CONSTRUCTION OF CHILLED WATER REPLACEMENT AND SITE UTILITY IMPROVEMENTS (PHASE A2) AT THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERAN AFFAIRS (DVA) CAMPUS IN WEST HAVEN, CT

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District (CENAE) is conducting Market Research regarding the construction of the Chilled Water Plant Replacement and Site Utility Improvements at the Department of Veteran Affairs (DVA) campus in West Haven, CT.  The purpose of this announcement is to determine the interest, availability, and capability of Small and Large Business concerns to perform this work.     

This is a DVA - Major Construction project currently programmed for construction award in Fiscal Year (FY) 2027.  The NAICS code for this procurement is 236220. The estimated construction cost is between $25,000,000 and $100,000,000.00. The project is planned to be issued on or about July 2026.  The solicitation is not available at this time.  The construction procurement is expected to be a Design-Bid-Build Best Value Trade-Off (BVTO) Request for Proposal.  This notice does not constitute a commitment by the Government. 

Project Information:

VA Connecticut Healthcare System (VACHS) was officially formed in 1995 with the integration of the VA medical centers in West Haven and Newington.  VACHS serves Veterans in Connecticut and southern New England.  The West Haven campus, located at 950 Campbell Avenue in West Haven, CT is a tertiary care facility classified as a Clinical Referral Level One Facility.

The VA uses Strategic Capital Investment Planning (SCIP) process to prioritize construction projects that are needed to meet changing demand for services, improve aging infrastructure, and to keep pace with changing technology and models of care.  The VACHS developed a Business Case as part of the 2018 (updated in 2020) SCIP process in support of a new surgical and clinical space construction project to address critical deficiencies related to utility failures, infection prevention issues, patient and staff safety concerns, and space constraints.  The project, titled Construct New Surgical and Clinical Space Tower, Demolish Bldg. 7, 8, 8.5, and 9 (SCIP Project Number VHA1-689-2018-33888) and VA specific project number 689-040 represents a multi-phase, complex VA Major Construction project.

The new Surgical and Clinical Space Tower to be constructed at the Department of Veteran Affairs (DVA) campus in West Haven, CT is intended to upgrade and consolidate existing clinical and direct patient care spaces to current standards of patient care.  General utilities serving the space are also outdated and require updating and upgrading including heating (steam), electrical, and medical gas systems.  The tower is planned to be constructed north of the main hospital building (Building 1) and be connected to it via direct addition, and multiple corridors and/or catwalks to Buildings 1 & 5 in an area presently occupied by a parking lot and the buildings to be demolished.  Major impacts to existing infrastructure include relocation and expansion of multiple utility distribution systems impacted by the new construction, new utility tunnels, additional steam plant and on-site water storage capacity, new electrical substations, parking and road network reconfigurations, and re-grading of site/construction of retaining walls.

Phase A2 consists of the demolition and replacement of the existing chilled water plant and construction of site utility upgrades which will improve the campus infrastructure by providing new and redundant utilities to serve the campus as well as new chilled water plant with sufficient capacity to support existing campus and new Surgical/Clinical Tower loads.

The scope of the chilled water plant replacement consists of the demolition of the existing chilled water plant (building 16a) and construction of a new multi-story chilled water plant to include chillers, cooling towers, pumps, and all associated mechanical and electrical equipment.  Due to the close proximity of the existing fuel tank farm adjacent to the existing chilled water plant, a new fuel tank farm will need to be constructed as part of the project, which primarily serves the central boiler plant, requiring close coordination with the medical center and ongoing related projects.

The scope of the site utility upgrades consists of the replacement and upgrade of the existing fire protection water main and the domestic water main from Campbell Avenue to Building 15.  Site utility upgrades also include providing utility main loops of chilled water supply and return, steam supply, condensate return, domestic water supply, and fire protection water supply which will originate from the new chilled water plant and back-feed to Building 1.  The work also includes the installation of redundant electrical feeder from the utility demarcation point to Building 19 and coordination with the local electrical utility provider to provide further electrical redundancy offsite as well.  In addition, new water storage tanks will be constructed.

This project involves civil/site, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, structural, geotechnical, and architectural disciplines. The project must also comply with the DVA’s Physical Security Resiliency Design Requirements (PSRDM).  It is expected that the chilled water plant will be constructed to meet USGBC LEED Silver certification.  The work is located adjacent to and within an active Medical Center campus which will be operational at all times.  Impact to on-going operations must be kept to a minimum and carefully coordinated with the Contracting Officer and VAMC staff.  In addition, the work area is constrained due to the active medical center operations which will limit laydown and storage areas during construction.

Responses:

Responses are requested from both large and small businesses.  Interested firms should submit an information package to include the following:

1. Business Classification (i.e. HUBZone, small business, large, etc.).
2. Contractor’s Experience.  Provide a short (up to 10 pages) narrative describing your firm’s general capabilities and experience as a prime contractor performing this work as described above.  Also provide a description of comparable construction projects completed in the last 7 years.  Include in the description the project name; location; client; total contract value; and physical size of the designed facility.

Comparable projects should be work within operational medical facilities of comparable size (> 100,000 GSF) that ideally also include a facility infrastructure upgrade component.  The projects should also identify any phasing or sequencing which limited impacts to operations, as well as work on a constrained site.

1. Small Business Participation.  To support our commitment to Small Business utilization, we are seeking industry feedback on potential small business participation for this project.  We are requesting your recommended subcontracting goals (percentages of total contract value) for each applicable socio-economic category (e.g., Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business, Woman-Owned, HUBZone, Service Disabled Veteran-Owned, Veteran-Owned). These recommendations are for planning purposes only and will inform the Government’s goal development.  
2. Use of a 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). Agencies may use PLAs to promote economy and efficiency in Federal procurement. Pursuant to Executive Order 14063, Executive Order (E.O.) 14063, Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects, agencies are required to use project labor agreements in large-scale construction projects to promote economy and efficiency in the administration and completion of Federal construction projects, unless waived by a senior official. The use of a PLA applies to both small and large businesses and is appropriate if the use of project labor agreements will: Advance the Federal Governments 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 Be consistent with law. Reference: Provision: 52.222-33 Notice of Requirement for Project Labor Agreement Clause 52.222-34 Project Labor Agreement.

Some of the factors that may be considered regarding PLA use are:

• The involvement of multiple contractors and/or subcontractors working in multiple crafts or trades.
• The complexity of the project.
• Shortage of skilled labor in the region.
• Completion of the project will require an extended period of time.
• The use of PLAs on other comparable projects in this geographic area.
• The promotion of the Governments long term programs interests such as training of skilled workforce for future projects.
• The possibility of labor disputes that threaten timely completion.
• Additional costs from use of PLAs may be cost prohibitive.

In consideration of the above factors, and any others which may be deemed appropriate, firms are invited to comment on the use of PLAs. Of particular interest to the Government are responses to the following questions:

• Should a PLA be executed on the above project?
• What benefits do you believe a PLA could achieve?
• What other factors should the Corps consider before deciding to include PLA provisions for the construction project?
• Will the use of a PLA be effective in achieving economy and efficiency? If so, how?
• What is the estimated relative cost impact, or any other economies or efficiencies derived by the Federal Government, if using a PLA?
• Will a PLA impact the cost of submitting an offer?
• Are there any concerns regarding labor-management stability related to this project? Will the use of a PLA produce labor-management stability on this project?
• Have labor disputes or other labor issues contributed to project delays in the local area? Are you aware of examples of labor-management conflicts in the area which could impact the efficiency of this project, which a PLA could positively impact/resolve?
• What market share does union labor in construction trades have in the geographic area?
• Which existing Collective Bargaining Agreements will expire during construction of this project?
• Will use of a PLA be conducive to ensuring compliance with laws and regulations governing safety and health, equal employment opportunity, labor and employment standards, and other relevant matters on this project? Are there instances where these standards have not been met on Federal contracts in the local area? Were PLAs used for those specific contracts?
• This project will require construction contractors and/or subcontractors employing workers in multiple crafts or trades; do you foresee any work on this project that may result in both the prime contractor and at least one subcontractor, or two or more subcontractors, employing the same trade?
• Are there any concerns by prime contractors on the availability of skilled construction labor?
• Are there large scale construction projects in the area (over $25M, within 50 miles) which could impact availability of skilled labor for this project?
• What is the anticipated volatility in the labor market for the trades required for the execution of the project?
• Are existing apprentice programs providing sufficient numbers of skilled workers for future requirements? Is the proposed schedule/completion time one which would benefit from a PLA - if so, how?
• Will a PLA impact the completion time? Would a PLA benefit a project which contains a unique and compelling mission-critical schedule?
• Are you aware of comparable projects undertaken by Federal, State, municipal, or private entities in the geographic area of this project? For each project, please indicate if a PLA was used, the initial and final cost, number of trades on the project, if the project was completed on time, and if there were any challenges such as labor shortages, labor related delays, safety issues, etc...
• Will the use of PLAs impact the ability of potential offerors and subcontractors to meet small-business utilization goals?
• Will inclusion of PLA requirements affect your decision to submit a proposal for this project? If so, please detail how it will affect your decision.

Respondents to this Sources Sought are advised that any/all documents related to the use of a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) for the subject contract action become records of the Government and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requirements may apply to the release of PLA market research results.

Responses shall also include proof of bonding capability. Responses are due August 29, 2025. Responses should be sent electronically to tyler.s.maryak@usace.army.mil (Phone Contact: 978-318-8049). The Government will not pay for any material provided in response to this market survey nor return the data provided. This notice is for information purposes only and is not a request to be placed on a solicitation mailing list nor is it a Request for Proposal (RFP) or an announcement of a solicitation. The results of this survey will be considered to be in effect for a period of one year from the date of this notice.