RFQ-26-25 Design Build Services for the Neighborhood Service Center Modernization and Renovation

The City of Winter Haven is interested in receiving Statements of Qualifications for RFQ-26-25 Design Build Services for the Neighborhood Service Center Modernization and Renovation. Statements of Qualifications are to be submitted through the Procurement Portal no later than 2:00 pm on Thursday, May 7, 2026.

Background

The CITY owns the property located on Avenue S NE and has a lease with Neighborhood Service Center, Inc. to operate the building and area adjacent to it known as the Neighborhood Service Center for the senior community. The Winter Haven Neighborhood Service Center (NSC) Renovation (Project) ­is geared towards upgrading several areas that were identified at the site with an emphasis on modernization, ADA upgrades, expanding service accessibility in and outside of the building and alleviating areas of drainage concerns on and around the property.    

The CITY has tentatively opted to use the “Qualifications-Based Selection” Design-Build process for the delivery of design services and construction services for this project.  For information, the Design Criteria Package is included with this request.

The CITY proposes to select a highly qualified Design-Build team for the design and construction of the project.  The selected firm must be willing and able to provide reasonable proposals within short time frames and must be prepared to commence and complete the work in accordance with the CITY’s required schedule.

Project Details

• Department: Economic Opportunity & Community Investment
• Department Head: Eric Labbe (Department Director)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-04-27T18:00:00.000Z
• Pre-Proposal Meeting: 2026-04-15T18:00:00.000Z — https://mywinterhaven.zoom.us/j/85378449561?pwd=FWEnMG0u4WAlifr22jFai7f8QGv0Do.1

Meetings & Milestones

Addenda

• Official Notice #1: Site Visit - Voluntary Opportunity (released 2026-03-31T15:58:01.971Z) —

  The City of Winter Haven is offering an opportunity for interested firms to view the Neighborhood Service Center facility located at 608 Avenue S, NE - Winter Haven, FL.  The building will be open at 3:00 pm, April 24, for a voluntary walk through.  Questions will not be answered at that time but will be collected and answers provided online.

  In the interim, please utilize the Q&A feature on OpenGov to post your inquiries.

• Addendum #1 (released 2026-04-21T15:12:56.448Z) —

  The City has added an additional pre-proposal meeting to be held Thursday, April 23, at 3:00pm via Zoom. 

  IMPORTANT:  In order for a proposal to be eligible to be considered for award, a representative of the firm MUST attend one of the two pre-proposal meetings.  If you have already attended the initial one held April 15, you are not required to attend April 23.  If you missed the first one, you MUST attend the upcoming meeting in order for your proposal to be considered "responsive" for review by the evaluation committee.

  Please use the See What Changed link to view all the changes made by this addendum.

• Official Notice #2: MANDATORY Pre-Proposal Reminder - Join us on Zoom today at 2:00 pm (released 2026-04-15T15:49:01.645Z) —

  To be eligible to submit a proposal on this solicitation, you MUST attend this afternoon's Mandatory Pre-Proposal meeting.  Follow the Zoom link posted on OpenGov.

Evaluation Criteria

• General Information (5 points) (5 pts) —

  Provide a general description of the firm and/or team that is proposing to provide design build services.  Explain the legal organization of the proposed firm or team.

  List the Florida professional (Landscape Architect, Engineer, General Contractor, etc.) and applicable licenses held by the firm/team and the key personnel who will be assigned to this project.  Each prime consultant/contractor must be listed.  All primary members of the DB Team including landscape architect, architect (if applicable), engineering and GC shall have previous experience in building design/renovation & construction.  Provide the license number and explain if held by an individual or firm. 

• Experience and Qualifications of Firm/Team (30 points) (30 pts) —

  Identify at least three completed comparable projects in which the firm served as either Construction Manager at Risk, agency Construction Manager during design and construction phases (without providing construction services), Design Builder or General Contractor.  Special consideration will be given to firms that have provided Construction Manager at Risk or Design Build services on similar successful projects.  Please note that each primary member of the Design Build Team shall have previous experience in building renovation/construction design, construction document preparation and construction. 

  For each project identified, provide the following:

  1. Description of project including initial budget and timeline
  2. Role of firm (specify whether Construction Manager at Risk, Construction Manager, Design-Builder or General Contractor).  If Construction Manager at Risk, Design Builder or General Contractor, identify percentage of work self-performed.  Also, specify services provided during design phase (i.e. cost estimating, scheduling, value engineering, etc.).
  3. Demonstration of delivering Design Build Project or similar within a limited but well-defined scope, meeting existing budgets and helping the client/owner develop and implement a priority list for the project with a correlated budget.
  4. Project’s final construction cost
  5. Time required for 100% design
  6. Time required for construction to final completion
  7. List of contractors, subs and firms that were involved in the project.
  8. Project owner
  9. Reference information, per project (one current contact name and title with telephone number, fax number and e-mail address).
  10. Design Build Firm shall demonstrate their experience complying with CDBG Grant and other grant requirements
• Experience of Key Personnel to be assigned to this Project (30 points) (30 pts) —

  Provide an organization chart showing key personnel that will be associated with this project.  Include a resume for each key person identified.  The proposed project team shall remain assigned to the project for its duration unless a substitution is approved in writing by the Owner.

  List any proposed Design Builders, including key staff names and the experience and qualifications of these individuals.

• Understanding of the Project and Approach to Performing the Required Services (15 points) (15 pts) —

  Describe your firm’s project management approach and team organization during design and construction phase services.  Describe systems used for planning, scheduling, estimating and managing construction. Describe the firm's approach to customer communication throughout the project. Briefly describe the firm’s experience on quality control, dispute resolution, and safety management.

  Discuss the major challenges your team has identified on this project and how you intend to address those issues.

• Intent/Capacity to affect the local economy (10 points) (10 pts) —

  The City desires strong local participation on this project. Describe your firm’s approach to maximize utilization of local resources, to include as a minimum, local suppliers, equipment providers, subcontractors, and laborers.  Identify the location of the firm’s principal office and the home office location of key staff on this project. Identify local (i.e. presently living or relocating to the area) vs. non-local staffing of your team, and the percent of your work expected to be done locally.

• Organizational Resources (10 points) (10 pts) —

  As part of the evaluation process, the City has the responsibility of taking into account the size and complexity of the project under construction and be assured that the Design Builder has the organizational and financial resources required to successfully deliver this project.  Please describe your operational stability, corporate financial resources, bonding capacity and insurance limits.

  Identify any contract or subcontract held by the firm or officers of the firm, which has been terminated within the last five years.  Identify any claims arising from a contract, which resulted in litigation or arbitration within the last three years.  Briefly describe the circumstances and the outcomes.

Submission Requirements

• Please upload your Statement of Qualifications (required)
• Required Form Affidavits (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• Please complete and upload your Submittal Cover Page & Firm Certification: (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• Please provide your W9. (required)
• Are you able to provide proof of insurance per our Terms & Conditions prior to commencing work? (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• Do you anticipate your project cost to be OVER $30,000? (required)
• Will you be needing an evaluation committee? (required)
• Is this involving construction? (required)
• Bid opening zoom link: (required)
• Is this for: (required)
• Firms interested in the above project should submit a Statement of Qualification (SOQ) which includes a cover letter and detailed qualifications for the scope of work of approximately ___ pages in length (excluding resumes). (required) —

  Example: 20

Questions & Answers