Thirteen contractors bid Contract C43766, Upgrade of HVAC and Power Systems at the Rail Control Center, when MTA Construction & Development opened it on Oct. 10. The low evaluated bid came from an electrical contractor, RMD Electric Corp., at $25,760,000, in a field full of mechanical firms. RMD is the apparent low. The contract has not been awarded.

C43766 is bid A+B, a construction price plus a dollar value for the schedule. RMD bid $22,200,000 A and $3,560,000 B. The full field by evaluated total: RMD $25,760,000; Stirling Mechanical $27,363,000; CDE Air Conditioning $27,959,114; ACS System Associates $28,745,000; Welkin Mechanical $28,988,000; Nagan Construction $30,480,000; Infinity Contracting Services $32,766,000; AWL Industries $32,880,000; Navillus Contracting $34,763,000; Maric Mechanical $34,900,000; FOS Development $36,391,226; E.J. Electric Installation $36,960,000; and CRC Associates $46,150,000.

RMD's margin over Stirling is $1,603,000, or 6.2%. The median bid is $32,766,000, and CRC's high is 79.2% above the low. RMD also had the lowest A price on the tab, $1.2 million under CDE's $23,399,114. Navillus offered the shortest schedule ($2,500,000 B) and Welkin the next shortest ($2,660,000 B), but neither could close the price gap. The notice listed the job at $10 million to $50 million, with goals of 15% MBE, 15% WBE and 6% SDVOB, 100% MTA funding and a 1,095-day term to substantial completion. The bid date moved from Sept. 19 to Oct. 8 before the Oct. 10 opening.

The notice places the Rail Control Center at 354 West 54th Street in Manhattan. The contract removes and replaces its chiller plant: chillers, water pumps, rooftop condensers, expansion tanks, chemical feeders and controls. It also replaces the uninterruptible power supply's modules and batteries, HVAC and automatic transfer switch. Other work includes a new electrical room for the UPS and ATS, rooftop grating and railing for the new chillers, new fire alarm and fire suppression devices, and connections to the building's network, communication, security and monitoring systems.

Why this matters. This is cooling and backup power for a control center that has to keep running while the equipment is swapped out. Thirteen bids, with the top five within 12.5% of each other, says plenty of firms want mission-critical MEP work. It also says the market is tight enough that a $1.6 million edge wins it.

What to do next. HVAC, chiller, controls, fire protection and rigging subs should price to RMD's apparent low, which is not yet an award. Expect tight access rules and carefully staged cutovers. The board listing is RFI-001908.

Update, Sept. 28, 2026: C&D's 2025 award list shows C43766 awarded to RMD Electric Corporation on Dec. 30, 2025, for $22,200,000, RMD's A price.