# Presentation: 085531

## LEASE CONSTRUCTION	

- ACQUISITION PROCESS
- Brian Whelan    Laura Strohbach

## FEDERAL VS. LEASESIMILARITIES

- Notice at fedbizopps.gov
- Required if >=	10,000 square feet
- Variety of procurement approaches
- Option to use 2 Phase Design-Build
- Davis Bacon wage rates
- Small Business Subcontracting Plans if >=$550,000 contract value

## FEDERAL VS. LEASESIMILARITIES

- Notice at fedbizopps.gov
- LEED-NC
- Minimum Silver
- Central Contractor Registration (CCR)
- Performance Measures

## FEDERAL VS. LEASEMAJOR DIFFERENCES

- Use SFO, not RFP
- Do not post SFO at FBO
- Do not use FedTeds
- One Design-Build project
- Offeror assembles team
- Brooks Act provisions do not apply
- P100 does not apply

## FEDERAL VS. LEASEMAJOR DIFFERENCES

- Lease Cost Relative to Market measure
- Contractor Performance System is not used....yet.
- Online Representations and Certifications Application is not used...yet.

## FEDERAL VS. LEASEMAJOR DIFFERENCES

- Generally leases have shorter overall schedules
- Scoring treatment is different
- Most contract risk is with lessor
- Materials
- Financing
- Performance

## PROCUREMENT TYPES

- Lowest price, technically acceptable
- Meet minimum SFO requirements to be technically acceptable, OR
- Go-No Go Factors
- Best Value Trade-offs
- One Phase
- Two Phase Design-Build per FAR 36.3

**Notes:**
All of these are types of source selection approaches.  That terminology changes in 1990s.  Anything beyond simple Go-NO GO evaluations require formal source selection evaluation boards.

Majority of smaller lease construction projects are lowest price, technically acceptable.  Trying to move regions to using at a minimum Go-NO GO factors.

Example:  Small SSA office in southern Texas.  West facing employee entrance too hot to handle.

## TWO PHASE DESIGN BUILD

- Phase I factors must evaluate:
- Experience
- Past Performance
- Other Technical Factors
- Design Philosophy and Approach
- Site Plan perhaps
- Phase II factors are tailored to customer and market, e.g.:
- Design considerations
- Security
- Environmental Considerations
- Price

**Notes:**
Design Considerations—FEMA and wire distribution; outside employee area and landscape architect	

Give some examples of procurements where market drove technical evaluation factors

Where agency requirements drove technical evaluation factors.

##  2 PHASE SSEB EVALUATIONS

- Experience:
- Be specific—what types of similar projects are defined in SFO?
- More than standard resume
- SFO Paragraph to prevent “bait and switch”
- Do not make evaluators wade through unwanted and unneeded information

**Notes:**
Design Considerations—FEMA and wire distribution; outside employee area and landscape architect	

Give some examples of procurements where market drove technical evaluation factors

Where agency requirements drove technical evaluation factors.

## 2 PHASE SSEB EVALUATIONS

- Past Performance:
- Demonstrated by reviews provided by references
- Your responsibility to ensure references for cited project can be contacted
- SFO states how references will be obtained:
- Phone calls
- Email
- Online questionnaire (for future)

**Notes:**
Is reference still around?  Has someone taken their place?  Element of Business Relations performance.

What the reference says is not discoverable.  If reference gives us adverse information, we can tell you that a reference indicated there were problems, but we cannot say who or what they said.  You have opportunity to rebut.

We can look at other references that we discover.

Only happened to me once, but the offeror knew exactly who would have said something less than stellar.

Expectation is that things go wrong on projects.  Main element is:  What did you do to overcome the obstacle, and what effect did it have on costs and schedule?

## 2 PHASE SSEB EVALUATIONS

- Technical Factors
- SFO tells what to submit
- Evaluate provided information against the factors BEFORE price is considered
- <=5 most highly qualified offerors advance to Phase II
- Price
- Only evaluated in Phase II

## PERFORMANCE MEASURE

- Lease Cost Relative to Market (LCRM) reported to Congress
- Current goal is 9.0% below market
- Use SIOR and other published data to compare lease rates to market rates
- No exemptions for new lease construction projects

## LCRM and PRICING POLICY

- Annual rent normally is sum of:
- Building Shell
- Amortized Tenant Improvements
- Amortized Building Specific Security
- Operating Costs
- Agencies get TI allowance locally adjusted for market
- Need offer breakout so we can bill agency accurately

**Notes:**
Why the red?  If the project is under the prospectus threshold, these costs do not count against the TI allowance.  Agency actually has more available funding.  May not need RWA funds.

## OFFEROR’S FEES

- Tenant Improvement Allowance includes all fees (PM, A/E, GC, etc.)
- New SFO paragraph and 1364 to evaluate these fees PRIOR to award
- Fees affect NPV results

## DESIGN EXCELLENCE

- Draft DE SFO developed in 2000
- Many regions use a form of it
- National Office plans to finalize documents and new construction package for more consistency
- In use for FBI Field Office program

## DESIGN EXCELLENCEand SUSTAINABILITY

- Evaluate offeror’s architect—the lead designer
- No bait and switch
- LEED-NC Silver
- Performance Specs, generally
- Looking for creativity and functionality
- Leased so balance aesthetics with marketability

## DESIGN EXCELLENCEand SUSTAINABILITY

- Moving toward agency specific SFOs
- FBI
- Courts
- CIS
- Updating “green lease” clauses
- Go by our booth to see more examples

## SITE SELECTION

- Preferred method--PBS obtains no cost assignable site option,
**OR**
- Developer options site and includes as part of offer

**Notes:**
DID ANYBODY HERE PARTICIPATE IN THE DESIGN EXCELLENCE IN FOR LEASES INDUSTRY DAY BACK IN 1999 OR 2000?  This was a hot topic of discussion.

Received feedback that developers want us to level the playing field.   So do we!  Can’t always be done.

## Who funds NEPA studies?

- EAs and EISs in federal and lease projects are funded by agency
- ESAs in owned projects funded by PBS
- ESAs in lease projects funded by lessor
- SFO language for region to fund and recoup cost from first month(s)’ rent

**Notes:**
DISCUSS TIMING OF STUDIES AND HOW THE RESULTS MAY BE TECHNICAL FACTORS.

## Frequently Asked Questions

- I attended a pre-bid conference for a lease construction project.  Can I get a copy of the sign-in list?
- Yes, the contracting officer may release this information.

## Frequently Asked Questions

- I was notified that my offer will advance to Phase II of the procurement.  May I get a list of the others who also advanced?
- No, this is procurement sensitive information and cannot be released prior to award of a lease.

## Frequently Asked Questions

- I want to make an offer on an SFO that requires a LEED accredited professional as a team member.  I have never done this before and do not want to now.
- Your offer will be rejected because it fails to meet a minimum SFO requirement.

**Notes:**
Talk in general about requirements being tailored for agency/markets.

Invite them to go to our booth to see some of the successes we have had in Sustainability and LEED.

We have many projects where offerors exceeded the Silver LEED minimum and where the rental rates were still in the market rent ranges.  We know it can be done.  

Look at information about this in 2000 and now.  Our agencies ask PBS what we are going to meet DOE requirements.

## Frequently Asked Questions

- 	I did not advance to Phase II.  What kind of information can I get at a pre-award debriefing?
- At a minimum,
- (1) The agency’s evaluation of significant elements in   the offeror’s proposal;
- (2) A summary of the rationale for eliminating the offeror from the competition; and
- (3) Reasonable responses to relevant questions about whether source selection procedures contained in the solicitation, applicable regulations, and other applicable authorities were followed in the process of eliminating the offeror from the competition.

**Notes:**
You can only have one debriefing.  You can delay asking and get a post-award debriefing.  This could affect the timeliness of a protest.

## Frequently Asked Questions

- Can I get my ranking during the pre-award debriefing?
- No, FAR 15.505(f) prevents us from disclosing pre-award:
-  The number of offerors
-  The identity of other offerors
-  The content of other offerors’ proposals
-  The ranking of other offerors
-  The evaluation of other offerors, or
-  Other prohibited or exempt information, e.g. trade secrets, names of references, etc.

## Frequently Asked Questions

- But, can I find out who won?
- We must notify unsuccessful offerors within 3 days after the date of contract award,  That notices includes
- (i) The number of offerors solicited;
- (ii) The number of proposals received;
- (iii) The name and address of each offeror receiving an award;
- (iv) For leasing, normally the total contract price need be furnished in the notice; and
- (v) In general terms, the reason(s) the offeror’s proposal was not accepted, unless the price information in paragraph (b)(1)(iv) of this section readily reveals the reason.

**Notes:**
 In no event shall an offeror’s cost breakdown, profit, overhead rates, trade secrets, manufacturing processes and techniques, or other confidential business information be disclosed to any other offeror.

Upon request, the contracting officer shall provide the information in paragraph (b)(1) of this section to unsuccessful offerors that received a preaward notice of exclusion from the competitive range. 

## Frequently Asked Questions

- I made it to Phase II.  What kind of feedback should I expect after my Phase II offer is evaluated?
- The contracting officer should discuss deficiencies, significant weaknesses, and adverse past performance information to which the offeror has not yet had an opportunity to respond.
- The contracting officer also is encouraged to discuss other aspects of the offeror’s proposal that could, in the opinion of the contracting officer, be altered or explained to enhance materially the proposal’s potential for award. However, the contracting officer is not required to discuss every area where the proposal could be improved. The scope and extent of discussions are a matter of contracting officer judgment.

**Notes:**
If the CO does not volunteer information about your strengths, ask about it.  You want to be sure you do not change something to reduce a weakness that might adversely impact a strength.	

## Frequently Asked Questions

-  Recently our short-listed team was told we could bring no more than 5 people to the oral presentation.  We had to hope we  had selected the right 5 people to attend vs. having the freedom to bring each of the key participants.
-  A limit, if any, will vary by procurement.  The limit is intended to help the Government evaluate how well you understand the requirements of the SFO and what a good representation would be.

**Notes:**
Ultimately we are looking at contract risk.  How likely will you be successful?  Tell story about bickering people.

## QUESTIONS?

- _[Laura.Strohbach@gsa.gov](mailto:Laura.Strohbach@gsa.gov)_
- Real Estate Acquisition Division
- 202.208.0664
- Check out gsa.gov/leasing