Sources Sought
402-27-001 Repair Chiller 3 (AE)
Department of Veterans Affairs
AI summaryThis is a sources sought notice (market research, not a request for bids) for solicitation 36C24127R0009 from the Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office 1, for VA Maine Health Care System (Togus). The VA wants architect-engineer (AE) design work, stopping at a 35% design, to repair Chiller 3 at the Togus medical center in Augusta, Maine. Letters of interest are due November 20, 2026, 12:00 PM Eastern, by email. More in the summary
Market research, not a bid. Replying is free and tells Department of Veterans Affairs who could do this work. Send a short reply to the contracting contact; no price is needed. See the contact
AI summary Beta
This is a sources sought notice (market research, not a request for bids) for solicitation 36C24127R0009 from the Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office 1, for VA Maine Health Care System (Togus). The VA wants architect-engineer (AE) design work, stopping at a 35% design, to repair Chiller 3 at the Togus medical center in Augusta, Maine. Letters of interest are due November 20, 2026, 12:00 PM Eastern, by email.
Who can bid
- Set-aside is not settled. SAM.gov lists a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) set-aside, but the notice text says no set-aside has been chosen yet and that responses will help the contracting officer decide.
- Give your firm name as it appears in SAM.gov and your UEI number with your response
- If the later buy is set aside, about half the work must be done by your firm or similarly situated subcontractors. For an SDVOSB set-aside, that means verified SDVOSBs.
How to submit: Email to Diane C. Davis at diane.davis2@va.gov. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (6)
From the version posted Oct 21, 2026.
- Worth checking: Set-aside conflict: SAM.gov says SDVOSB, notice text says none chosen. SAM.gov lists an SDVOSB set-aside, but the text says the notice is not set aside and responses will help decide the category, so check with the contracting officer.
- Worth checking: Sources sought only; qualification statements come later. This notice is not a request for qualification statements (Standard Form 330, SF 330). A separate announcement will ask for those once the set-aside is chosen, and its date is not given.
- Worth checking: Subcontracting limit of about 50% if the buy is set aside. A small business would need to perform roughly half the work itself or with similarly situated firms, which limits teaming with larger firms.
Show all 6Show fewer
- Minor: On-site work needs a VA Police background check and badge. Every person working on the Togus campus must clear a mandatory check and be badged, which takes time and applies to all staff and subcontractors on site.
- Minor: Firm pays for delays when a submittal is not accepted. If a design submittal is rejected, the AE firm covers the cost of the delay and the revisions.
- Minor: Design stops at 35%. The work covers Type A services only, ending at a 35% schematic design, so later design phases are outside this scope.
Read from the notice and 2 attachments. Show which files.
- 36C24127R0009.docx (read)
- 40227001 SOW Final.pdf (read)
Full summary
What they want
- Investigate Chiller 3 through site visits, field investigation, testing, studies and user interviews
- Design repairs so the chiller operates as designed, including fixes for the reported cooling and oil leaks
- Deliver Type A services only (design phase work), stopping at a complete 35% schematic design submission
- Prepare a final report with key findings, recommended solutions and budgetary cost estimates
- Provide a quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) plan and a Basis of Design (10%) submittal
- Provide 3D renderings and CAD drawings (AutoCAD 2020 or the latest version available to the VA)
- Assist the VA with its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) environmental assessment
- Send meeting minutes and site visit reports within seven calendar days
- Period of performance
- 90 calendar days for the Part I design phase work
- Place of performance
- Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Augusta, ME 04330, USA (VA Maine Healthcare System, Togus)
- Estimated value
- Not stated
- Offers due
- November 20, 2026, 12:00 PM Eastern
- How to submit
- Email to Diane C. Davis at diane.davis2@va.gov
- Page limits
- No maximum page count; keep responses below 7MB
What to include when you submit
- Put "36C24127R0009 Sources Sought Response" in the email title
- Send a letter of interest (or similar document) answering the five items listed
- Item 1: your firm name as it appears in SAM.gov, your Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and your socio-economic status
- Item 2: a brief narrative of your experience with services similar to the statement of work
- Item 3: your expected team make-up by socio-economic category, with the estimated percentage of work for your firm and each subcontractor
- Item 4: a brief statement of your interest in the project and ability to do the work alongside ongoing projects
- Item 5: any other capability statements or documents that help the VA's market research
- If over 7MB, send several emails and add "1 of n" to the subject
After award, you must have
- Contractor staff must complete a VA Police background check and get a VA badge before working on campus From 40227001 SOW Final.pdf:
All contractors are required to obtain a VA issued badge prior to starting any work on station.
Current contractor
No incumbent is named. The statement of work says Johnson Controls/York replaced circuit boards and transducers on Chiller 3 but the problem persists; this is repair history, not a contract award.
Not in the notice text
- Contract type, price or estimated value, and the evaluation method are not stated in this sources sought notice
- The date of the later public announcement requesting qualification statements (SF 330) is not given
- The statement of work lists SOW Attachments 01 to 08 (campus map, influenza vaccine guidance, PG 18-15 submission requirements, badge template, VHA Directive 1061, CPM schedule, chiller drawing set, chiller photos); their contents were not in the text read
- Which set-aside the VA will choose for the follow-on announcement
Eligibility and how to respond
- If it goes ahead as planned: only service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs) certified through SBA's VetCert can bid as the prime contractor. Not certified through VetCert yet? Apply on VetCert (SBA), or start with the SDVOSB guide. More open service-disabled veteran-owned set-asides under NAICS 541330
- To respond, send a short reply to the contracting contact near the top of this page. No price is needed.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 21, 2026
- Notice type
- Sources Sought
- Office
- 241-Network Contract Office 01 (36C241), Togus, ME
- Product/service code
- C221 · Architect and Engineering – General: Plumbing Systems
- Business type
- Engineering, architecture & research (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 541330)
- 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 answer a sources sought notice
- Open SDVOSB set-aside contracts
- SDVOSB and veteran-owned contracts
- Limitations on subcontracting
Terms on this notice: Sources sought notice, SDVOSB (service-disabled veteran-owned small business), Set-aside
Full notice text from SAM.gov
Introduction Network Contracting Office 1 (NCO 1), supporting VA New England Healthcare System (VISN 1), is seeking potential sources for an upcoming requirement for Architect and Engineering Services as described in the attached statement of work. THIS NOTICE IS NOT A REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATION STATEMENTS (SF330). This notice is a market research tool and has not been set-aside for any small business category, but the notice is issued to determine appropriate set-aside categories. Responses to this notice, in conjunction with other Government market research resources, will be used by the contracting officer to determine the applicable socio-economic set-aside for the procurement. Failure to respond to this notice will not impact consideration of architect and engineer firms (or joint ventures) which otherwise meet set-aside requirements and submit responses to the follow-up public announcement. Once the appropriate set-aside is determined, a separate public announcement requesting qualification statements (SF330s) will be publicized on Contract Opportunities in accordance with 40 U.S. Code § 1101 and FAR 36.102. General Project Description and NAICS Synopsis of required services (See attachment for full statement of work): provide Architect/Engineer (AE) services to evaluate existing conditions, propose corrective measures, and design a construction project at the VA Maine Health Care System (Togus) in accordance with this scope of work. Scope will include Type A services only with design complete to 35%. AE Part I Investigative Services/Schematic Design/Other Related Services shall include site visits, field investigation, studies and user interviews to prepare drawings, and cost estimates for all facets of work and disciplines/trades to repair Chiller 3 to a condition where it will operate as designed. Design should also include fixes for the reported cooling and oil leaks. This procurement for Architect & Engineering services is assigned NAICS 541330 Engineering Services which has a SBA size standard of $22.5 million in average revenue. Information Sought The Government requests a letter of interest (or similar document) with responses to the following: 1. State your firm name (as it appears in SAM.gov), Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number, and socio-economic status of the firm (i.e. verified SDVOSB, WOSB, SB, large business). 2. Provide a brief narrative on the firm’s experience, providing services similar to those described in the attached statement of work. 3. What would be the expected make-up of the firm’s team in terms of socio-economic categories and estimated percentage of work to be completed by your firm and each subcontractor? If the procurement is set-aside for any category of small business, generally fifty percent of more of the work would need to be performed by the contractor or a similarly situated subcontractor in terms of percentage of cost. For instance, if set-aside for service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB), 50% or more of the contract would need to be performed by verified SDVOSBs no other small business categories would count towards the percentage. If set-aside for small business, 50% of the contract would be required to be performed by small businesses which would include performance by a verified SDVOSB because they are also a small business. If the procurement is not set-aside and reaches certain dollar thresholds, the Government would negotiate an acceptable subcontracting plan to utilize small business concerns. 4. A brief statement of overall interest in the project and capability of performing the work in conjunction with ongoing projects. 5. Any additional capabilities statements or other documentation that you feel will assist the Government in performing market research and determining the appropriate set-aside. Submission Instructions Interested parties are requested to submit the requested information not later than November 20, 2026, to Diane C. Davis via email to diane.davis2@va.gov. Please include 36C24127R0009 Sources Sought Response in the title of the email. the response burden to this notice is expected to be light; lengthy responses are not expected but no maximum page count is assigned. Please keep responses below 7MB or send multiple emails appending to the email subject 1 of n as appropriate. Please contact Diane Davis at the email address above with any questions. Attachments