With the Duval County Courthouse open and operating, the City continues on its track to renovate the old federal courthouse building next door at 311 W. Monroe St. for the State Attorney’s Office.
The City issued a request for “Statements of Bidder Qualifications” for the job.
Statements are due by 2 p.m. Aug. 8 at the Central Operations Department Procurement Division in Suite 105 at the Ed Ball Building at 214 N. Hogan St.
The City seeks firms interested in providing the construction services.
It will determine which contractors have met all the criteria and will then solicit competitive sealed bids for the construction services of the project.
The award “will be made to the lowest, responsive, responsible bidder,” it said.
The construction cost is anticipated to be about $25 million, according to the request for qualifications, called an RFQ.
According to the request, the project scope “will be a complete renovation with work including but not limited to new windows, walls, ceilings, flooring, fire sprinkler system, plumbing, fire alarm, electrical HVAC and all other systems” to provide occupancy for the State Attorney’s Office.
The construction schedule is anticipated to be about 14 months from the notice to proceed to completion.
The City also reserves the right “to proceed no further” with the RFQ process or to re-advertise it in another public solicitation.
According to Daily Record archives, City Director of Public Works Jim Robinson told a City Council Courthouse Oversight Special Committee in June that Elkins Constructors already performed about $2 million of work on the project for the removal of lead paint from the building and for remediation of mold and mildew.
He said the agreement for the project between the City and Elkins was terminated in April by the City.
According to the RFQ document, bidders must meet criteria, including having “already successfully completed at least two prior building renovation projects with a contract amount of at least $20 million.”
Bidders also “must have never abandoned a project before completion.”
Questions about the 18-page RFQ should be submitted in writing to project purchasing analyst Dan Pearson at [email protected].
Written questions will be accepted until 4 p.m. July 26.
Robinson said Tuesday that the protected connector walkway requested by the State Attorney’s Office to provide a protective corridor from the renovated offices to the courthouse will remain an element of the bid package.
After the qualified bidders are established, he said the schedule is to advertise for bids in mid-August.
“From that point we will receive bids, evaluate them, contract with the successful contractor and provide a notice to proceed,” he said.
Robinson said he anticipates construction to start in late October or early November. A 14-month project would indicate a possible completion in December 2013 or January 2104.
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