PUBLIC NOTICE
SOQ NO. 22-024

Architectural and Engineering Design Services for the EAT Fat City Center, a Community Campus for Entrepreneurship, Art, & Technology
 
The Parish of Jefferson, authorized by Resolution No. 139667, is hereby soliciting the submittal of a Statement of Qualifications [Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) Questionnaire] from person(s) or firm(s) interested and qualified to provide professional architectural and engineering services related to the design and construction of the EAT Fat City Center, a community campus for entrepreneurship, art, & technology and its associated transportation hub/parking garage. (Council District 5)
  
DEADLINE FOR SUBSMISSIONS: 3:30 p.m., June 2, 2022
  
General Information and Project Background
 
Jefferson Parish drives economic growth across Greater New Orleans and the State of Louisiana, serving as the logistical hub of the ten-parish region and home to one of the fastest growing airports in the United States with strategic access to major highways, railways, and waterways, including the Mississippi River.  To foster its ongoing success, it would be beneficial for unincorporated Jefferson Parish to improve Fat City as its “city center”— an urban community that is its social, economic, and cultural core, stimulating the creative economy, offering urban living, attracting new residents, incubating start-ups, and growing business.
 
To this end, Jefferson Parish has developed a vision for the EAT Fat City Center, a campus of activity that facilitates the respective advancement and positive interaction of various agencies, offices, organizations, community leaders, industry experts, and the public-at-large across numerous fields and disciplines, especially in relation to: Entrepreneurship, Art, and Technology.
 
It is anticipated that the EAT Fat City Center will link together an array of public and private entities, increasing their proximity to people who need their services most. Whether someone is starting a business, looking for workers, seeking job training, or looking for a new career path, the EAT Fat City Center will act as a one-stop resource center for economic development.
 
Planned partners include: a technology library & makerspace, a workforce development office, an east bank satellite office for the Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission (JEDCO), an office for the Metairie Business Development District (MBDD), a business incubator space, a co-working space, hot desk space, offices for local business organizations and associations, a transportation hub/public parking garage, and various shared amenities, including an ample amount of flexible meeting rooms to accommodate the region’s fluctuating business and community needs. Additionally, community leaders have expressed an interest in partnering to further expand the arts offerings within the EAT Fat City Center campus, especially with respect to digital, technological, visual, performing, and collaborative arts.
 
It is further planned that the EAT Fat City Center building will relate to an adjacent, to-be-designed outdoor recreational park, thereby allowing the two sites to be thoughtfully integrated and to collectively serve as a cohesive campus for shared hosting of community events and festivals. The current total campus footprint for the structures is approximately 49,000 sq. ft., adjacent to an additional outdoor park space of approximately 32,000 sq. ft. The anticipated size of the EAT Fat City Center building is 35,000–40,000 sq. ft.
 
The EAT Fat City Center will also include a structured parking garage/transportation hub with a target size of approximately 250 parking spaces. This structure may or may not be connected to the aforementioned EAT Fat City Center building. The structured parking will meet a core need to support the redevelopment of the neighborhood.
 
These square footage approximations for the building structures and park may be adjusted to enlarge the park/building footprint by potentially relocating the transportation hub/parking garage onto a separate nearby site so as to better serve both the EAT Fat City Center as well as the surrounding Fat City neighborhood.
 
Due to the unique, multidisciplinary nature of the EAT Fat City Center, Jefferson Parish is seeking a Statement of Qualifications from person(s) or firm(s) interested in and qualified to provide architectural and engineering services for the design and construction of the EAT Fat City Center. The proposed building may consider some or all of the following design goals (the “Design Criteria”):
 

• Access to light and air;
• Communal spaces and opportunities for cross-program interactions;
• A clear sense of materiality;
• A strong façade and street presence;
• Thoughtful integration of parking;
• Carefully siting and coordination with park design;
• Flexibility for use to change over time;
• Thematic integration toward promoting Entrepreneurship, Arts, & Technology; 
• Efficient layout and compact core(s);
• Efficient construction (esp. structure and envelope);
• Integration of passive solar, daylighting, and environmental strategies; and
• Low operating and maintenance costs.

 
The EAT Fat City Center will be the first development in a renewed Fat City. It shall be a trendsetter and a trailblazer; and it must embrace the community and draw residents to the area, especially with respect to entrepreneurship, arts, & technology. The design should respond to this great responsibility to create a building/campus that is sophisticated, of its place, layered, well-detailed, comfortable to occupy, and efficient to operate.
The project is expected to include the following supplemental services:

• Structural Engineering;
• MEP Engineering;
• Civil Engineering; and
• Landscape Architecture.

 
Additionally, the project may include the following supplemental services:

• Surveying Services; and
• Geotechnical Engineering Services.

 The person(s) or firm(s) submitting a Statement of Qualifications (TEC Questionnaire) must identify all sub-consultant person(s) or firm(s) which they expect to use to provide professional services, and submit a Statement of Qualifications (TEC Questionnaire) for each sub-consultant person or firm. (Refer to Jefferson Parish Code Ordinance, Section 2-928).
 
It is further anticipated that the project may involve a construction management at risk (CMAR) delivery method.  In this delivery method, a construction manager will be selected early in the design phase and will work in a design-assist role. The architect and its consultants shall coordinate with the CMAR throughout the design process to help ensure quality, budget conformance, and constructability.
 
 Preliminary Project Schedule
 
The anticipated schedule for overall delivery of the Project is as follows. Jefferson Parish reserves the right to modify this schedule if it is in the best interest of the Parish and Project:
 
Selection/Contracting of A/E Team….…............................................ June 2022
Commencement of Design Services...…………………….................. July 2022
Acceptance of Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP)........................... December 2022
Commencement of Construction Phase Services.............................. January 2023
Substantial Completion...................................................................... March 2024
 
Preliminary Project Budget
 
The preliminary estimated construction cost budget for the Project is fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000.00).
 
Compensation
 
Compensation for the required design services will be made on an hourly rate basis or a fixed fee basis, or a combination of both, depending on scope and complexity of the work.  The Parish reserves the right to determine the method of payment (hourly or fixed) for each individual assignment.
 
For hourly rate work, the person(s) or firm(s) shall be compensated by the appropriate Jefferson Parish Department on the basis of their certified and itemized salary costs plus a fee to cover overhead costs and profit in accordance with guidelines established in Attachment “A” to the Standard Professional Services Agreement for Jefferson Parish. A copy of Attachment “A” may be obtained by calling the Jefferson Parish Department of Capital Projects at (504) 736-6833.
 
For fixed fee work, the fee shall be negotiated with the person(s) or firm(s) by the Jefferson Parish Dept. of Capital Projects and shall be mutually agreeable to both parties. 
 
Compensation for supplemental services, if required, shall be in the form of a “lump sum” for each supplemental service, which shall be mutually agreeable to the Parish and the Consultant. 
 
All costs associated with this project shall be subject to Jefferson Parish review and approval.
         

Minimum Requirements for Selection

 

1. The person(s) or firm(s) under consideration shall have at least one (1) principal who is a licensed, registered architect or professional engineer in the State of Louisiana (Section C. of TEC Professional Services Questionnaire);

 

2. The person(s) or firm(s) under consideration shall have a professional in charge of the Project who is a licensed, registered architect in the State of Louisiana with a minimum of five (5) years’ experience (Section K. “PROFESSIONAL IN CHARGE OF PROJECT:” of TEC Professional Services Questionnaire);

 

3. The person(s) or firm(s) under consideration shall have one (1) employee who is a licensed, registered architect or professional engineer in the State of Louisiana in the applicable discipline involved.  A subcontractor may meet this requirement only if the advertised Project involves more than one discipline (Section D. of TEC Professional Services Questionnaire)

 

4. The person(s) or firm(s) under consideration must have an established business office located within the New Orleans–Metairie metropolitan statistical area or indicate in the Statement of Qualifications that they will establish one explicitly for this work; and
5. The person(s) or firm(s) under consideration must be qualified to provide or include the following sub-consultants:
   • structural engineer;
   • MEP engineer;
   • landscape designer; and
   • civil engineer.

 
Evaluation Criteria
 

1. Professional training and experience, both generally and in relation to the type and magnitude of work required for the particular project (10 points);

 

2. The nature, quantity, and value of work previously performed and presently being performed by the person(s) or firm(s) submitting (10 points);

 

3. Past and current accomplishments, for which references from clients or former clients and information gathered by inspection of current or recent projects may be considered (10 points);

 

4. Past performance by the person(s) or firm(s) on public contracts including any problems with time delays, cost overruns, and/or design inadequacies in prior projects for which said person(s) or firm(s) were held to be at fault, as evidenced by documentation provided by the administration (10 points);

 

5. Demonstrated expertise and/or experience in programming complex and innovative buildings, with additional consideration given to any such programming involving libraries, educational buildings, conference/event/meeting spaces, multi-tenant commercial buildings, parks, and/or multi-site campus developments (10 points);

 

6. Demonstrated expertise and/or experience in designing and providing design services for libraries, educational buildings, commercial buildings, parking garages, and/or conference/event/meeting spaces (15 points);

 

7. A narrative by the person(s) or firm(s) submitting demonstrating an understanding of the project and an alignment with Jefferson Parish’s vision for the project (15 points);

 

8. Proposed project schedule to provide full design services from concept and programming through construction administration; and capacity for timely completion of the work, taking into consideration the current/projected workload and professional/support manpower (10 points); and

 

9. Additional Considerations:  an additional skill, resource, or area of expertise which makes this person(s) or firm(s) uniquely qualified to deliver a high level of service and/or meet the project requirements (10 points).

 
Only the person(s) or firm(s) receiving an overall cumulative score of at least seventy percent (70%) or greater, with their highest and lowest score not counted, of the total possible points for all categories to be assigned by the participating Technical Evaluation Committee members shall be deemed qualified to perform professional services tasks.
 
Additional Requirements and Submission Guidelines
 
All persons and firms must submit a Statement of Qualifications (TEC) Questionnaire) and must identify all sub-consultant persons and firms which they expect to use to provide professional services, and submit a Statement of Qualifications (TEC Questionnaire) for each sub-consultant person or firm. (Refer to Jefferson Parish Code Ordinance, Section 2-928).
 
 All persons and firms (including sub-consultants) must submit a Statement of Qualifications (TEC Questionnaire) by the deadline. Please obtain the latest questionnaire form by contacting the Purchasing Department by telephone at (504) 364-2678 or via the Jefferson Parish website at www.jeffparish.net.
 
Submissions shall only be submitted electronically via Jefferson Parish’s E-Procurement site, Central Bidding at: www.jeffparishbids.net or www.centralauctionhouse.com. All vendors will be required to register with Central Bidding. Jefferson Parish vendors are able to register for free at: www.centralauctionhouse.com/registration.php.
 
No submittals will be accepted after the deadline of 3:30 p.m. on June 2, 2022.
 
Affidavits are not required to be submitted with the Statement of Qualifications (TEC Questionnaire) but shall be submitted prior to contract approval.
 
Disputes/protests relating to the decisions by the evaluation committee or by the Jefferson Parish Council shall be brought before the 24^th Judicial Court.
 
ADV: The New Orleans Advocate: May 18, and 25, 2022