Duluth Replace Retaining Wall Project, located at the Gerald W. Heaney Federal Building, US Courthouse, and Custom House

THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT SYNOPSIS - FOR PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY

The purpose of this Sources Sought notice is to determine the availability and capability of qualified General Contractors (GC).

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) is seeking information on technically capable, and otherwise responsible, General Contractors for the anticipated solicitation for the Duluth Retaining Wall Replacement Project. 

Per Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract.  Responses do not affect a potential offeror's ability to respond to any future synopsis/solicitation. This notice is intended strictly for market research only.  Depending on market research and other influences, GSA anticipates issuing a solicitation for this project around Jun 2026.  The full extent of the work will be described in the solicitation when posted. No additional information will be available before the solicitation is posted.

This is not a request for offers or proposals.  The Government does not intend to award a contract based on responses and the Government is not obligated to and will not pay for information received because of this announcement.

Project Location: 

G.W. Heaney Federal Building & U.S. Courthouse, 515 W. First St., Duluth, MN.

Description of Intended Contract:  FIRM FIXED PRICE

Scope Summary:  The construction scope of work includes all labor and materials required for the General Contractor (GC) to provide construction services for the Duluth Retaining Wall Replacement Project.  The services requested of the GC shall cover a wide range of construction activities, as described below.

Project Summary: This is a complex construction project involving the exterior replacement of a large, 25-foot tall retaining wall located on bedrock within a constrained urban site. The scope includes the demolition and removal of the existing wall structure and associated site improvements, significant cast-in-place concrete work, site excavation, utility coordination, and the mandatory maintenance of public traffic and pedestrian flow. The project is classified as construction services.

Size Standard: Sources are being sought for firms with a North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) of 236220 - Commercial and Institutional Building Construction.  The estimated magnitude of total construction costs are between $1,000,000 and $5,000,000.

Period of Performance: 429 calendar days.

Acquisition Strategy: This procurement will be conducted via Full and Open Competition. 

Selection Procedures: The anticipated contract will be procured utilizing source selection procedures as described in FAR Part 15.3 to select the firms offering the best value to the Government in terms of price and technical merit and whose performance is expected to best meet stated Government requirements.  Accordingly, award will be made using best-value, source-selection procedures incorporating tradeoffs between price-related and non-price related factors where non-price factors are considered more important than price.

Key Contractor Requirement:  

• Firms must demonstrate recent and relevant experience, including:

  • Successful completion of not fewer than three projects within the last five years, each valued at $1,000,000 or more, involving structural cast-in-place retaining wall construction, site excavation, utility coordination, and traffic maintenance.
  • Capability to employ a specialty installer for the temporary soil nail wall.
  • Utilize a Delegated Design Engineer registered in the State of Minnesota.

Response Information: 

Interested contractors shall complete the form linked to this notice: https://forms.gle/5RCJF99Gx7L5b2Cp9, via google suite, no later than 03:30 pm eastern, on Thursday, May 28, 2026. 

If the contractor is unable to complete this form through the google suite, complete the attached form and return to the Contract Specialist and Contracting Officer by the deadline, via email at dana.douglas@gsa.gov and alicia.flueger@gsa.gov.  The subject line of the email shall reference the project name and GC Sources Sought Response. Oral communications, telecommunications, and faxed inquiries or comments are NOT acceptable as a response to this Notice.  Only email responses will be accepted.

Responses to this Sources Sought announcement will be used by the Government to make appropriate acquisition decisions.  Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted.  No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response.  After review of the information received, a solicitation may be published on www.SAM.Gov.