TEXAS
Request for Qualifications
RFQ #477-08
Architectural Services
Analytical Chemistry Laboratory Building
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS
RFQ
CLOSING
SEPTEMBER 9, 2008
3:00PM LOCAL TIME
Request for Qualifications
RFQ #477-08
Architectural Services
Analytical Chemistry Laboratory Building
PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE
The City of Garland is requesting qualifications and a statement of interest for
architectural services for design of a new laboratory building. Architectural firms and
their team members, including subconsultants located in the local Dallas Ft.Worth area,
with significant design / build experience on projects with similar characteristics will be
given prime consideration.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The City of Garland is issuing this Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the purpose of
inviting submittal of Statements of Qualification from design respondents interested in
providing professional architectural services for the programming and design of a new
laboratory building which will be located at 2500 East Centerville Rd, Garland Texas.
SCOPE OF SERVICES
The design team will provide all services necessary to assess and verify existing
conditions; review and confirm design standard requirements, program and develop a
needs assessment; assist in the review of feasibility for designing to a Certified Level in
Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System of
the US Green Building Council (USGBC) – This follows closely to Labs 21 which is a
voluntary partnership dedicated to improving the environmental performance of U.S.
laboratories. This program is supported by United States Environmental Protection
Agency (USEPA) and the United States Department of Defense (USDOD). The
decision to pursue actual certification using the Labs 21 environmental performance
criteria, will be made at a later time; provide specifications for furniture, fixtures and
equipment (FFE); provide computer aided design and drafting (CADD) documentation;
prepare bidding documents; determine permits required and provide documents
necessary for securing permits; estimate construction costs; provide value engineering;
assist with bidding and award activities; arrange and conduct meetings; perform
construction phase services, including construction management; coordinate final
project close-out; and assist in the warranty review.
To prepare for any subsequent negotiations, should respondent be selected, please be
aware that the City will require either a fixed fee or a fee based on a percentage of the
cost; strike provisions for arbitration from all contracts; not accept cost multipliers for
special services and reimbursable expenses.
Request for Qualifications
RFQ #477-08
Architectural Services
Analytical Chemistry Laboratory Building
REQUIRED SERVICES
Programming – Assess and verify existing site conditions; review and verify design
standard requirements, including compliance with the City of Garland Pre-Development
review and Plan submission processes; program and develop a needs assessment and
coordinate public input/stakeholder meetings.
Design Phase – Design Phase 1 design services include meetings with staff for
Schematic Design and Design Development. Design Phase 2 services include the
development of Contract Documents. Contract Documents shall be thorough and of a
standard suitable for the solicitation of either competitive construction bids or
competitive sealed proposal. The City of Garland will provide additional information
related to this item during the Design Phase 2. All permitting, regulatory, and design
issues must be resolved and incorporated into the Contract Documents before 100%
submittal and initiation of bidding process.
Construction Phase – Construction Phase Services include: bidding phase assistance,
construction administration and construction management services, and postconstruction services for warranty items for a certain period following the completion of
construction. Construction Management Services shall include: review and make
recommendations to Contractor’s proposed schedule of values for use in processing
payments and reviewing and approving monthly and final request for payment; keep
record copies of all tests performed during construction of project and inform City of
results; verify that all project documents – records, certificates, guarantees, warranties,
as-built drawings, and releases required from Contractor are transmitted to City;
administer and prepare processing of change orders, maintain a file of all field change
orders, directives, time extensions, requests for proposals, proposals and change
orders, evaluate and negotiate change orders; monitor Contractor’s approved schedule
of work to determine if the contractor can complete project and items within the time
allowed by their contract and notify the Contractor and City when a revised schedule is
necessary; review all submittals required by the contract documents and maintain a
correspondence log for all incoming and outgoing transmittals between contractor and
architect for requests for information, request for proposals, and submittals – provide
copy of log, RFI’s, RFP’s, and submittals to the City at the time transmitted to
contractor; coordinate, conduct and document all regularly scheduled progress
meetings at the project site with the contractor and City; distribute the meeting minutes
to all applicable parties; evaluate claims related to the project and maintain project
records to support project activity; take and keep photographic records during the
construction phase on work being performed for significant activities or deficiencies
observed on the project site; at least twice per month, review the Contractor’s set of asbuilt record drawings to verify contractor is accurately reflecting the progress to date;
inform the City of any problems encountered in accomplishing the work and facilitate a
timely resolution between all parties affected by the event or item; assist the City in
processing the documents required for final completion, acceptance and closeout for
Request for Qualifications
RFQ #477-08
Architectural Services
Analytical Chemistry Laboratory Building
the project.
SUBMIT TO:
RFP Depot: www.rfpdepot.com. The City will not be bound by any information
conveyed verbally. The City will provide, in writing, any clarifications, changes, and/or
information, deemed to be necessary, as addenda to the RFQ. Addenda will only be
provided through posting on RFP Depot.
OR VIA MAIL: Paper bids only, One (1) original and (5) five copies or the submittal are
required. Mail to City of Garland, Purchasing Department, P.O. Box 469002, Garland,
Texas 75046-9002. Paper submittal must include Agreement and Information form
downloaded from RFP Depot.
VIA DELIVERY: Paper bids only, One (1) original and (5) copies of the submittal are
required. Deliver to City of Garland, Purchasing Department, Second Floor, 200
North Fifth Street, Garland, Texas 75040. Paper submittal must include Agreement
and Information form downloaded from RFP Depot.
DEADLINE:
Submissions must be clearly marked on envelope as Architectural Services for
Laboratory Building, including the RFQ number. This package must be received at the
above address no later than 3:00pm local time on September 9, 2008.
WRITTEN QUESTIONS AND OFFICIAL ANSWERS
All questions must be asked and answered electronically on www.rfpdepot.com
Questions regarding this RFQ shall be accepted until 5:00 pm, Central Daylight Time
(CDT) , September 3, 2008. Official responses shall be returned electronically only
through RFP Depot within 48 hours of receipt for the benefit of all respondents.
INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPONDENTS
The City of Garland is requesting Information from firms with the intent of entering into a
contract for the requirement contained in this RFQ. However, the City is not obligated to
award a contract on this solicitation and reserves the right to reject any and all
submissions and enter into contract to best serve the interests of the City.
Respondents electing to respond to this RFQ are responsible for all costs of submission
preparation. The City is not liable for any costs incurred by a respondent in response to
this RFQ.
One (1) original and five (5) copies of the submittals are required.
Request for Qualifications
RFQ #477-08
Architectural Services
Analytical Chemistry Laboratory Building
Place in an envelope identified with the RFQ number, due date and time, Respondent’s
full firm name, and the name of the project on the outside of the envelope. It is the
respondent’s responsibility to have the information correctly marked and submitted to
the City of Garland Purchasing Department by the specified date and time for receipt.
Late submissions will not be accepted under any circumstances.
Submissions should give the full firm name, delivery address, and contact information
of respondent. The person signing the submission should show title and authority to
bind his/her firm in future contract.
By signature thereon, the respondent certifies that he/she is not currently delinquent in
the payment of any taxes or utilities owed the City of Garland, Texas or delinquent in
payment of any franchise taxes owed the State of Texas under Chapter 171, Tax Code.
The respondent affirms that he/she has not given, offered to give, nor intends to give at
any time hereafter, any economic opportunity, future development, gift, loan, gratuity,
special discount, trip, favor, or service to a public servant in connection with the
submitted offer. Failure to sign the submission shall void the submission or any
resulting contracts.
By signature thereon affixed, the respondent certifies that neither the respondent or the
firm, corporation, partnership, or institution represented by the respondent or anyone
acting for such firm, corporation, or institution has violated the antirust laws of the State
of Texas codified in Section 15.01, et. Seq., Texas Business and Commerce Code, or
the Federal Antitrust laws, nor communicated directly or indirectly the offer made to any
competitor or any other person engaged in such a line of business.
Respondents who provide false or misleading information, whether intentional or not, in
any documents presented to the City for consideration in the selection process shall be
excluded. Any false or misleading information in these documents would, in effect,
render the entire document suspect and therefore render the submission useless for
consideration.
After the screening of the Statement of Qualifications, Respondents will be notified, in
writing, of their status in the selection process. If interviews are needed, short-listed
Respondents may be given additional information for interviews. These interviews will
relate less to the past experience and qualifications already detailed in the submittal
than to identification of the Respondent’s program approach and to an appraisal of the
people who would be directly involved in the project.
The RFQ is not to be considered as a contract or as a commitment of any kind. If this
RFQ results in a contract offer by the City, a specific scope of work, fees, insurance
coverage, and other contractual matters will be determined during contract negotiations.
Request for Qualifications
RFQ #477-08
Architectural Services
Analytical Chemistry Laboratory Building
All responses shall be held confidential from other parties by the City to the extent
allowable by law until after the selection process is completed. At completion of the
selection process, the contents of the Statement of Qualifications are subject to the
provisions of the Texas Public Information Act and may be made public. Confidential or
Sensitive information should not be included in the Statement of Qualifications.
SUBMITTALS
Respondents must provide the following information in their submission in order to be
considered responsive.
Each copy of the Statement of Qualifications shall be bound using GBC or other semipermanent binding method to ensure that pages are not lost. Pages shall be no larger
than letter-size (8-1/2” x 11”) or, if folded to that dimension, twice letter size (11” x 17”).
Elaborate covers, binding, dividers and other are not required, nor desired. One of the
six copies shall be labeled ORIGINAL on the outside cover and contain original
documents where specified below.
Each respondent should submit a letter of transmittal, limited to two pages, that
includes:
 A brief statement of the respondent’s understanding of the scope of work;
 The names titles, addresses, and telephone numbers of the individuals who are
authorized to make representations on behalf of the respondent;
 A statement that the person signing the transmittal letter is authorized to legally
bind the respondent;
 Identification of a single point of contact to respond to any questions regarding
the submission.
Each respondent shall submit a brief overview of the firm and the proposed project
team to be assigned to the proposed contract. The summary should include an
overview of the firm, corporation, partnership, and provide a brief overview of each of
the firms, corporations, partnerships or other who the respondent intends to subcontract
any portions of the work and are the project team members. On one page, list the Team
member firms, including the lead firm, and a simple organization chart of the Team,
showing the reporting structure of the people proposed to do the work.
Respondents shall present information to demonstrate financial stability and
performance, and firm history. Extensive marketing materials are not desired.
Respondents shall submit:
 Name and address of business entity submitting the proposal.
 Name and location of major offices and other facilities that relate to the
respondent’s performance under the terms of the submission.
Request for Qualifications
RFQ #477-08
Architectural Services
Analytical Chemistry Laboratory Building
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Name, business addresses, business and fax telephone numbers and email
addresses of the proposed principal contact person regarding all contractual
matters relating to the RFQ.
Pertinent information relating to the respondent’s organization and experience,
competence, reputation and capability in providing design, preparation of
construction documents, and construction observation.
Statement relating to existing facilities owned or business operations that
presents a potential conflict of interest with this project and the City of Garland.
The respondent shall provide, on three pages or less, a narrative that describes:
o Team’s track record of meeting deadlines and working within a budget;
o Team’s systems and processes for insuring quality and timely
performance on projects; specifically targeted for laboratory construction
and design;
o Team’s familiarity with current LEED standards and the certification
process, including Labs 21 environmental performance criteria;
o Team’s understanding of the City’s needs and Team’s approach to this
project;
o Team’s working relationship.
o Actual design / build projects.
Each respondent must provide no less than five (5) client references for public
facilities. In at least three of those projects, the respondent should have served
as lead in design team, for similar scope and size within the last eight years –
with at least one of the projects being a major project of $2 million or more in
construction cost. The list of clients must include the following information:
o Project name and location
o Name and address of client
o Name and current phone number of client contact
o Contract start date and duration
o Type and size of contract
o Firm’s role in project
o Number of staff by position participating in the design, preparation of
construction documents and participating in construction observation
o Name of General Contractor
o These references will be contacted and used in conjunction with the
evaluation of the submissions.
REJECTION OF SUBMISSION
Submissions that are incomplete or do not comply with mandatory submission
requirements shall be rejected. In addition, the City of Garland reserves the right to
reject in whole or in part any responses submitted, and to waive minor technicalities
when in the best interest of the City. Responses may be disqualified for any of, but not
limited to, the following reasons:
Request for Qualifications
RFQ #477-08
Architectural Services
Analytical Chemistry Laboratory Building
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Collusion among respondents;
Failure to comply with or inclusion of terms and conditions in conflict with, the
terms of this RFQ, or City of Garland procurement rules and procedures;
Failure to meet minimum response requirements established in the RFQ.
SELECTION PROCESS
The City of Garland will set up a review group of those individuals determined to be
agency stakeholders who are qualified professionals with the knowledge or capabilities
needed to review and evaluate all responsive submissions. The City of Garland
reserves the right to waive any irregularities; select candidates for submission of more
detailed qualifications or interviews (which if held, shall be scored); accept any
submittal; and/or rejects any or all respondents submitting qualifications, should it be
deemed in the City’s best interest. The City of Garland in its discretion shall make the
determination of whether interviews are necessary.
EVALUATION CRITERIA
The respondent shall provide the following information with the RFQ response in the
format specified in order for the city to evaluate each qualification submittal during the
selection process.
The City of Garland intends to select respondents from those scoring the highest using
the following best value criteria:
40 points – the overall qualifications, experience and reputation of the firm to
provide the services sought in this RFQ. This category includes but is not limited to
the respondent’s:
 Experience, reputation, and demonstrated competence with laboratory design
services;
 Experience with government-entity clients;
 Availability to respond to the needs of the City of Garland in a timely manner;
ability to relate to project requirements;
 Levels of conflict of interest between the respondent and the City of Garland.
 Design / Build experience
30 points – Experience and qualifications of the respondent, evaluation of assigned
personnel and subconsultants proposed to design, provide construction documents
and construction observation of this facility.
15 points – Satisfactory client references: budget, cost controls experience, and
results.
15 points – Overall completeness
Request for Qualifications
RFQ #477-08
Architectural Services
Analytical Chemistry Laboratory Building
ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS, NOTIFICATIONS AND INFORMATION:
Prior or pending litigation or law suits
Where applicable, each respondent must include in the submission a complete
disclosure of any alleged significant prior or ongoing contract failures, any civil or
criminal litigation or investigation pending which involves the respondent or any of the
team members or in which the respondent has been judged guilty or liable.
Venue
This agreement will be governed and construed according to the laws of the State of
Texas. This agreement is performable in Dallas County, Texas.
1% RFP Depot Clause
Qualifications Statement is exempt from the 1% transaction fee from RFP Depot.