Solicitation
Construct North Unit Visitor Center at BADL
Department of the Interior · National Park Service · Sol. 140PS126B0010
Due in 20 days
AI summary Beta
Some details weren't available to this summary, so it may miss requirements. Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
The National Park Service wants a contractor to build a new one-story, 16,700 square foot North Unit Visitor Center at Badlands National Park near Interior, South Dakota, with utilities and site work. It is a sealed-bid (IFB), firm-fixed-price construction job reserved for small businesses, estimated at $10M to $20M, with about 730 days to finish after notice to proceed. Bids go in by email and the lowest responsible bidder wins.
Watch out for
- Large bid bond with a strict seal rule. A bid guarantee of 20 percent of the price (up to $3M) must come with the bid, and a scan without a visible seal and Power of Attorney seal gets the bid rejected.
Scanned copy of your official bid bond must reflect identifiable seal and Power of Attorney seal.
- Very large job for a small business. At $10M to $20M with a 2-year build, this needs strong bonding capacity, a full set of trades and financing, and the 85 percent self-performance limit applies.
The estimated project magnitude of construction is $10M to $20M.
- Sealed bid: no alternatives, mistakes are costly. The price is all that counts, and bids with alternate approaches or missing items can be rejected, so the bid must match the drawings exactly.
Bids offering alternative stipulations to the requirements of this solicitation will NOT be considered or
- Performance period does not match. The solicitation and Amendment 2 say 730 days but the project specifications say 640 calendar days, which changes your schedule and cost risk.
E. Period of performance: Work shall be completed within 640 calendar days of the start date
- Technical Q&A still pending. Answers to technical questions are still with the designer and may change the bid; the due date may move again.
- Bid must be emailed and receipt confirmed. Failing to get a confirmation email can cause rejection, and the email domain is written inconsistently in the solicitation (ios.doi.gov vs ios.gov), so use the address on the SF 1442.
It is mandatory that you confirm the government has received your bid.
- Expansive clay soils. The geotechnical report found claystone with moderate to high swell, with recommended drilled pier foundations and at least 4 feet of imported fill under slabs, which adds cost and risk.
Therefore, we recommend the structure be founded on a reinforced concrete drilled pier
- Davis-Bacon wages and remote national park site. Federal prevailing wage rules apply, and the site is in a national park with archaeological monitoring and park rules.
Davis Bacon Wage Determination(s) for Jackson County, apply.
- Virtual site visit already happened. The only organized site visit was held September 10, 2026; there will be no formal on-site visit, though you may look at the public area yourself.
Site Visit Date and Time: September 10, 2026 at 10:00 AM Central Time (CT)
- Set-aside shown differently on the notice. The SAM.gov notice fields show no set-aside, but the solicitation says 100 percent small business set-aside; treat it as small business only.
Read from the notice and 8 attachments. 4 not read in full.
- Sol_140PS126B0010_Amd_0002.pdf
- Sol_140PS126B0010_Amd_0001.pdf
- Sol_140PS126B0010.pdf
- Attachment_1_-_Specifications_-_1262.pdf
- Attachment_4_-_Subcontracting_Worksheet.docx
- Attachment_7_-_Geotechnical_Report_-_Cedar_Pass_Visitor_Center_0001.pdf
- Attachment_8_-_Photo_Slides_0001.pdf
- Attachment_3_-_DBA_WD_SD20260022_5_18_2026.pdf
- Q_A_CO_Responses_(does_not_include_A_E_Technical_Answers)_0002.xlsx: spreadsheet: not read yet
- Attachment_6_-_Virtual_Site_Visit_Sign-In_Sheet_0001.xlsx: spreadsheet: not read yet
- Attachment_5_-_Q_A_Document.xlsx: spreadsheet: not read yet
- Attachment_2_-_Drawings_-_134.pdf: too large
Full brief
What they want
- Build a one-story, 16,700 sq ft visitor center with a tall entry atrium, exhibit spaces, gift shop, offices, education spaces and public restrooms
- Install utilities and site improvements including parking, roads and circulation
- Complete full building systems: concrete, structural steel and precast, mechanical, plumbing, fire suppression, electrical and communications
- Base work plus three priced options: East Shade Structure, West Shade Structure, and a Concrete Monument Sign at the East Entry Drive
- Protect cultural and archaeological resources; ground disturbance may be monitored by a government-provided archaeologist
- Provide a project schedule with critical path details and finish within the stated days after notice to proceed
- Contract type
- Firm-fixed-price construction contract from a sealed-bid invitation for bids (IFB); single contract, lump-sum pricing
- Period of performance
- 730 days after notice to proceed per the solicitation and Amendment 2 (11/02/2026 to 11/01/2028); the specifications say 640 calendar days. Three priced options, anticipated to be exercised at award.
- Place of performance
- Badlands National Park (Cedar Pass area), 25216 SD-240, Interior, SD 57750, Jackson County, South Dakota
- Estimated value
- $10M to $20M (estimated project magnitude of construction)
- How they'll choose
- Lowest price among bids that conform to the solicitation, from a bidder found responsible. Option prices are added to the base price for evaluation.
- Offers due
- 10/29/2026 at 12:00 PM Central Time (extended by Amendment 2; the original date was 10/15/2026). More extensions are possible if the technical Q&A is posted late.
- How to submit
- Email only to the Contracting Officer (Cole_Johnson@ios.doi.gov) and the bid recorder (Stephen_Loftus@ios.doi.gov); confirm receipt by email. Bids are opened publicly by video call.
- Page limits
- Single PDF titled BID PACKAGE on 8.5 x 11 paper (foldouts up to 11 x 17); each email with attachments must be 25MB or less
What they'll judge offers on
- Lowest total price (base plus all options)
- Bid conforms to the solicitation
- Bidder is determined to be responsible
What to include when you submit
- Complete SF 1442 blocks 14 through 20c, including your SAM UEI number in block 14, with the lump-sum total in block 17
- Fill in the Section B bid schedule (base plus Options 1 to 3), prices rounded to the nearest dollar; no alternate pricing or alternate bids
- Include an SF 24 bid guarantee of at least 20 percent of the bid price (not more than $3M) with a visible seal and Power of Attorney seal
- Include the completed Limitations on Subcontracting worksheet
- Acknowledge every amendment (Amendments 1 and 2 so far) in block 19 or by signed statement
- Email subject line must include the solicitation number, project name and email number, for example email 1 of X
- Password protecting the bid is recommended; send the password to the CO and bid recorder
- Written questions go on the Q&A document by email (deadline was 9/17/2026); site-visit answers are not official
You must have
- Must be a small business under NAICS 236220 (size standard $45M); the work is set aside for small business
This construction requirement is set aside for 100% Small Business under NAICS 236220
- Must have a UEI and an active SAM.gov registration at bid close, at award and through performance
award your company must obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI).
- Must provide a bid guarantee of 20 percent of the bid price (capped at $3M) with the bid
The amount of the bid guarantee shall be 20 percent of the bid price.
- Must comply with the limit on subcontracting: the prime may pay no more than 85 percent to subcontractors that are not similarly situated entities
it will not pay more than 85 percent of the amount paid by the Government for contract performance, excluding the cost of materials
- Must be an established construction contractor, or have lined up personnel, equipment and licenses, and give experience and financial details on request before award
Bidder is a construction contractor who owns, operates, or maintains a place of business, regularly
- Firms that helped design or write the specifications cannot bid or be part of a bid team
- Performance and payment bonds are required after award (clause 52.228-15 is listed); the bond block on the form was not fully readable
Not in the notice text
- Answers to the technical questions from the designer (expected by an Amendment 3 around 10/14/2026) and the Q&A spreadsheets were not read
- Drawings (Attachment 2) were too large to read, so building details and quantities are not reviewed
- Most of the specifications (about 1,000,000 characters) and the middle of the solicitation, including contract administration and special requirements sections, were left out of the text provided
- Whether performance and payment bonds are required after award and the exact bond amounts
- Whether the final period is 730 or 640 calendar days
- No incumbent or prior contract is named
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Key facts
- Response due
- Oct 29, 2026, 5:00 PM UTC
- Posted
- Oct 7, 2026
- Notice type
- Solicitation
- Solicitation
- 140PS126B0010
- Agency
- Department of the Interior · National Park Service
- Office
- Doi, NPS Conops Strategic
- NAICS
- 236220
- Product/service code
- Y1AZ
- Business type
- Construction & renovation
- Contracting contact
- Johnson, Colecole_johnson@ios.doi.gov2673210342
- Versions
- 2 (amended since first posted)
Full notice text from SAM.gov
Construct North Unit Visitor Center at BADL
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