SLED Opportunity · CALIFORNIA · ORANGE COUNTY - CALIFORNIA
AI Summary
County of Orange seeks qualified firms for design-build services for vertical conveyance projects at John Wayne Airport. SOQs due April 8, 2026. Project involves airport infrastructure improvements including terminals and compliance with FAA and TSA regulations.
The County of Orange (“County”) is soliciting Statement of Qualifications (“SOQ”) from qualified firms (“Respondents”) to provide design and construction services for Design Build for Vertical Conveyance Projects Phases 2 - 4. Statements of Qualifications are due before 2:00 pm on Wednesday, April 8, 2026. Selected Respondents will be invited to participate in the next step of this solicitation process, the Request for Proposals (“RFP”).
John Wayne Airport (“JWA” or “Airport”) owned and operated by the County of Orange, is classified as a medium hub in the Federal Aviation Administration’s (“FAA”) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS). It is a primary commercial service airport that handles between 0.25% and 1.0% of total U.S. passenger boardings. Medium hubs are defined by the FAA as airports that account for at least 0.25% but less than 1.0% of total annual passenger boardings in the United States, placing JWA in the medium hub category. JWA serves as the primary commercial gateway to Orange County and features a unified passenger facility known as the Thomas F. Riley Terminal. The facility is divided into three distinct sections: Terminals A, B, and C. Terminals A and B were originally built and opened to the public in 1990. To accommodate growing passenger demand and international service, the airport expanded with the opening of Terminal C in 2011, which added six bridged aircraft gates and a new federal inspection facility. These three terminals collectively manage approximately 11.7 million annual passengers across 22 gates.
The Airport features full interconnectivity between Terminals A, B, and C on both the landside and airside. Before passing through security, passengers can walk freely across the upper-level Departures area or lower-level Arrivals area to access ticketing, baggage claim, or ground transportation. Once through security, the “airside” concourse is completely seamless and sterile, allowing travelers to walk between all 22 gates without having to exit and re-enter a checkpoint. JWA operates in compliance with the Transportation Security Administration (“TSA”) mandates outlined in the Code of Federal Regulations (“CFR”) Title 49. Specifically, as a primary commercial service airport, JWA maintains a TSA-approved Airport Security Program (“ASP”) as required by 49 CFR Part 1542, which governs the secure operation of the airfield, terminal areas, and the screening of persons and property. These regulations require the airport to designate a 24-hour Airport Security Coordinator (“ASC”), provide adequate law enforcement support for checkpoints, and strictly enforce identification standards, including the REAL ID requirements. JWA operates under a Settlement Agreement. The Settlement Agreement, established in a 1985 accord (amended in 2003 and 2014), enforces caps on noise and capacity. Under the current terms, which extend through 2035, JWA maintains a mandatory nighttime curfew prohibiting commercial departures between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. (8:00 a.m. on Sundays) and arrivals between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Furthermore, the agreement mandates a “Million Annual Passenger (“MAP”) Cap,” which currently limits the airport to 11.8 million passengers per year through 2026 for the largest of aircraft (“Class A”) to ensure long-term noise protection for the surrounding corridor communities.
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General Contractor
Provide a description of the General Contractor's technical capabilities and the type of services offered.
Describe at least three projects of a similar type, size, cost (initial and actual), schedule (start and completion), and complexity, including design-build, that demonstrate the General Contractor's qualifications (highlight Southern California Projects and Airport-Related Projects).
Describe any special qualification(s) rendering the General Contractor's capabilities to lead the design-build team for this Project
Lead Design Firm
Please provide a description of Lead Design Firm's technical capabilities and the type of services offered.
Describe at least three projects of a similar type, size, cost (initial and actual), schedule (start and completion), and complexity, including design-build, that demonstrate the Lead Design Firm's qualifications (highlight Southern California Projects and Airport Related Projects).
Describe any special qualification(s) rendering Lead Design Firm's capabilities to partner on a design-build team for this Project
Design-Build Team Experience
Has the design-build team (General Contractor and Lead Design Team) worked together before?
Describe previous experience, if any, of members of the proposed design-build team (General Contractor and Lead Design Team) working together on projects.
General Contractor
Provide the names, titles, and resumes of the primary team members assigned to the project.
Provide licenses & certifications, years of related experience (Airports, Design Build, etc.), and length of time with the firm. Respondent’s experience utilizing subcontractors.
Lead Design Firm
Provide the names, titles, and resumes of the primary team members assigned to the project.
Provide licenses & certifications, years of related experience (Airports, Design Build, etc.), and length of time with the firm.
Design-Build Team Arrangement/Organization
Include an organization chart of the primary design-build team firms and individuals proposed to design and construct this Project, including contractors, architect, engineers, and consultants. Provide titles, names, and positions of all individuals listed.
If the Respondent design-build team is a corporation, limited liability corporation, partnership, joint venture, or other legal entity, provide a copy of the organizational documents or an agreement that establishes the organization.
General Contractor
Provide a description of the techniques General Contractor has employed for specific projects to ensure that design services, construction workers, subcontractors, materials, and labor are available to meet the design-build construction schedule. In particular, describe specific project experience your team members may have had in commencing with earlier phases of construction, while completion of the design was still underway for the total project.
Please provide examples of past projects where project construction was managed to meet cost and schedule targets.
Lead Design Firm
Design-build requires designing to a target budget while still complying with all project criteria, obtaining regulatory approvals and building permits. Provide a description of your team's process for managing the design phase to meet project requirements while still maintaining the budget.
Describe any experience your team has designing parallel project elements and ongoing design efforts during construction.
Financial Condition
Provide a brief profile of the Respondent, including the year founded, form of the organization (corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship), number of, size, and location(s) of office(s), and number of employees.
Provide information on any pending litigation, including court and case number, liens, or claims involving the Respondent, or any company the Respondent holds a controlling interest in, or any company that holds an interest in the Respondent, or any of the principal officers of the Respondent’s firm in the past five (5) years.
During the past five (5) years, was the Respondent required to pay penalties for failure to pay prevailing wages? If yes, please explain.
Safety Record
An acceptable safety record. A respondent's safety record shall be deemed acceptable if its experience modification rate for the most recent three-year period is an average of 1.00 or less, and its average total recordable injury or illness rate and average lost work rate for the most recent three-year period does not exceed the applicable statistical standards for its business category or if the proposer is a party to an alternative dispute resolution system as provided for in Labor Code Section 3201.5.
During the past five (5) years, has the Respondent been assessed CAL-OSHA fines in the serious, repeat, or willful category? If yes, provide circumstances, number of instances, and the amount of fine(s).
Information concerning workers' compensation experience history and a worker safety program.
SOQ’s shall address all required information and shall be presented in a clear and concise fashion.
State the type of business entity your company operates as. Corporation, Partnership, etc.
What is the full street address of your company's location?
Please be sure to note any building or floor number, along with the full legal address including zip code.
Please provide the full phone number and be sure to note the area code.
If your company does not have a website, please state that in the box.
Please identify the contact information for the person responsible for this Statement of Qualifications. Be sure to include the following at minimum:
While similar to a previous question, this question is separate from information previously provided.
Is the respondent to this RFQ a privately held corporation, limited liability company, partnership, or joint venture?
Please provide a listing of all shareholders, partners, or members known at the time of SOQ submission who will perform work on this project or contract.
Please be sure to provide full names and note the significance of each named individual.
While similar to a previous question, this question is separate from information previously provided.
Is the respondent to this RFQ a corporation, limited liability company, partnership, joint venture, or other legal entity?
Please upload a copy of the organizational documents or agreement committing to form of the Organization for the Respondent of this RFQ.
Please provide the full legal name of the contractor and their full street address of the office that will manage this project.
State the type of business entity the lead design firm operates as. Corporation, Partnership, etc.
What is the full street address of the lead design firm's location?
Please be sure to note any building or floor number, along with the full legal address including zip code.
Please provide the full phone number for the lead design firm and be sure to note the area code.
If the lead design firm does not have a website, please state that in the box.
Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.
Please upload copies of the licenses, registration, and credentials required to design and construct the Project, including, but not limited to, information on the revocation or suspension of any license, credential, registration, General Contractor California License, Registration for professional architects and engineers in the appropriate technical disciplines.
Please upload a notarized statement from an admitted surety insurer (approved by the California Department of Insurance) and authorized to issue bonds in the State of California, which states that your current bonding capacity is at least 68,000,000.00 and the bonding company name, address and telephone number.
(This information should be submitted on the Surety letterhead)
Are there any pending or active litigation, liens, or claims against the Respondent to this RFQ or any company the Respondent holds a controlling interest in, or any company that holds an interest in Respondent, or any of the principal officers of the Respondent’s firm within the past five (5) years.
Please provide/upload information on any pending or active litigation, including court and case number, liens, or claims involving the Respondent, or any company the Respondent holds a controlling interest in, or any company that holds an interest in Respondent, or any of the principal officers of the Respondent’s firm in the past five (5) years.
Provide an enforceable commitment to County that Respondent shall comply with the requirements of PCC 22164(c). Public Contract Code 22164(c)(1) will not allow Respondent to be shortlisted unless this commitment is made.
Upload a copy of this commitment here.
Contractor is required to provide a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) compliant with California Code of Regulations, Title 8, Section 5194, for each hazardous substance that is provided, used or created as part of the goods or services provided by Contractor to County. The SDS for each substance must be sent to either the County Project Manager, as specified in the “Notices” provision of this Contract, or to the place of shipment or provision of goods/services.
The Levine Act compliance is a minimum submittal requirement of this solicitation.
Effective January 1, 2023, all contractors entering into a contract with the County, will be required to submit the Campaign Contribution Disclosure Form for any contributions made on or after January 1, 2023.
Please complete and sign the County of Orange Campaign Contribution Disclosure Form attached hereto. A contractor’s failure to provide a completed and signed copy will render its statement of qualifications as incomplete and nonresponsive.
Contractor shall comply with County’s Safety and Loss Prevention Policy and Procedure #306 (“Contractor Safety Responsibilities”) and submit a copy of its Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) and Contractor Safety-Activity Checklist to the designated County Procurement staff as part of the solicitation and/or contract process. Contractor will notify County Project Manager of any revisions to the Safety-Activity Checklist and will provide a new Safety-Activity Checklist upon County request. The IIPP shall comply with California Code of Regulations, Title 8, Section 1509 or 3203 (whichever applies). Contractor shall submit other safety programs that pertain to the type of job that will be performed on site. County reserves the right to conduct inspections and audits as necessary for the purpose of evaluating any aspect of safety performance under this Contract.
Please complete and sign the FAA Certification of Compliance Form attached hereto. A Bidder's failure to provide a completed and signed copy will render its bid as incomplete and nonresponsive.
This section shall not exceed the 20-page limit. No Exceptions.
Cover Page, Table of Contents, Dividers, and County forms will not count towards the page limit.
Note: Responses that exceed the page limit noted above will be disqualified from further consideration.
Please upload Statement of Qualification (SOQ) response.
Any pages provided in this section will be counted against the Respondents page limit.
For any additional information requested or required by any of your previously provided answers or as stated within this RFQ please upload the additional documentation here.
Any pages provided in this section will be counted against the Respondents' SOQ page limit.
Respondent hereby certifies that they have read, understood, and agree to all statements in this Request for Qualifications, and to the terms, conditions and attachments referenced herein. Respondent further certifies and confirms that all information provided within this Statement of Qualifications is accurate to the best of their knowledge. Respondent acknowledges that they have examined and carefully studied all Contract Documents and any Addenda and that they have provided any necessary proof of their authority to submit a response to this RFQ on behalf of the Company Name stated on the Respondent's Statement of Qualifications thereby committing the Company to the information contained within.
Please upload a printout from SAM.gov to confirm that your company currently has no active exclusions. The printout must be no greater than seven (7) calendar days prior to the due date of this bid.
The County requires a valid UEI number with active registration status. Your company may obtain one at no cost at https://sam.gov/entity-registration.
Please upload your active certificate from the California Secretary of State.
CA Sec. of State Verification Link = https://bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov/search/business
Answer Format: $XX.XX
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What is the minimum bonding capacity for the respondent/prime for this RFQ?
State the amount written and numerical dollars with the numbered amount in parenthesis.
EXAMPLE:
one million dollars ($1,000,000)
Do you want vendors to submit a staffing plan for this project?
Q (Extension): Requesting an additional week to submit the SOQ making the due date April the 15th, 2026
A: At this time, the County cannot extend the SOQ submittal deadline due to a grant-funding deadline.
Q (VT Consultant): Is there currently a Vertical Transportation consultant on the project? If not, will this be contracted directly with John Wayne Airport or through a General Contractor?
A: This project is being delivered via the Design Build (DB) method. As such, JWA intents to award a single contract to a Design Build Entity. All specialized consultants and trade partners must be included as part of the Proposer’s team within their RFQ submission.
Q (Phases): Is there a scope of work for each of the phases?
A: The project title “Phase 2-4” is a legacy designation based on historical planning documents and does not dictate a mandatory sequence of work. The Project should be viewed as a single, comprehensive Design-Build delivery.
Q (Budget Clarification): Please clarify whether the stated $68,000,000 budget includes design services, preconstruction services, escalation, and all design-build costs, or whether it is intended only as a bonding reference amount.
A: This is the budgeted amount for the entire project.
Q (No subject): Please clarify how JWA will define the “total bid amount” for purposes of the required 10% bid security in the design-build proposal stage.
A: The budgeted amount will be used.
Q (No subject): Can you confirm whether key personnel resumes are included within the 20-page limit, or if they can be submitted separately?
A: Resumes will count towards the 20-page limit.
Q (SOQ Scoring): Please clarify whether the SOQ evaluation is used solely to establish the shortlist, or whether any Step One scoring carries forward into the final best-value determination in Step Two.
A: Step 1 will establish a shortlist of contractors to be invited to participate in step 2, the RFP. Scores do not carry over, as this is a 2-step procurement.
Q (Shortlist Size): Please confirm the number of Respondents JWA intends to shortlist for Step Two of the procurement.
A: The County cannot provide this information at this time. The number of shortlisted respondents will depend on the number of SOQs received and the scores determined during the evaluation process.
Q (No subject): How many teams do you anticipate shortlisting?
A: The County cannot provide this information at this time. The number of shortlisted respondents will depend on the number of SOQs received and the scores determined during the evaluation process.
Q (No subject): 1. Please confirm if funding has been secured for the published project value. 2. If not, what specific grants and years is the Airport targeting to fund this project. 3. Will design for the entire project be released together or will design need to be phased as funding is secured?
A: JWA will fund the project within its capital improvement plan budget and will proceed regardless of a federal grant award. JWA intends to release the design and construction for the entire project as a single, continuous effort. JWA does not plan to phase any part of the project based on the timing of the grant award. Proposers should assume a continuous schedule from Design NTP through construction close-out and final completion.
Q (No subject): Are there any suppliers or consultants that are precluded from this project?
A: As they are the AE who created the criteria documents, Kimley-Horn & Associates, Inc. and Lerch Bates are precluded.
Q (No subject): The Submittal Confirmation requires respondents to certify that we have “examined and carefully studied all Contract Documents and any Addenda.” However, no Contract Documents were included with the RFQ. 1. Please clarify whether Contract Documents will be issued at the RFP stage. 2. Please confirm how respondents should address this certification in the SOQ in the absence of those documents.
A: Please certify that you have reviewed all documents included in the solicitation. The model contract will be included in the RFP portion of this solicitation.
Q (No subject): 1. May the organizational chart be submitted on an 11x17 sheet? 2. If the organizational chart can be submitted on 11x17, does this count as one page? "
A: Please follow the instructions as outlined in the Request for Qualifications, Section 8 “INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING A SOQ”.
Q (No subject): Please confirm whether the Staffing Plan’s subcontractor section is required to be completed with all subcontractors at this stage of the RFQ.
A: Confirmed, please provide.
Q (No subject): Please confirm whether a C‑11 subcontractor must be identified in the SOQ.
A: Confirmed, please provide.
Q (No subject): What DBE participation goals apply?
A: Currently, there is no DBE goal; this can change with any updated requirements we may receive. If this does change, an addendum/amendment will be issued.
Q (DBE Participation): The RFQ states this project is federally funded. Can the DBE participation requirements and any associated goals for this project be confirmed, including any forms or documentation required as a part of the SOQ submission.
A: Currently, there is no DBE goal; this can change with any updated requirements we may receive. If this does change, an addendum/amendment will be issued. All required forms at this time are attached to this solicitation.
Q (RFP Turnaround): Please confirm whether JWA would consider extending the Step Two proposal period to allow sufficient time for schematic design development, trade engagement, and competitive pricing.
A: At this time, the County cannot extend the solicitation deadlines due to a grant-funding deadline.
Q (Moratorium Clarification): Please clarify the operational limits during the stated LA28 moratorium, including whether all construction activity is prohibited or whether certain off-hours, back-of-house, or non-passenger-facing work may continue.
A: During the moratorium, all proposed work will be subject to the standard LSR/USR submission process and may not proceed without approval. The only work that may be considered for exemption are as follows: • Work performed between 11PM – 5AM behind or within a barricaded area that does not impact the public • Work performed within the landside roadways and sidewalks that are within an existing 24/7 closure that does not impact the public. • Emergency work necessary for safety or security. • Nightly deliveries of materials, supplies and equipment. The following types of work will not be considered for exemptions: • Non-emergency system patching, upgrades, and/or updates. • New traffic lane and sidewalk closures. • Work outside of barricades. • Electrical power shutdowns that affect public or tenant-occupied areas. • HVAC shutdowns that affect public or tenant-occupied areas. • New Restroom shutdowns. • Installation/construction of new hard barricades; and, • Any impact to ground transportation shuttle stops.
Q (Buy American Clarification): Please clarify whether JWA has identified any project components that may require FAA Buy America / BABA waivers, and whether the County or the Design-Build Entity will be responsible for pursuing any required waivers or exceptions.
A: It is the responsibility of the DBE to certify that FAA BABA requirements are met. JWA has not pre-identified specific project components requiring waivers. However, if the DBE intends to submit a waiver, the DBE is responsible for completing the waivers, and JWA will submit them to the FAA. Please reference Section 7.3 and Section 12.4.8 for further details.
Q (No subject): Please clarify how JWA intends to define the scope and performance responsibility for “reconditioned retained equipment,” including whether the County will provide baseline condition information and how warranty responsibility will be allocated for retained components.
A: JWA will be collaborating with the DBE as they assess elements for reuse as noted in the criteria documents.
Q (Phase 1 ): Please confirm what Phase 1 materials will be made available to all shortlisted teams, including as-builts, commissioning / turnover information, lessons learned, outages, and interface conditions relevant to Phases 2–4.
A: Phase 1 as-built drawings are available as part of the SOQ attachments, along with Phase 1 criteria documents.
SLED stands for State, Local, and Education. These are solicitations issued by state governments, counties, cities, school districts, utilities, and higher education institutions — as opposed to federal agencies.
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