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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District is issuing this Sources Sought Announcement to determine interest, availability, and capability of small and large businesses for Construction Se... The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District is issuing this Sources Sought Announcement to determine interest, availability, and capability of small and large businesses for Construction Services for the Data Center Addition at the Jamaica Plain VA Medical Center in Boston, MA. The NAICS code for this procurement is 236220 with a size standard of $39.5M. A Best Value Solicitation is planned to be issued on or about March 2023 with construction to take begin in late 2023. The estimated construction cost is between $25,000,000 and $100,000,000. Location: The new Jamaica Plain VA Medical Center Tier 3 Data Center in Boston, MA will be located inside the main ambulatory building (Bldg. 1F). See attached map of the entire VA Medical Center campus in Boston, MA for reference. The Jamaica Plain campus of the VA Boston HCS provides primary care and specialty services, including mental health, laser therapy for vision and cancer, and treatment for spinal cord injuries. The Ambulatory Care Center serves as a hub for outpatient care, including Audiology, Ambulatory Day Surgery, Diagnostic Imagery and aphasia treatment. Services also include substance abuse programs, neuropsychology and the only VA radiation oncology program in the region. This campus is also home to the Behavioral Science and Women’s Health Sciences Divisions of the National Center for PTSD. USACE is currently developing a construction package that involves a complete renovation and construction of a Tier 3 Data Center to meet the Electronic Health Records Management (EHRM) mandate set by Congress. A brief set of sample documents from 65% design are included within this sources sought announcement. All documentation included and scope of work described here within are subject to change prior to solicitation and are to only be used for information purposes. The scope of work for this contract includes but isn’t limited to: Construction of a Tier 3 replacement main computer room (data center) in the basement of the VA Jamaica Plain campus within approximately 3,600 SF of space. Currently includes 52 new cabinets as part of the data center. Includes all fiberoptic runs throughout the campus and HVAC cooling in the basement for the new data racks. Several duct bank runs through the campus with dual redundant runs for primary and emergency power to the data center. Rearrangement of basement space and new interior finishes including a new ceiling. Additional electrical upgrades to meet N+1 (redundancy) requirements as part of the project. Over 12,000 LF of fiber optic cable to be installed throughout various locations on campus all connected to the Data Center. New Computer Room Air Conditioning (CRAC) units to support the heat load within the Data Center. Rooftop mechanical units as part of the glycol system to support the air conditioning within the Data Center. This project will occur in active hospital environmental with patients and staff on campus. Due to the proximity to patients, strict infection control protocols must be put in place to ensure no adverse effects from construction. Further, this project will require extensive coordination and advance planning in order to meet project goals without any disruption to the current life critical operations on-going at the hospital. The campus is located in a tight urban location in Boston, MA with minimal space to conduct construction operations requiring further coordination of activities to ensure the campus remains operational and meets its commitment to patients. Interested firms shall provide the previous experience projects that meet that following criterion: At least two and up to five examples of projects substantially completed within the last ten years in which the firm has demonstrated work on similar projects in term of scope and complexity as described above. Examples shall demonstrate experience working in active facility such as a hospital and within a major urban city such as Boston, MA or Chicago, IL. Projects must also have been valued between $15M and $50M. If applicable, firms may list two projects that include mechanical and electrical scopes of work valued above $15M within the list of five examples. Please note that these capabilities may be demonstrated with a partnered subcontractor. Include within the package your business classification (i.e. HUBZone, small business, etc.) and if the work is intended to be done using a team, please indicate this and include information on the major subconsultant(s) on the team. PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENTS Please comment on the use of a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) A Project Labor Agreement (PLA) is a tool that agencies may use to promote economy and efficiency in Federal procurement. Pursuant to Executive Order 13502, agencies are encouraged to consider requiring the use of project labor agreements in connection with large-scale construction projects. In accordance with Executive Order 14063, it is expected that Project Labor agreements will become mandatory, unless waived by a senior official, for Federal construction projects over $35 million dollars in 2023. Currently, an agency may, if appropriate, require that every contractor and subcontractor engaged in construction on the project agree, for that project, to negotiate or become a party to a project labor agreement with one or more labor organizations if the agency decides that the use of project labor agreements will 1. 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 2. 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: a. The involvement of multiple contractors and/or subcontractors working in multiple crafts or trades. b. The complexity of the project. c. Shortage of skilled labor in the region. d. Completion of the project will require an extended period of time. e. The use of PLA's on other comparable projects in this geographic area. f. The promotion of the Governments long term programs interests such as training of skilled workforce for future projects. g. The possibility of labor disputes that threaten timely completion. h. Additional costs from use of PLAs may be cost prohibitive. In consideration of the above factors, and any others which may be deemed appropriate, the construction community is invited to comment on the use of PLAs. Of particular interest to the Government are responses to the following questions: a. Should a PLA be executed on the above Construction 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? b. 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? c. 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? d. 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? e. 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? f. Are there 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? g. 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? h. 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... i. Will the use of PLAs impact the ability of potential Offerors and subcontractors to meet small-business utilization goals? j. 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 for the subject contract become records of the Government and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requirements may apply to the release of PLA market research results. Responses are limited to ten pages. Responses are due by December 16, 2022. Responses should be sent via email to: Elizabeth.K.Glasgow@usace.army.mil Interested firms shall provide the above documentation in one original form and one copy. 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. Government Agency URL: www.nae.usace.army.mil Government Agency URL Description: New England District, Corps of Engineers