INDUSTRY DAY FOR PROJECT: 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 hosting an Industry Day on April 29, 2026 at 9:00 am for construction contractors interested in the Chilled Water Replacement and Site Utility Improvements (Phase A2) construction project.  The event will take place onsite in Building #2, Donaldson Rooms A&B, at VACHS West Haven, 950 Campbell Avenue, West Haven, CT.  A future notice will be posted with instructions detailing how to reserve a spot at the Industry Day. This notice is only a Save-the-Date and no action is required at this time.

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 $40,000,000 and $115,000,000.00.  A solicitation is planned to be issued on or about August 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.

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 a 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 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 is intended to upgrade and consolidate existing clinical and direct patient care spaces to current standards of patient care.  The tower is planned to be constructed north of the main hospital building (Building 1) and 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.

Phase A2 of the project 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.  The new chilled water plant will be sized with sufficient capacity to support the existing campus and the 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.  In addition, new water storage tanks will be constructed.