B-298082, Paramount Group, Inc., June 15, 2006

B-298082 Jun 15, 2006 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Paramount Group, Inc. protests the terms of solicitation for offers (SFO) No. 06-011, issued by the General Services Administration (GSA) for the lease of office space to be occupied by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE). The protester contends that the solicitation is unduly restrictive of competition. We deny the protest. View Decision B-298082, Paramount Group, Inc., June 15, 2006 DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of: Paramount Group, Inc. File: B-298082 Date: June 15, 2006 Kevin P. Mullen, Esq., and David E. Fletcher, Esq., DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary LLP, for the protester. Robert C. MacKichan, Jr., Esq., Stuart W. Turner, Esq., and Kristen E. Ittig, Esq., Holland & Knight LLP, for Bristol Group, an intervenor. Edith Toms, Esq., and Elizabeth A. Hall, Esq., General Services Administration, for the agency. Jonathan L. Kang, Esq., and Michael R. Golden, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest challenging solicitation's terms as unduly restrictive of competition is denied where agency demonstrates a reasonable basis for required approach to lease of office space and information provided in the solicitation is adequate to allow for submission of offers. DECISION Paramount Group, Inc. protests the terms of solicitation for offers (SFO) No. 06-011, issued by the General Services Administration (GSA) for the lease of office space to be occupied by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE). The protester contends that the solicitation is unduly restrictive of competition. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND The SFO seeks offers for the lease by GSA of up to 403,847 square feet of office space in Washington, DC on behalf of ICE. GSA currently leases office space for ICE in the Chester A. Arthur Building (CAB), 425 I Street, N.W., Washington, DC.[1] Paramount is the current owner of the CAB and the incumbent lessor to GSA. The SFO states that offers will be evaluated on the basis of three non-price technical factors, in descending order of importance: building characteristics, location, and key personnel and past performance. SFO sect. 2.3. The SFO states that the award will be made to the offeror –whose offer will be most advantageous to the Government and provides the best value to the Government.— Id.In selecting the successful offer, –price is of significantly less importance than the combined weight of the technical factors.— Id.The SFO anticipates a lease of 10 years, with an option for lease extension by the government after the eighth year. SFO at 7. The SFO requires offerors to propose office space located within specified boundary areas in Washington, DC, that provides parking and access to metrorail and other amenities. SFO sections 1.2, 1.3. The competition will take place in two phases. In the first phase of the competition, offerors must submit offers for office space provided as a building shell with basic construction elements, but without tenant improvements such as completed interior office space. SFO sect. 1.9. The parties refer to this standard by the common commercial term –warm lit shell.— Offerors are required to propose the office space with the following features: Base structure and building enclosure components shall be complete. All common areas accessible by the Government, such as lobbies, fire egress corridors and stairwells, elevators, garages, and service areas, shall be complete. Restrooms shall be complete and operational. All newly installed building shell components, including but not limited to heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), electrical, ceilings, sprinklers, etc., shall be furnished, installed, and coordinated with Tenant Improvements. SFO sect. 1.9.A.1. In their offers for the warm lit shell, offerors must propose a basic price per square foot for space, with an allowance for tenant improvements. This allowance is an established rate of $38.30 per square foot set by the SFO for all offerors, and will be used by the lessor to build the tenant improvements, as directed by the agency, prior to occupancy. SFO sections 1.10, 1.15; Supplemental Agency Memorandum of Law at 6-7. Based on the initial offers for the warm lit shell, GSA will select offerors for a competitive range. SFO sect. 1.8(B)(2). In the second phase of the competition, offerors selected for the competitive range will be provided additional information, including the program of requirements (POR), and will be required to conduct –test fits— of their space to determine which offeror provides the most efficient utilization of space for the government's needs.