Three prime contractors are shopping for certified subs this week, and none of them require you to chase a six-figure bond to get in the door.

BVR Construction Company is looking for DBE, MBE, WBE and SDVOB quotes on the river wall rehabilitation at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center (RFI-001991), contract 26030 for the City of Rochester. The scope list is short on purpose — masonry restoration, survey, traffic control and trucking — which is exactly what makes it a realistic first job for a small certified shop rather than a crew that needs ten trades under one roof. Plans and specs are at the prime's office, and quotes are due September 22.

Up in Bedford, the John Jay Homestead Bedford House Restoration (RFI-002373) is running MWBE and SDVOB outreach for subcontracting opportunities, with responses due September 21 through the NY State Contract Reporter. No trade or dollar figure is published yet — worth a look if your shop does historic restoration work and wants to get ahead of scope before it's formally out to bid.

And in Buffalo, the Cazenovia Park Peter Crotty Casino Roof Replacement (RFI-002298) has a prime seeking sub bids, also through the state's Contract Reporter, also due September 23. Again, no trade or value published in the posting — but a roof job on a parks building is a clean scope for a roofing or sheet metal sub looking to add a public reference.

None of these three carry a published value estimate, and that's the nature of sub-bid outreach — the number lives in the prime's estimate, not the ad. What they have in common is a short runway: all three close within 48 hours of each other, September 21 to 23. If MWBE or SDVOB certification is sitting in your files unused, this is the week to pull it out.