Solicitation
642-22-104 | Upgrade Substation Building 2 Phase 1 for Philadelphia VAMC
Department of Veterans Affairs
AI summaryOnly service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs) can bid on solicitation 36C24426R0088 from the Department of Veterans Affairs (Network Contract Office 4). It is a construction job to replace Electrical Substations 1 and 2 with new 480/277V substations at the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center in Philadelphia, PA. The response due date is November 20, 2026, 4:00 PM Eastern. The work runs 1,000 calendar days after notice to proceed, and the award is a best value tradeoff (the VA weighs technical merit against price). More in the summary
A newer version of this notice was posted Oct 27, 2026. See the latest version.
AI summary Beta
Summary of the version posted Oct 23, 2026. The notice was amended Oct 27, 2026. Check what else changed on SAM.gov. This summary may miss requirements: 1 of 10 attachments weren't read (Substations Upgrade Building 2-Phase 1 Combined Drawings.pdf). Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
Only service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs) can bid on solicitation 36C24426R0088 from the Department of Veterans Affairs (Network Contract Office 4). It is a construction job to replace Electrical Substations 1 and 2 with new 480/277V substations at the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center in Philadelphia, PA. The response due date is November 20, 2026, 4:00 PM Eastern. The work runs 1,000 calendar days after notice to proceed, and the award is a best value tradeoff (the VA weighs technical merit against price).
Who can bid (4)
- Be a service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB); the solicitation is a total SDVOSB set-aside under 38 U.S.C. 8127.
- Return a completed and signed VAAR 852.219-75 certificate of compliance (limits on subcontracting) with the proposal.
- Submit a bid bond with the proposal (amount not read).
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- Identify the Project Manager, Full-Time On-Site Superintendent, Licensed Electrical Supervisor and Site Safety and Health Officer, plus an Infection Control Competent Person and a Quality Control Manager, with no one in two roles.
How to submit: Email to Kevin Rodgers at kevin.rodgers2@va.gov. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (13)
- Serious: Only SDVOSBs can bid. The solicitation is a total set-aside for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs), and the SAM.gov set-aside says the same, so other businesses cannot compete.
- Serious: Signed subcontracting certificate must come with the proposal. Offerors must send a signed Department of Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) 852.219-75 certificate promising to follow the limits on subcontracting, or the proposal is not considered for award.
- Serious: Bid bond due with the proposal. A bid bond (a guarantee from a surety company that you will sign the contract if selected) goes in Volume I; the bond amount and any performance and payment bond terms were not in the text read.
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- Worth checking: Six key people named, none in two roles. Factor 3 requires named key personnel including a Full-Time On-Site Superintendent and a Licensed Electrical Supervisor. The answers say none can serve in two roles, and the Site Safety and Health Officer (SSHO) must be separate.
- Worth checking: Contractor buys all three substations up front. The contractor buys all three units and stores them in an insured warehouse. The Government plans a single notice to proceed (NTP), so long delivery times must fit inside the 1,000 calendar days.
- Worth checking: Electrical shutdowns only off-hours. Off-hours are 8:00 PM to 6:00 AM Sunday night through Friday night or weekends, and outages are set through the contracting officer's representative (COR, the VA's on-site contact). Normal and emergency power may never both be out for one building.
- Worth checking: Infection control rules for work in an occupied hospital. Infection control risk assessment (ICRA) barriers must be installed by certified installers, and the answers confirm 8-hour and 24-hour ICRA training for contractor and subcontractor personnel, with course details in SOW 19.D and 19.E.
- Worth checking: Answers differ on sending the SF 1442 and amendment acknowledgments. One answer says a signed SF 1442 and acknowledged amendments are not required with the proposal, but a later answer lists both in Volume I. Ask the contracting officer which governs.
- Worth checking: No laydown or storage space on site. Materials must be brought in daily, and the contractor must secure materials before construction starts and store them off site in conditioned space it supplies.
- Minor: Contractor handles all waste and hazardous materials. The contractor manages waste from start to disposal, including spill containment and paying fines, and staff who handle waste need RCRA (hazardous waste law), DOT and HAZWOPER (hazardous waste operations) certifications.
- Minor: Weekly certified payrolls under a Davis-Bacon wage determination. Amendment 0003 adds General Decision Number PA20260003 for building construction in Philadelphia County, and certified payrolls are due each work week, with work paused until they are reviewed.
- Minor: The site visit was Jul 22, 2026. Check the notice and its amendments for whether attendance was required, and whether another visit is offered.
- Minor: Answers use Phase I wording for a single-phase buy. Some answers refer to a Phase I proposal, but another says this is a single-phase procurement with pricing due with the proposal. Phase 1 in the title is the construction phase.
Read from the notice and 9 attachments. 1 of 10 not read. Show which files.
- 36C24426R0088 0003.pdf (read)
- 36C24426R0088 0002.docx (read)
- 36C24426R0088 0001.docx (read)
- S04 Pre-Bid Sign-In Sheet 36C24426R0088 - 642-22-104 - Upgrade Substation.pdf (read)
- 36C24426R0088_1.docx (read)
- Substations Upgrade Building 2-Phase 1_Bid Documents_Specification_10-21-24.pdf (read)
- Attachment 2 P09 Final SOW Rev1 Building 2 Substation Phase 1 642-22-104 10202026.docx (read)
- Attachment 1 RFI 1 Upgrade Substation 642-22-104.docx (read)
- Attachment 3 General Decision Number PA20260003 10012026.docx (read)
- Substations Upgrade Building 2-Phase 1 Combined Drawings.pdf: not read (it couldn't be opened): open it on SAM.gov
Full summary
What they want
- Replace Electrical Substations 1 and 2, about 29 years old, with new 480/277V substations, each with a 1500 kVA (kilovolt-ampere, a power rating) transformer, to raise the medical center's electrical capacity.
- Install a temporary 480/277V substation with a 1500 kVA transformer to keep power on during demolition and construction; it stays afterward as a spare. The contractor buys all three units.
- Demolish and dispose of the old substation equipment, and save the existing breakers and deliver them to the contracting officer's representative (COR) or the VA Electrical Supervisor.
- Phase the work to keep the hospital running. Electrical shutdowns happen off-hours and are scheduled through the COR.
- Install new medium-voltage cables in full length without splices; certified tests apply to new cables, connectors, and existing cables that get new permanent splices.
- Build and maintain infection control risk assessment (ICRA) barriers with certified installers, a permit, and a permanent manometer showing negative pressure.
- Send a baseline construction schedule before notice to proceed, a weekly schedule, an updated progress schedule every 2 weeks, and certified payrolls; attend a weekly progress meeting and daily huddles.
- After award and before construction, submit safety and training certifications (OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 10-hour and 30-hour; ICRA; asbestos awareness), and handle all waste and hazardous materials.
- Contract type
- Request for proposals with a best value tradeoff; one total price goes in Block 17 of the SF 1442. The pricing type is not stated in the text read.
- Period of performance
- 1,000 calendar days from notice to proceed (NTP, the VA's go-ahead to start), changed from 365 calendar days by Amendment 0003
- Place of performance
- Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center, 3900 Woodland Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104 (Building 2)
- Estimated value
- Between $5,000,000 and $10,000,000 (the solicitation's stated magnitude of construction)
- How they'll choose
- Best value tradeoff in a single phase. The technical proposal is evaluated separately from the price proposal. How the factors are weighted is on page 68 of the solicitation, which was not read.
- Offers due
- November 20, 2026, 4:00 PM Eastern (from the version posted Oct 23, 2026; amended since)
- How to submit
- Email to Kevin Rodgers at kevin.rodgers2@va.gov
- Page limits
- Limits for Factors 1 to 6 are on page 68 of the solicitation (not read). The cover page, title page, table of contents and divider pages count toward the limits.
What they'll judge offers on
- Technical Approach
- Past Performance
- Key Personnel: Project Manager, Full-Time On-Site Superintendent, Licensed Electrical Supervisor, Site Safety and Health Officer (SSHO), Infection Control Competent Person, Quality Control Manager
- Safety & Risk Management
- Quality Control Plan
- Schedule & Procurement Strategy
- Price
What to include when you submit
- Send two separate volumes. Volume I (Administrative/Price Proposal): SF 1442, bid bond, amendment acknowledgments, signed VAAR 852.219-75 certificate, and cost/price proposal.
- Volume II (Technical Proposal): Factor 1 Technical Approach, Factor 2 Past Performance, Factor 3 Key Personnel, Factor 4 Safety & Risk Management, Factor 5 Quality Control Plan, Factor 6 Schedule & Procurement Strategy.
- Give one total price in Block 17 of the SF 1442; no separate pricing schedule is issued.
- Include the signed VAAR 852.219-75 certificate of compliance with the proposal.
- Under Factor 3, name a Project Manager, Full-Time On-Site Superintendent, Licensed Electrical Supervisor, Site Safety and Health Officer, Infection Control Competent Person and Quality Control Manager; no one may hold two roles.
- Acknowledge every amendment issued before the proposal due date.
- The Section E representations and certifications are not all required with the proposal unless the solicitation specifically requires them.
- The Government is not responsible for proposals not received because of document size or system errors.
After award, you must have
- Provide proof of liability insurance in the form of a certificate within 10 days after award. From 36C24426R0088_1.docx:
…within ten (10) days after ward of the contract for this project in the form of a certificate.
- Provide proof that an OSHA certified competent person will be at the work site whenever the general contractor or subcontractors are there, before work starts. From 36C24426R0088_1.docx:
Prior to commencement of work, general contractor shall provide proof that an OSHA certified…
- Submit safety and training certifications for all contractor personnel after award and before construction starts. From Attachment 2 P09 Final SOW Rev1 Building 2 Substation Phase 1 642-22-104 10202026.docx:
…the contractor shall submit documentation of required safety and training certifications for all contractor personnel…
- Employees who handle, transport or prepare waste must be certified in RCRA, DOT and HAZWOPER requirements, with certifications given to the COR and the Green Environmental Management System (GEMS) coordinator before work starts. From Attachment 2 P09 Final SOW Rev1 Building 2 Substation Phase 1 642-22-104 10202026.docx:
…must be certified in RCRA, DOT and HAZWOPER requirements…
Not in the notice text
- Attached but not read: Substations Upgrade Building 2-Phase 1 Combined Drawings.pdf (too large) and S04 Pre-Bid Sign-In Sheet 36C24426R0088 - 642-22-104 - Upgrade Substation.pdf (unreadable scan). The middle of 36C24426R0088_1.docx (including page 68 evaluation factors, bid guarantee terms and most clauses), the specification, Attachment 1 (answers to questions 41 to 69), Attachment 2 and Attachment 3 was left out.
- How the six factors are weighted against each other and against price, and each factor's page limit, are on page 68 of the solicitation, which was not read.
- The bid bond amount, and whether performance and payment bonds are required, are not in the text read; the SF 1442 checkboxes couldn't be read, so check the form on SAM.gov.
- How Option #1 and Option #2 in specification section 01 00 00 are priced is not clear; the answer points to Question 50, which was not read, and the SOW says the temporary substation stays as a spare.
- Whether attending the site visit was required is not stated; the sign-in roster couldn't be read.
- The anticipated award date is not stated.
- ICRA training and competent person requirements are in SOW sections 19.D and 19.E, which were not read.
Eligibility and how to respond
- 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 236220
- How to submit, from the AI summary: Email to Kevin Rodgers at kevin.rodgers2@va.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 23, 2026
- Notice type
- Solicitation
- Office
- 244-Network Contract Office 4 (36C244), Pittsburgh, PA
- Product/service code
- Z1DA · Maintenance of Hospitals and Infirmaries
- Business type
- Construction & renovation (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 236220)
- Versions
7 versions have been posted, newest first.
- Oct 27, 2026 · Amendment 0006Due Nov 20, 2026
- Oct 23, 2026 · Amendment 0005 (this version)Due Nov 20, 2026
- Oct 22, 2026 · Amendment 0004Due Nov 20, 2026 (changed)
- Oct 22, 2026 · Amendment 0003Due Aug 31, 2026
- Aug 31, 2026 · Amendment 0002Due Aug 31, 2026
- Aug 4, 2026 · Amendment 0001Due Aug 31, 2026 (changed)
- Jul 2, 2026 · SolicitationDue Aug 19, 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
- Open SDVOSB set-aside contracts
Terms on this notice: Solicitation, SDVOSB (service-disabled veteran-owned small business), Set-aside
Full notice text from SAM.gov
642-22-104, 36C24426R0088, Upgrade Substation Building 2, Phase 1, PHL CMCVAMC Proposal Due Date: 11/20/2026 at 4:00pm EST. Email proposals to Kevin Rodgers at kevin.rodgers2@va.gov. Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Medical Center (CMC VAMC) requires replacement of Electrical Substations 1 and 2 in order to increase electrical capacity to support future facility projects. The existing substations are approximately 29 years old and require replacement to support current and future electrical demands. This project will replace Electrical Substations 1 and 2 with new 480/277V substations each containing a 1500 kVA transformer. A temporary 480/277V substation with a 1500 kVA transformer shall be installed to maintain electrical service to the facility during demolition and construction activities. Upon completion of construction, the temporary substation shall remain installed as a spare substation for the facility. All work shall be phased to minimize service outages and maintain continuous operation of the medical center. Defined and issued bid documents (drawings and specifications) will serve as the basis of this construction project.
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