site; 2) Habitats (East, West and Off View), and 3) Animal Care Building. The Facility has been designed with the flexibility to accommodate future species such as the Amur Leopard or Jaguars. All three Habitat areas have been designed with the influence of the arid, rocky mountains of the Arabian Peninsula while taking into consideration the historic environment of the National Zoological Park Historic District and Olmsted Walk.

This project features two 30-foot high, outdoor, mesh enclosed areas that make up the East and West Habitats. These two Habitats will be open to the public with multiple viewing areas. The rock work and trees within provide opportunities for the cats to display their natural climbing behaviors. The West Habitat area is connected to the Animal Care Building by an overhead animal walkway under which the visitor can walk. Visitors can experience the leopards from a variety of vantage points including from an underground tunnel that traverses a section of the West Habitat. A smaller, Off View Habitat, which is not open to the public, will be used during quarantine, training or cubbing activities.

The Animal Care Building consists of three leopard dens; one cubbing den; one quarantine stall; a day room for visitor viewing of animals all year round; research and staff areas, and; building support areas. The intent of this facility is to create a program like that of the NZCBI Panda program, with the goal of breeding the Arabian Leopards and sharing the story of their conservation and rewilding with Zoo visitors through an immersive habitat experience.

Critical Elements of the Work: The successful Contractor shall be experienced  and fully qualified with critical elements of the project, as listed, but not limited to, the items below:

1. Working within an occupied, historic campus active with public, staff and animals
2. Coordination of specialty trades within a small site footprint
3. Coordination and installation of specialty animal doors, transfer systems and manually operated remote door controls
4. Coordination and installation of radiant flooring
5. Coordination and installation of animal containment fencing, mesh and transfer chutes
6. Coordination and installation of shotcrete faux rock and faux trees
7. Mitigation of sound and vibration during construction so as not to harm animals in adjacent habitats
8. Coordination of construction activities with Zoo operations to align with feeding schedules, DC zoning community noise regulations, Zoo hours, known and unknown animal welfare issues, veterinary care, and public events
9. Procedures and documentation to ensure compliance with the established LEED building criteria
10. Use of Building Information Modeling (BIM)

Firm evaluation and selection will be conducted in accordance with FAR Part 15, Best Value Procurement, utilizing a two-step procurement model. Step One of the RFP will consist of a list of prequalifying criteria to assist the agency in identifying those contractors that have demonstrated past specialized experience in comparable and non-comparable projects and other relevant qualifying factors. It is the Smithsonian's intent to advance the most highly qualified companies for further consideration under Step Two, technical and pricing evaluation of the RFP. Companies which are advanced to Step Two of the RFP will be evaluated in accordance with the technical criteria as set forth in the RFP. The Smithsonian Institution intends to award a firm fixed-price construction contract to the successful Contractor.

The Smithsonian anticipates awarding a contract for Phase 2 by February 2027. Construction mobilization shall commence upon notice to proceed (NTP) to be issued upon receipt of Contractor’s insurance and bond. The Smithsonian expects Contractor turnover of the ALF for the receipt of the living collection upon substantial completion due at the end of summer 2028. The new ALF will open to the public in early January 2029 after quarantine and acclimation of the living collection.

The North American Industry Classification Code (NAICS) for this procurement is 236220 and the size standard under this code is $45 million average annual receipts over the last three years. This announcement is open to all businesses regardless of size. If the selected firm is a large business, a subcontracting plan consistent with PL 95-507, PL 99-661 and PL 100-656 will be required with the final fee proposal. A minimum goal of 40% of the total planned subcontracting dollars shall be placed with small business concerns. At least 7% of total planned subcontracting dollars shall be placed with Service-Disabled Veteran-owned small businesses (SDV).

Prospective contractors must be registered in the Systems for Award Management (SAM) prior to award of a contract. Information on registration and annual confirmation requirements may be obtained via the Internet at http://www.sam.gov. Lack of registration in the SAM database will make an offeror ineligible for award.

Davis Bacon Wage Determination DC20260002 (Building) and DC20260001 (Heavy) shall apply.

Total period of performance for Construction Services is 19 months from issuance of the Notice to Proceed in February 2027 through Substantial Completion in September 2028.

The estimated construction cost will exceed $10 Million.  

REQUEST FOR CLARIFICATIONS

It is desired that all questions/clarifications be sent in, sequentially numbered for example first questions 1,2,3, second set of questions 4, 5, 6, etc. in word format to ChanVC@si.edu. It is requested that all questions be sent in no later than 3 PM Eastern Time on July 3, 2026.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Proposals are to be sent as an electronic copy and is required to be submitted to DropBox.com using the link:

https://www.dropbox.com/request/WjDoOyI1YLjWVLZVx4SD

Statements of Qualifications (SOQ) must be received no later than 3PM Eastern Time on July 17, 2026, to be considered. Please see the attached solicitation for more details regarding submission requirements.

THE STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS DUE DATE IS JULY 17, 2026, AT 3:00PM EST.

THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL.