As reported here last Friday, Minvilla Manor, the permanent supportive housing project at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Broadway, will be re-bid.
Minvilla was originally advertised through invitations to pre-qualified firms and in professional forums. It was not publicly advertised in the newspaper because that was not required. Four construction companies bid on the project in a sealed bid process. The architect unsealed the bids, and the low bidder was Wood Brothers Construction. This is a standard practice in the industry, and it satisfied all requirements at the time.
Minvilla is not being re-bid because Wood Brothers Construction’s bid came in “disappointingly high,” as has been reported elsewhere, or for any other reason. The sole reason the project is being re-bid is that in the late fall of 2008, the City committed $585,000 to the project from new federal sources, most notably the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The City of Knoxville’s Community Development, Purchasing and Law departments now recommend that the applicable federal procurement standards should apply to Minvilla, and that’s why the developer, Southeastern Housing Foundation, is advertising for new bids as of yesterday.
Here is a copy of the advertisement for new bids. Email addresses substitute a single-space bracketed “at” for “@” and a single-space bracketed “dot” for “.”.
SOUTHEASTERN HOUSING FOUNDATION, LLC
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
RFP #001
Project: Rehabilitation of the former Fifth Avenue Motel (AKA: Minvilla Manor)
Southeastern Housing Foundation, LLC is seeking proposals from qualified general contractors for the rehabilitation of the former Fifth Avenue Motel, located at 447 North Broadway, Knoxville, Tennessee, 37917, to create 57 units of permanent supportive housing for the chronically homeless, including management offices and common space. Sealed proposals for this project will be received by Southeastern Housing Foundation, LLC, at 901 East Summit Hill Drive, Suite 300, Knoxville, Tennessee, 37915, until 1:00 p.m. on April 27, 2009. Proposals received after the above specified time will not be considered.
The Request for Proposals (RFP) can be obtained from Southeastern Housing Foundation, LLC, at 901 East Summit Hill Drive, Suite 300, Knoxville, Tennessee, 37915, beginning April 6, 2009. Information on obtaining project drawings and specifications will be included in the RFP document.
A mandatory pre-proposal conference and site visit will be held at Volunteer Ministry Center, Inc., 511 North Broadway, Knoxville, Tennessee, 37917, on April 13, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. Failure to attend this mandatory meeting will result in the disqualification of proposals.
Respondents shall provide name of bonding company and bond issuance rate. Bonding capacity must be in excess of the Guaranteed Minimum Price specified in the respondent’s proposal. If selected, the contractor shall be required to post a payment and performance bond equal to 100% of the Guaranteed Minimum Price.
All respondents must be a licensed general contractor as required by the Contractor’s Licensing Act of 1994, and all acts amendatory thereof. Respondent’s name, address, license number, date of expiration of license, and that part of the license classification applying to the proposals must be placed on the sealed envelope containing the proposal.
All inquiries must be received in writing by mail, email or facsimile no later than 1:00 p.m. on April 20, 2009. Inquiries related to construction documents should be addressed to Allan Associates Architects, PLLC, by mail at P.O. Box 26140, Knoxville, Tennessee, 37912, by fax at (865) 546-0787, or by e-mail at markallan at allanarch dot com. Inquiries related to all other aspects of this RFP should be addressed to Southeastern Housing Foundation, LLC, by mail at 901 East Summit Hill Drive, Suite 300, Knoxville, Tennessee, 37915, by fax at (865) 525-4213, or by email at darning at klf dot org. It is the sole responsibility of each respondent, prior to submitting proposals, to determine if addenda were issued and to make such addenda part of their proposal. A “non-collusion affidavit” is required to be submitted with the proposal.
Because federal funds will be used to support this construction project, Davis-Bacon wage rates and other areas of federal regulatory compliance will be required of the selected contractor.
Cross-posted at minvilla.org.