Solicitation
Central Utility Building Addition and Renovation Construction, UIP Subproject 1-CUB
Department of Energy
AI summaryFermi Forward Discovery Group (the company that runs Fermilab for the Department of Energy) wants one general contractor to build an addition to Fermilab's Central Utility Building in Batavia, Illinois and renovate the existing building. The building supplies chilled water, hot water and other utility water to the lab, and the work includes new chillers and new medium-voltage electrical equipment. It is a firm-fixed-price subcontract with construction tied to a planned accelerator shutdown from about January 2028 to late 2029. Proposals are due November 17, 2026 (an amendment moved it to Dec 17, 2026, 4:00 PM CST · 5:00 PM Eastern). More in the summary
AI summary Beta
Summary of the version posted Oct 7, 2026. The notice was amended Oct 30, 2026. The due date moved from Nov 17, 2026 to Dec 17, 2026. Check what else changed on SAM.gov. This summary may miss requirements: 9 of 21 attachments weren't read (Exhibit C- Specification Set- New CHW Plant and CUB Upgrades.pdf, Exhibit P- Performance Bond_FL-40.pdf and 7 more). Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
Fermi Forward Discovery Group (the company that runs Fermilab for the Department of Energy) wants one general contractor to build an addition to Fermilab's Central Utility Building in Batavia, Illinois and renovate the existing building. The building supplies chilled water, hot water and other utility water to the lab, and the work includes new chillers and new medium-voltage electrical equipment. It is a firm-fixed-price subcontract with construction tied to a planned accelerator shutdown from about January 2028 to late 2029. Proposals are due November 17, 2026.
Who can bid (10)
- Past performance on at least 3 building construction or renovation projects, one of $50M or more and each other $35M or more, as prime general contractor, each with at least 4 listed components such as renovation, addition, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, site utilities or water-cooled chillers of 750 tons or more
- Bid guarantee of at least 20 percent of the bid price, capped at $3 million, submitted by the due date
- Three years of audited financial statements and a signed surety letter of intent from a Treasury-listed (Circular 570) surety
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- Aggregate bonding capacity of at least $100 million, plus single-project bonding at least equal to your proposed price
- Current ratio of 1.20 or better in the latest audited year (1.10 to 1.19 triggers extra review; below 1.10 fails)
- Injury rates (TRC and DART) at or below 85% of the BLS benchmark for NAICS 236220, or an acceptable written explanation
- Workers' comp EMR of 1.25 or less in each of the last 3 years (average 1.0 or less passes automatically)
- Corporate Safety and Health Plan that explicitly references 10 CFR Part 851, and a Corporate Quality Plan aligned with DOE Order 414.1E or ISO 9001
- Illinois registration or license numbers for the firm, and ability to meet Davis-Bacon wage and weekly certified payroll rules
- 100 percent payment and performance bonds from the awarded contractor (payment bond within 10 calendar days of the subcontract effective date)
How to submit: Email to the Procurement Specialist, Chris Daley, cdaley@fnal.gov, due 4:00 PM Central Time, November 17, 2026 (questions due in writing by 5:00 PM Central, November 3, 2026). What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (8)
- Serious: Large-project experience required. You need prime GC experience on a $50 million building project plus other projects of $35 million or more, which most small businesses will not have; joint ventures can combine histories.
- Serious: Heavy bonding and financial pass/fail tests. A $100 million aggregate bonding letter, 20 percent bid guarantee (up to $3 million) and 3 years of audited financials are required, and missing any of them is an automatic disqualification.
- Serious: Strict safety thresholds. Injury rates must be at or below 85 percent of the industry average and EMR cannot exceed 1.25 in any year, otherwise the proposal is thrown out before technical review.
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- Worth checking: Fermilab site access and citizenship rules. Site visitors must request access at least 7 days ahead and approval depends on citizenship, so the October 13-15 site visits may already be out of reach.
- Worth checking: Schedule tied to accelerator shutdown. All work must happen inside the shutdown window starting around January 2028 and the lab can change those dates, which affects crews, equipment and cost.
- Worth checking: Required scalability plan for smaller firms. If your largest past project is under $50 million you must add a plan of up to 5 pages showing you can handle a project this size, with a fully dedicated field team.
- Minor: Davis-Bacon wages, weekly payroll and Buy American. You must pay prevailing wages, submit certified payroll weekly through LCPTracker (also for lower-tier subs), and use domestic construction materials unless an exception applies.
- Minor: 10 percent retainage. The Government holds back 10 percent of progress payments until final completion, which strains cash flow on a long job.
Read from the notice and 12 attachments. 9 of 21 not read. Show which files.
- Amend 02 to RFP 376508-CD.pdf (read)
- Amend 01 to RFP 376508-CD.pdf (read)
- 1.0 RFP 376508-CD Instructions to Offerors.pdf (read)
- Exhibit A - Scope of Work UIP SP-1 CUB.pdf (read)
- Exhibit E- Electrical (LV) Calculations.pdf (read)
- Exhibit F- Army Corp NPR-Letter.pdf (read)
- Exhibit G- FFDG General Terms and Conditions for Construction (08.2025).pdf (read)
- Exhibit H - Construction Insurance Requirements.pdf (read)
- Exhibit I - Statement of Acknowledgment (SF-1413).pdf (read)
- Exhibit J - Fermilab Subcontractor Safety Information Questionnaire.pdf (read)
- Exhibit L- Subcontractor Annual RepsCerts-SARC. Rev 8.pdf (read)
- Exhibit N- Bond Bid FL-41.pdf (read)
- Exhibit C- Specification Set- New CHW Plant and CUB Upgrades.pdf: not read (it couldn't be opened): open it on SAM.gov
- Exhibit P- Performance Bond_FL-40.pdf: not summarized: open it on SAM.gov
- Exhibit S- Sample Firm-Fixed-Price Subcontract.pdf: not summarized: open it on SAM.gov
- Exhibit B- Construction Drawing Set.pdf: not summarized: open it on SAM.gov
- Exhibit D- Geotechnical Engineering Report.pdf: not summarized: open it on SAM.gov
- Exhibit K- Price Proposal Form.pdf: not summarized: open it on SAM.gov
- Exhibit M- Proposal Cerftifications Form PUR-466_r5_10.14.25.pdf: not summarized: open it on SAM.gov
- Exhibit O- FL-42 (Rev 1.25) - Payment Bond.pdf: not summarized: open it on SAM.gov
- Exhibit Q- Davis Bacon Wage Rate.pdf: not summarized: open it on SAM.gov
Full summary
What they want
- Build a new building addition (foundation, structure and facade) to house new chillers and more chilled water capacity
- Renovate and upgrade the existing Central Utility Building, including the exterior shell, the roof under the cooling towers and facade panels
- Install medium-voltage switches and transformers, low-voltage power, fire protection and fire alarm systems
- Upgrade the heating hot water systems that feed the campus
- Demolish existing piping, equipment, conduit and ductwork as shown in the drawings
- Civil utilities upgrade and pavement removal
- Finish within the shutdown window with five milestones, final completion by about September 28, 2029
- Contract type
- Firm-fixed-price construction subcontract under Fermilab's M&O contractor; one award expected
- Period of performance
- Notice to proceed through December 30, 2027 for submittals and shop drawings; construction starts January 3, 2028; final completion September 28, 2029 (Scope of Work says complete by October 1, 2029). Dates may change with the lab's shutdown needs
- Place of performance
- Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia, Illinois
- Estimated value
- Not stated
- How they'll choose
- Best value tradeoff with scoring: Technical 70 points (Organization and Key Personnel 20, Approach/Safety/Work Plan 25, Past Performance 25) and Price 30 points, plus pass/fail items (bid guarantee, financial capability and bonding letter, certifications, safety and quality documents)
- Offers due
- 4:00 PM Central Time, November 17, 2026 (questions due in writing by 5:00 PM Central, November 3, 2026) (from the version posted Oct 7, 2026; amended since)
- How to submit
- Email to the Procurement Specialist, Chris Daley, cdaley@fnal.gov
- Page limits
- Scalability and Resource Plan (required if your largest past project is under $50M) is limited to 5 pages; no other page limits stated
What they'll judge offers on
- Technical Criterion 2: Approach, Safety Compliance and Work Plan (25 points)
- Technical Criterion 3: Past Performance (25 points)
- Technical Criterion 1: Organizational Structure and Key Personnel (20 points)
- Price (30 points; lowest price gets full points, 0 points if more than 67% above the lowest)
- Pass/fail: bid guarantee, financial capability and surety letter, SARC and PUR-466 forms, safety and quality documents
What to include when you submit
- Submit two separable parts: Part I Technical Proposal and Part II Business Management and Price Proposal; do not bind them together
- Keep cost information out of the Technical Proposal except what is needed in the past performance section
- Include a sample schedule and a separate conceptual level schedule covering all categories in the Measurement and Payment Schedule
- Include a project-specific safety and quality execution plan with a risk matrix
- Include the signed Price Proposal Form, the SARC form (Rev 8) and the PUR-466 certifications form
- Include the bid guarantee with the proposal
- Acknowledge Amendments 1 and 2 (by email, signed return, or in the proposal letter)
- Proposal must stay open for at least 120 calendar days
Not in the notice text
- Estimated contract value or budget
- Full construction drawings, technical specifications (Division 01 schedule requirements), geotechnical report and Price Proposal Form were not read (it may be an attached file the AI skipped; check SAM.gov) in the text read
- Davis-Bacon wage rates and the sample subcontract (not provided)
- Middle section of the General Terms and Conditions (changes, delays, damages and similar terms) was not read (it may be an attached file the AI skipped; check SAM.gov)
- Whether the shutdown dates will move, and any liquidated damages for late completion
- Which items Fermilab pre-purchases and supplies to the contractor
Eligibility and how to respond
- No set-aside: any business, large or small, can bid unless the notice says otherwise.
- How to submit, from the AI summary: Email to the Procurement Specialist, Chris Daley, cdaley@fnal.gov. 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 30, 2026
- Notice type
- Solicitation
- Office
- Fermilab - DOE Contractor, Batavia, IL
- Product/service code
- Z2EZ · Repair or Alteration of Other Industrial Buildings
- Business type
- Construction & renovation (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 236210)
- Versions
4 versions have been posted, newest first.
- Oct 30, 2026 · Amendment 0003 (this version)Due Dec 17, 2026 (changed)
- Oct 7, 2026 · Amendment 0002Due Nov 17, 2026
- Oct 6, 2026 · Amendment 0001Due Nov 17, 2026
- Sep 17, 2026 · SolicitationDue Nov 17, 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
Terms on this notice: Solicitation
Full notice text from SAM.gov
On Ocotber 30, 2026, Amendment No. 3 was issued to provide responses to questioins received from prospective offerors, provide as-built drawing and photos for reference only, extend thequestions due date to December 1, 2026, and to extend the proposal due date to December 17, 2026. On October 7, 2026, Amendment No. 2 was issued to correct badge access link provided in Amendment No. 1. On October 6, 2026, Amendment No. 1 was issued to provide dates for site visits. This scope of work is to build an addition and renovate the Central Utility Building (CUB). The CUB supplies chilled water, hot water, low conductivity water, and makeup water to various lab buildings and systems. These systems serve both comfort cooling and heating needs, as well as process cooling and utility requirements. It is vital to Fermilab’s mission that CUB be revitalized and expanded, ensuring the ability to serve existing and future loads. The General contractor shall furnish all required supervision, labor, materials, tools, plant and appurtenances necessary to perform diligently and fully all work as described in the drawings and technical specifications. All work includes transportation, overhead, bonding costs, safety oversight, quality control oversight, and supervision as required to construct the project described in the drawings, technical specification and the detailed description contained herein. The critical schedule constraint for construction of this project is Fermilab’s accelerator shutdown, with an anticipated scheduled start on January 1, 2028, and anticipated end date of January 1, 2030- these dates may change depending on the needs of the Lab. The General Contractor must start their on-site efforts, and complete the construction scope under this contract, within the shutdown window. This project includes the following milestones: Milestone 1 – Issuance of Notice to Proceed (NTP) to 30th December 2027. This milestone is intended for completion of necessary submittals and RFIs, approval of shop drawings for fabrication and procurement. Milestone 2 – 3rd January 2028; This milestone marks the point where construction work may begin. Milestone 3 – 31st January 2029; AUP 1 CUB Extension complete. Milestone 4 – 29th June 2029; AUP 2 Existing CUB Upgrade complete. Milestone 5 – 28th September 2029; Completion of CUB- including all remedial work following removal of site trailers.
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