JRM Construction Management, LLC picked up two Brooklyn College jobs from the City University Construction Fund in the span of six days. The fund's solicitation-awards list, updated July 9, shows the Roosevelt Hall Renovations & HVAC Upgrades awarded to JRM on July 1 for $19,998,222 and the Cancer Center and Chemistry Department Renovations awarded to JRM on July 6 for $14,473,054. Together: $34,471,276.
Roosevelt Hall. Eight bids came in by the Feb. 10 deadline. The fund's bid sheet, base bid first and then the total with two alternates: AWL Industries, $19,868,000 ($19,927,000 total); JRM Construction Management, $19,998,222 ($20,423,092); Dynamic, $21,728,000 ($22,059,000); ACS Systems, $21,995,000 ($22,095,000); Lanmark Group, $25,344,861.25 ($25,752,861.25); Gem Quality, $27,262,106 ($27,527,106); A.K.S International Inc., $30,894,040 ($31,044,040); and Maric Mechanical, $34,120,000 ($34,445,000). AWL was low on both lines. JRM was second, $130,222 (0.66%) behind on the base bid and $496,092 (2.5%) behind with alternates, and the award matches JRM's base bid to the dollar. Low to high, the base bids spread 71.7%.
Why second place got it is not in the published record. What is: the fund's bid solicitation says bids are evaluated to find the lowest responsible and responsive bidder whose bid is the highest quality and most advantageous to the fund, based on a review of each firm's technical proposal. Price alone does not decide these. Board listing: RFI-002660.
Cancer Center and chemistry labs. Six bids by Feb. 9. JRM was low at $14,473,054, then AWL at $14,592,000, ACS System Associates at $16,995,000, Lanmark Group at $19,675,397, ABCD Construction Corp at $19,872,999 and GEM Quality at $21,956,903. A $118,946 gap, 0.82%, between the top two; 51.7% from low to high. Here the award went to the low bid.
The scope: Roosevelt Hall is about 23,000 square feet of renovation across three floors (lecture halls, classrooms, computer labs, music rooms, locker rooms) with new HVAC for those rooms, on a 19-month schedule after notice to proceed. The second job rebuilds chemical storage rooms and chemistry and cancer-research labs in Ingersoll Hall and its addition, with new benches, casework and lab HVAC, on 15 months. Both carry prevailing wages, the fund's project labor agreement with the Building and Construction Trades Council, a 30% M/WBE goal and an SDVOB goal of up to 6%. The fund files the bids under its general contractor construction services requirements contracts.
Why this matters. Two occupied-campus renovations at one college, one GC, back to back. On Roosevelt Hall, the two lowest bids were within a fraction of a percent, and the fund's own rules let it weigh the technical proposal, so a bidder on these jobs is competing on the proposal as much as the number.
What to do next. MEP, HVAC, abatement, drywall, ceilings, casework and lab-equipment subs and suppliers price to JRM on both jobs, and M/WBE and SDVOB firms should get in front of JRM's buyout now, with a 30% goal on each. Keep an eye on the fund's current-procurements page for the next Brooklyn College packages.