Solicitation
Brooklyn Upgrade Life Safety/Critical Branch Electrical Distribution Construction
Department of Veterans Affairs
AI summaryThe Department of Veterans Affairs wants a small business electrical contractor to upgrade life safety and critical branch electrical distribution at the Brooklyn VA Medical Center, 800 Poly Place, Brooklyn, NY. Only small businesses certified by the Small Business Administration (SBA) can bid, and a bid guarantee is required. This is a sealed-bid invitation for bids (IFB): the lowest fair and reasonable price wins, and bids go by email only. The response due date is November 6, 2026 (an amendment moved it to Nov 24, 2026, 3:00 PM EST); SAM.gov says 2:00 PM Eastern but Amendment 0001 says 3:00 PM EST. More in the summary
AI summary Beta
Summary of the version posted Oct 22, 2026. The notice was amended Oct 27, 2026. The due date moved from Nov 6, 2026 to Nov 24, 2026. Check what else changed on SAM.gov. This summary may miss requirements: 4 of 13 attachments weren't read (S04 - Site Visit Sign In Sheet - Signed.pdf, Brooklyn VAMC Map.pdf and 2 more). Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
The Department of Veterans Affairs wants a small business electrical contractor to upgrade life safety and critical branch electrical distribution at the Brooklyn VA Medical Center, 800 Poly Place, Brooklyn, NY. Only small businesses certified by the Small Business Administration (SBA) can bid, and a bid guarantee is required. This is a sealed-bid invitation for bids (IFB): the lowest fair and reasonable price wins, and bids go by email only. The response due date is November 6, 2026; SAM.gov says 2:00 PM Eastern but Amendment 0001 says 3:00 PM EST.
Who can bid (5)
- Certified small business: the offeror must be certified as a small business by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and listed in the SBA certification database at bid submission and at award
- Bid guarantee on Standard Form 24 (SF 24) of at least 20 percent of the bid price, up to $3,000,000, with the bid
- Active SAM.gov registration with a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) written in Block 14 of the SF 1442, and current representations and certifications
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- Insurance for work on a Government installation (FAR 52.228-5 and supplemental insurance requirements); amounts were not in the text read
- The awardee must have filed its annual VETS-4212 report on the veterans in its workforce before award
How to submit: Email to sierra.tate@va.gov and bridget.may@va.gov; only emailed bids are accepted, due November 6, 2026, 2:00 PM Eastern per SAM.gov; Amendment 0001 says November 6, 2026, 3:00 PM EST. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (8)
- Serious: Only SBA-certified small businesses can bid. The set-aside is limited to small businesses certified by the SBA and listed in its certification database at bid submission and at award; other firms are not eligible.
- Serious: Bid guarantee required with the bid. A missing or wrong bid guarantee (20 percent of the bid price, up to $3,000,000) gets the bid rejected, so a surety must be arranged before the response due date.
- Worth checking: Email-only bids; late or missing items make a bid nonresponsive. Bids sent any other way, or without the electronic bid guarantee, are not accepted; the bid opening is on a Microsoft Teams call.
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- Worth checking: The site visit was Oct 20, 2026. Check the notice and its amendments for whether attendance was required, and whether another visit is offered.
- Worth checking: Night and weekend work in an operating hospital. Drawing notes put work on evening, night or weekend shifts, and the specifications require badges, a security escort arranged with one week's notice and vehicle authorization, which raise labor and scheduling cost.
- Worth checking: Payment and performance bonds after award. The winner must furnish both bonds, on top of the bid guarantee, so bonding capacity for a project in the $10,000,000 to $20,000,000 range is needed.
- Minor: Alternates in the specifications and drawings do not apply. Only Base Item 0001 is priced; any alternates shown in the specs and drawings must be ignored when pricing.
- Minor: Limits on subcontracting. The limitations on subcontracting clause limits how much of the work a small business may pass to others; the percentage was in text that was cut off.
Read from the notice and 9 attachments. 4 of 13 not read. Show which files.
- 36C77626B0020 0003_1.pdf (read)
- 36C77626B0020 0002.pdf (read)
- 36C77626B0020 0001.pdf (read)
- 36C77626B0020 Brooklyn VAMC Construction.pdf (read)
- Attachment A - Specifications - 3-11-26.pdf (read)
- Attachment F - Site Visit Instructions.pdf (read)
- Attachment D - Drawings.pdf (read)
- Attachment C - Drawings.pdf (read)
- Attachment B - Drawings.pdf (read)
- S04 - Site Visit Sign In Sheet - Signed.pdf: not summarized: open it on SAM.gov
- Brooklyn VAMC Map.pdf: not summarized: open it on SAM.gov
- Attachment G - RFI TRACKING SHEET.xlsx: not read (the AI doesn't read this file type yet): open it on SAM.gov
- Attachment E - Wages Rates - King County 5-26-26.pdf: not summarized: open it on SAM.gov
Full summary
What they want
- Install a dedicated life safety electrical branch in Building 1 (Tasks 1, 2 and 3), including automatic transfer switches (ATS, which switch a building to backup power) and distribution equipment on each floor
- Meet National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) codes 70, 99 and 110 and VA electrical design rules for a hospital's essential electrical system
- Task 5: upgrade or replace electrical distribution equipment so it exceeds the expected three-phase asymmetrical fault current found in a previous Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc. (SEL) electrical study
- Tasks 6 through 26: fix equipment code violations found in the same SEL study; Task 4 was intentionally removed, and the critical and equipment branches are not read (it may be an attached file the AI skipped; check SAM.gov)
- Supply all tools, equipment, materials, labor, supervision and personnel, following the attached Specifications and Drawings
- Work in an operating hospital: drawings set many tasks for evening, night or weekend shifts, with badges, security escorts and vehicle authorization
- Price one lump sum for Line Item 0001 (Base Bid) and finish the whole project within 540 calendar days after notice to proceed
- After award: furnish a payment bond and a performance bond, and attend any post-award conference
- Contract type
- Firm-fixed-price (FFP: one set price, whatever the work ends up costing) sealed-bid construction contract (invitation for bids under FAR Part 14), one lump-sum base bid line
- Period of performance
- 540 calendar days after the contractor receives the notice to proceed
- Place of performance
- Brooklyn VA Medical Center, 800 Poly Place, Brooklyn, NY 11209 (for the VA New York Harbor Healthcare System)
- Estimated value
- VA Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) magnitude of construction: between $10,000,000 and $20,000,000
- How they'll choose
- Price only: award to the responsible bidder with the lowest price that conforms to the solicitation, after the Contracting Officer confirms the low price is fair and reasonable
- Offers due
- November 6, 2026, 2:00 PM Eastern per SAM.gov; Amendment 0001 says November 6, 2026, 3:00 PM EST (from the version posted Oct 22, 2026; amended since)
- How to submit
- Email to sierra.tate@va.gov and bridget.may@va.gov; only emailed bids are accepted
What they'll judge offers on
- Price: one lump-sum price for Line Item 0001 (Base Bid), in whole dollars; the grand total decides the award
What to include when you submit
- Complete and sign the OFFER section of Standard Form 1442 (SF 1442, the construction solicitation, offer and award form) and put your Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) from SAM.gov in Block 14.
- Acknowledge every amendment, either in Block 19 of the SF 1442 or by returning the signed amendment forms with your bid.
- Complete the price schedule: a firm-fixed lump-sum price for Line Item 0001 in whole dollars, with no cents, allowing for FAR 52.229-3 (Federal, State and Local Taxes) and its special note.
- Send an electronic copy of the bid guarantee, Standard Form 24 (SF 24), with the bid by email.
- Include responses to FAR 52.203-2 (independent price determination, if applicable), 52.209-7(b), 52.209-12(b), 52.209-13(b) and 52.229-11(d).
- Confirm your representations and certifications in SAM are current; they are made part of your offer.
- Technical questions go by email to both addresses on Attachment G (RFI Tracking Sheet), with the subject line "FY26 NRM Brooklyn Upgrade Life Safety/Critical Branch Electrical Distribution Construction - Technical Questions".
- Bids are read aloud on a Microsoft Teams call; the solicitation says the link will be announced by amendment about seven calendar days before the bid due date.
After award, you must have
- Payment bond (Standard Form 25A) and performance bond (Standard Form 25) from the awarded firm From 36C77626B0020 Brooklyn VAMC Construction.pdf:
The offeror to whom award is made will be required to furnish two bonds.
- Background investigation for contractor personnel; the general construction contractor is designated low risk, Tier 1 From 36C77626B0020 Brooklyn VAMC Construction.pdf:
Positions/Tasks Designated as Non-Sensitive Positions – Tier 1/Low Risk…
Not in the notice text
- Much of the solicitation (from the VETS-4212 section on), most of Attachment A Specifications and all three drawing sets were cut off or came through as unreadable image text, so requirements there were not fully read.
- Attachment E (Wages Rates - King County 5-26-26.pdf), the site visit sign-in sheet and the Brooklyn VAMC map are scanned files that couldn't be read; check that the Davis-Bacon wage determination covers Brooklyn, NY.
- Attachment G (RFI Tracking Sheet.xlsx) is attached but not read, so answers to bidder questions are not read (it may be an attached file the AI skipped; check SAM.gov).
- Insurance amounts, the limitations-on-subcontracting percentage and the days allowed to furnish bonds are not in the text read.
- The Microsoft Teams link for the bid opening is to come by amendment; it is not in the documents read.
Eligibility and how to respond
- Set aside for small businesses: only a business that counts as small under this notice's NAICS code can bid as the prime contractor. More open small business set-asides under NAICS 238210
- How to submit, from the AI summary: Email to sierra.tate@va.gov and bridget.may@va.gov; only emailed bids are accepted. Check it in the notice before you send anything.
- Construction contracts over $2,000 pay at least the local Davis-Bacon wage rates, from the wage determination in the solicitation. Price your labor from it: How to price a government contract, and how Davis-Bacon differs from the Service Contract Act.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 27, 2026
- Notice type
- Solicitation
- Office
- Pcac (36C776), Independence, OH
- Product/service code
- Y1DZ · Construction of Other Hospital Buildings
- Business type
- Construction & renovation (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 238210)
- Versions
5 versions have been posted, newest first.
- Oct 27, 2026 · Amendment 0004 (this version)Due Nov 24, 2026 (changed)
- Oct 22, 2026 · Amendment 0003Due Nov 6, 2026
- Oct 14, 2026 · Amendment 0002Due Nov 6, 2026
- Oct 13, 2026 · Amendment 0001Due Nov 6, 2026
- Oct 6, 2026 · SolicitationDue Nov 6, 2026
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
- How to respond to a solicitation (8 steps)
- How to read a government solicitation
- How to price a government contract
- Set-aside contracts explained
Terms on this notice: Solicitation, Set-aside
Latest amendment note (Amendment 4) from SAM.gov
Amendment 0004 - Bid Opening Due Date Change Please note that solicitation #36C77626B0020 is related to the Sources Sought notice # 36C77626Q0137 which serves as the presolicitation. In accordance with 15 USC 644, this project is a competitive small business set aside. This project is located at: Brooklyn VA Medical Center 800 Poly Place Brooklyn, NY 11209 Please see attachements for additional details on this procurement.
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