USDA, ARS, North Atlantic Area; Contracting Office; 600 East Mermaid Lane; Wyndmoor, PA 19038

C -- INDEFINITE QUANTITY CONTRACT FOR ARCHITECT-ENGINEERING SERVICES SOL 03-3615-97 DUE 041197 POC Regina M. Herchak, Contracting Officer, (215) 233-6551. The USDA, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has a requirement for an Indefinite Quantity Contract (IQC) for Architect-Engineering (A-E) Services for repair/maintenance, alteration, and/or new construction projects for its research laboratory facilities in Beckley and Kearneysville, West Virginia. Projects may also be required in Wyndmoor (Philadelphia), Pennsylvania; and Frederick, Maryland; or other research locations within the ARS North Atlantic Area. Services under the contract will include, but not be limited to, A-E services for environmental site assessments, building and/or site investigations/studies, feasibility and conceptual studies, design development, engineering calculations and analyses, construction drawings, specifications, detailed cost estimates and analyses, bidding phase services, construction management, shop drawing and submittal review and approval, construction inspection and/or monitoring, design review, technical consultation, field surveys, engineering reports, and computer-aided drafting. The contract shall be for 12 months from date of award, with the Government option to renew for four (4) additional 12-month periods. Delivery orders will be issued for each project and will not exceed $100,000 per single order. The cumulative amount of all delivery orders will not exceed $500,000 per contract year. The minimum contract guarantee is $500. The Government reserves the right to award more than one contract for this requirement. There is no initial project. Consideration of firms will be limited to those located within a five (5) hour driving time of Beckley AND Kearneysville, West Virginia, who can provide professional A-E services primarily in the disciplines of architecture, civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, and environmental for pre-design, design, and post-design A-E services for research laboratory facilities. The following specific factors will form the basis for evaluation and determination of those highly qualified firms and selection of the best qualified. All factors are listed in their order of importance: (1) Professional qualifications necessary for satisfactory performance of required services; (2) Specialized experience and technical competence in the type of work required to alter or repair facilities in support of agricultural research in laboratory and field settings; (3) Capacity to accomplish the work within required timeframes and to handle multiple delivery orders simultaneously; (4) Past performance on contracts with Government agencies and private industry in terms of cost control, quality of work, and compliance with performance schedules; (5) Location of firm within the five (5) hour driving time of Beckley AND Kearneysville, West Virginia. This requirement is a 100% set-aside for emerging small businesses (ESB) in accordance with the Small Business Competitiveness Demonstration Act requirements for the USDA. The SIC code is 8711 and the size standard for an ESB is $1.25 million average annual receipts for the previous 3 years. (If less than two (2) ESB's respond, submittals from other small businesses will be considered with the size standard of $2.5 million average annual receipts. If no small businesses respond, submittals from other businesses will be considered.) Those responsible firms desiring consideration must submit one (1) copy each of Standard Forms (SF) 254 and 255 (11/92 version) not later than 3:30 p.m. (local time) on April 4, 1997, to the ARS office in Wyndmoor, PA. Indicate Project No. 03-3615-97 on all documentation submitted. No faxed, telegraphic, or telephonic submittals will be accepted. Personal visits for the purpose of discussing this requirement are strongly discouraged and will not be scheduled. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. (0057)

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