Presolicitation
657-24-111JC FCA-Renovate Ambassador Suite & Main Lobby B1
Department of Veterans Affairs
AI summaryOnly businesses certified as service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs) in SBA's VetCert database can bid. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Network Contracting Office 15 wants a firm-fixed-price (FFP: one set price, whatever the work costs) contractor to renovate the Ambassador Suite and Main Lobby of Building 1 at the John Cochran VA Medical Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Work runs 330 calendar days after notice to proceed. Proposals are emailed, and the response due date is November 4, 2026, 2:00 PM Central. Amendment 0002 posted answers to 43 questions and left that date unchanged. More in the summary
Advance notice of a coming solicitation, not a bid yet. If it asks for capability statements, sending one is free and puts you on Department of Veterans Affairs's list before the solicitation is posted. See the contact
A newer version of this notice was posted Oct 26, 2026. It moves the due date from Sep 15, 2026 to Nov 4, 2026, which is the date shown on this page. See the latest version.
AI summary Beta
Summary of the version posted Oct 21, 2026. The notice was amended Oct 26, 2026. Check what else changed on SAM.gov. This summary may miss requirements: 2 of 11 attachments weren't read (Sign in Sheet.pdf, P09 657-24-111JC DRAWINGS.pdf). Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
Only businesses certified as service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs) in SBA's VetCert database can bid. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Network Contracting Office 15 wants a firm-fixed-price (FFP: one set price, whatever the work costs) contractor to renovate the Ambassador Suite and Main Lobby of Building 1 at the John Cochran VA Medical Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Work runs 330 calendar days after notice to proceed. Proposals are emailed, and the response due date is November 4, 2026, 2:00 PM Central. Amendment 0002 posted answers to 43 questions and left that date unchanged.
Who can bid (7)
- 100% set-aside for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs): the business and any joint venture must be certified in SBA VetCert and registered in SAM.gov from the response due date through award
- Teaming is limited to VA joint ventures; other teaming arrangements are not considered
- Sign the limits-on-subcontracting certificate: for general construction, the contractor pays no more than 85% of the amount paid by the Government to firms that are not certified SDVOSBs or veteran-owned small businesses
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- Bid bond of 20% submitted with the proposal
- Past performance: 1 to 3 completed construction contracts as prime at a hospital or medical facility, finished within 5 years before the proposal
- Prime experience in which the bidder self-performed at least 15% of on-site labor cost, using its own employees or those of other eligible SDVOSBs
- Named key staff with the stated experience: project manager, quality control manager, safety officer (OSHA 30, the 30-hour safety course, certificate required) and site superintendent (OSHA 30 certificate required)
How to submit: Email to Abby.Monroe2@va.gov and Matthew.Finley@va.gov; fax and hard copies are not accepted. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (14)
- Serious: Only SDVOSBs certified in SBA VetCert can bid. Businesses not certified in VetCert and registered in SAM.gov from the response due date through award are not eligible, and joint ventures must be certified too. Check a SAM.gov registration.
- Serious: 20% bid bond due with the proposal. A bid bond of 20% must come with the proposal, and 100% payment and performance bonds are due before work starts; a small business needs surety credit lined up early.
- Serious: Missing any required item makes the proposal technically unacceptable. The VA says missing information is the most common reason proposals fail; with lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA) selection, price cannot save a proposal that fails a factor.
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- Serious: Limit on paying non-SDVOSB subcontractors. Amendment 0001 revised the certificate: the contractor may pay no more than 85% of the amount the Government pays it to firms that are not certified SDVOSBs or VOSBs, so the bidder must keep at least 15% in-house or with eligible firms.
- Worth checking: SAM.gov lists no set-aside. SAM.gov does not state a set-aside, but the solicitation says it is a 100% SDVOSB set-aside; check the solicitation before spending time on the bid.
- Worth checking: Key staff must meet set minimums. Each of the project manager, quality control manager, safety officer and site superintendent needs 3 similar projects, and the safety officer and superintendent need OSHA 30 certificates; one person can hold at most two roles.
- Worth checking: Work in an occupied hospital with infection control rules. Deliveries and debris removal must finish by 7:30 AM Monday to Friday under infection control risk assessment (ICRA) rules, which adds cost and limits scheduling.
- Worth checking: Price must assume no downtime from VA staff moves. Departments will move in phases and the VA has not set the schedule, but bidders must price as if relocations cause no delay.
- Worth checking: Asbestos abatement is part of the work. Surveys list asbestos in floor backing and pipe insulation, so the bidder needs a plan and a qualified abatement subcontractor.
- Worth checking: Cause of the skylight leak is not confirmed. The VA says the leak has not been positively diagnosed, so the repair carries pricing risk.
- Worth checking: No tax exemption for construction materials. All state and local sales or use taxes on construction materials must be in the price, and later price changes for taxes will not be accepted.
- Worth checking: Davis-Bacon wages likely apply. Federal construction over $2,000 in the U.S. pays at least the Davis-Bacon wage rates in the wage determination attached to the solicitation. This summary doesn't name one: find it on SAM.gov and price your labor from it.
- Minor: Subcontracting limit stated as 75% in the pre-bid agenda and 85% in the revised certificate. The pre-bid agenda says 75% while the revised certificate (Amendment 0001) says 85% for general construction; the revised certificate comes later.
- Minor: The site visit was Oct 7, 2026. Check the notice and its amendments for whether attendance was required, and whether another visit is offered.
Read from the notice and 9 attachments. 2 of 11 not read. Show which files.
- 36C25526R0167 0002.docx (read)
- 36C25526R0167 0001.docx (read)
- 36C25526R0167.docx (read)
- Questions and Responses 1- 43 657-24-111JC.docx (read)
- REVISED CALCULATION OF SELF PERFORMED-SUBCONTRACTOR WORK_r 02.docx (read)
- REVISED 852.219-75 VA NOTICE OF LIMITATIONS ON SUBCONTRACTING.docx (read)
- S04- Pre-bid visit agenda 657-24-111JC pdf.pdf (read)
- P09 657-24-111JC Specs Combined.pdf (read)
- ThinkForm_St. Louis VAMC Renovate Lobby_RBM Survey Report 1.pdf (read)
- Sign in Sheet.pdf: not summarized: open it on SAM.gov
- P09 657-24-111JC DRAWINGS.pdf: not read (it couldn't be opened): open it on SAM.gov
Full summary
What they want
- Renovate the Ambassador entrance, entrance corridor and Ambassador Suite (about 3,562 square feet), including a rebuilt ramped entry lobby and a new glass-and-aluminum entrance vestibule with automatic sliding doors and an air curtain
- Renovate the Main Lobby (about 2,308 square feet): replace the revolving door with an airlock of automatic sliding and swinging doors, update finishes and improve wayfinding
- Fix moisture and leaking at the skylight, and improve patient and ADA (accessibility law) access and circulation
- General construction, mechanical, electrical and plumbing work, fire protection, utility systems, demolition and abatement
- Asbestos abatement: 300 SF of linoleum backing and 65 LF of pipe insulation are listed; no lead abatement is required
- Work in an occupied hospital in phases under infection control rules, with temporary entrances, a code-compliant concrete pad with overhead cover, and moving and storing furniture and equipment
- Provide the commissioning agent (the person who tests that building systems work as designed), and tie building controls and access control into the existing systems
- Furnish all supervision, tools, labor, materials, equipment, transportation and testing
- Contract type
- Firm-fixed-price (FFP): one set price, whatever the work ends up costing; single base bid item (contract line item number, CLIN, 0001)
- Period of performance
- 330 calendar days after notice to proceed (Amendment 0002 answers a question about 330 versus 218 days: 330 days)
- Place of performance
- John Cochran VA Medical Center, 915 N Grand Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63106
- Estimated value
- Construction magnitude (the Government's cost range) between $1,000,000 and $5,000,000
- How they'll choose
- Lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA): the lowest-priced offer that passes every technical factor wins. The Government plans to award without discussions.
- Offers due
- November 4, 2026, 2:00 PM Central (from the version posted Oct 21, 2026; amended since)
- How to submit
- Email to Abby.Monroe2@va.gov and Matthew.Finley@va.gov; fax and hard copies are not accepted
What they'll judge offers on
- Factor 1, Relevant Past Performance of Prime Contractor: 1 to 3 completed construction contracts at a hospital or medical facility, as prime
- Factor 2, Technical Construction Experience of Prime Contractor: 1 to 3 similar projects
- Factor 3, Technical Qualifications of Proposed Staffing: project manager, quality control manager, safety officer, site superintendent
- Factor 4, Contractor Safety Plan (details were in a part of the solicitation that was not read)
- Technical Construction Experience of Proposed Contractors, Manufacturer, Suppliers, Installer or Related Subcontractors (listed in the solicitation; details not read)
What to include when you submit
- Email subject line: Solicitation 36C25526R0167 657-24-111JC FCA-Renovate Ambassador Suite & Main Lobby B1
- Attach Part 1 (Technical Proposal) and Part 2 (Price Proposal); each email must be under 20 megabytes, and multiple emails are labeled 1 of 3, 2 of 3 and so on
- Sign and return Standard Form 1442 (SF 1442, the solicitation and offer form) with block 10 (SAM unique entity ID) and blocks 14 through 20 filled in
- Acknowledge every amendment (0001 and 0002) in block 19 of the SF 1442, on a signed SF 30, or by letter; missing one may cause rejection
- Include the bid bond (offer guarantee) of 20% with the proposal; Amendment 0002 says to deliver the bond electronically
- Include the Calculation of Self-Performed and Subcontracted Work worksheet for each bid item, with labor and material costs by specification division; leaving it out is a technical failure
- Sign and return the VAAR 852.219-75 certificate of compliance (limits on subcontracting)
- Include the pre-award Contractor Safety and Environmental Record Evaluation Form
- Factor 1: send 1 to 3 completed construction contracts as prime, done at a hospital or medical facility, finished within 5 years before the proposal, with contract details and a point of contact for each
- Factor 2: send 1 to 3 similar projects (NAICS 236220, prime or subcontractor, where the bidder self-performed at least 15% of on-site labor cost), with the details listed in the solicitation
- Factor 3: send a detailed resume for each key person: project manager, quality control manager, safety officer and site superintendent, each with 3 similar projects; no one may fill more than two positions
- Factor 4: include a construction safety plan (requirements were in a part of the solicitation that was not read)
After award, you must have
- Payment bond and performance bond of 100% of the contract value, due before the notice to proceed is issued From S04- Pre-bid visit agenda 657-24-111JC pdf.pdf:
After award of the contract a Payment Bond and a Performance Bond in the amount…
Not in the notice text
- Part of the solicitation and some attachments were not read in full, so details may be missing. About 140,000 characters in the middle of 36C25526R0167.docx (including Factor 4 and later factor details, project-specific information, the price proposal and clauses such as bid guarantee and site visit) were left out. The drawings (P09 657-24-111JC DRAWINGS.pdf, too large), most of the specifications and the survey report were attached but not read, and Sign in Sheet.pdf is a scan with no readable text.
- The Contractor Safety Plan requirements (Factor 4) and the details of the factor on proposed contractors, manufacturers, suppliers and installers are in the part not read.
- Liquidated damages (daily charges for late finish), insurance amounts and the exact price-proposal format are not in the text read.
- Whether SAM.gov will show the SDVOSB set-aside is unclear; SAM.gov states none, while the solicitation states a 100% SDVOSB set-aside.
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 Abby.Monroe2@va.gov and Matthew.Finley@va.gov; fax and hard copies are not 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
- Aug 31, 2026
- Notice type
- Presolicitation
- Office
- 255-Network Contract Office 15 (36C255), Leavenworth, KS
- Product/service code
- Z1DA · Maintenance of Hospitals and Infirmaries
- Business type
- Construction & renovation (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 236220)
- Versions
8 versions have been posted, newest first.
- Oct 26, 2026 · Amendment 0006Due Nov 4, 2026
- Oct 26, 2026 · Amendment 0005Due Nov 4, 2026
- Oct 23, 2026 · Amendment 0004Due Nov 4, 2026
- Oct 21, 2026 · Amendment 0003Due Nov 4, 2026
- Oct 16, 2026 · Amendment 0002Due Nov 4, 2026
- Sep 23, 2026 · Amendment 0001Due Nov 4, 2026
- Sep 23, 2026 · SolicitationDue Nov 4, 2026 (changed)
- Aug 31, 2026 · Presolicitation (this version)Date Sep 15, 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 read a government solicitation
- How to price a government contract
- Open SDVOSB set-aside contracts
- SDVOSB and veteran-owned contracts
Terms on this notice: Solicitation, SDVOSB (service-disabled veteran-owned small business), Set-aside
Full notice text from SAM.gov
657-24-111JC Renovate Ambassador Suite & Main Lobby Bldg 1 Amendment 002 Provide responses to questions
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