Daniels Building Company, Inc.

B-416611 Oct 01, 2018 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Daniels Building Company, Inc., of Farmington Hills, Michigan, protests the award of a contract to Patriot Group Construction, LLC, of Monroe, Michigan, under invitation for bids (IFB) No. 36C25018B0093, issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for building construction services. The protester alleges that the agency should have rejected the awardee's bid as nonresponsive because the awarded contract exceeded $10 million in consideration of the solicitation's terms. We deny the protest. We deny the protest. View Decision 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:  Daniels Building Company, Inc. File:  B-416611 Date:  October 1, 2018 W. Barron A. Avery, Esq., and William B. O’Reilly, Esq., Baker & Hostetler, LLP, for the protester. Deborah K. Morrell, Esq., and Donald C. Mobly, Esq., Department of Veterans Affairs, for the agency. Todd C. Culliton, Esq., and Tania Calhoun, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest that the solicitation precluded the agency from making award in amount over $10 million is denied where the record does not show that the protester suffered competitive prejudice because, even had it known that the agency would accept bids greater than $10 million, there is no indication that the protester would have submitted a lower-priced bid. DECISION Daniels Building Company, Inc., of Farmington Hills, Michigan, protests the award of a contract to Patriot Group Construction, LLC, of Monroe, Michigan, under invitation for bids (IFB) No. 36C25018B0093, issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for building construction services.  The protester alleges that the agency should have rejected the awardee’s bid as nonresponsive because the awarded contract exceeded $10 million in consideration of the solicitation’s terms. We deny the protest. The solicitation, issued on January 12, 2018, contemplated the award of a fixed-price contract to be completed over a 1-year period for the construction of a parking garage at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System in Michigan.  IFB at 3, 7, 14.  Bids were required to offer prices for a base item and a deductive alternate item.  Id. at 3.  The base item was for the entire parking garage, and the deductive alternate item was for the parking garage with one fewer level.  Id. The solicitation included the following notice: The requirements identified within this solicitation fall under Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) “Minor” or “Non-Recurring Maintenance” programs.  Under both programs, VHA must ensure the total cost of the project does not exceed $10 million (design, and construction associated with the project). This notice is provided to all prospective [bidders] to ensure that they are aware of the strict budgetary limitations associated with this project.  In the event pricing offered for the work to be performed under this solicitation would cause the total price of the project to exceed $10 million, this solicitation could be cancelled and a contract award not be made. IFB at 8.  Bidders were further advised that “[i]t is the intent of the government to award a contract based on the base bid; a single award will be made on Item No. 1 (Base Proposal), but in the event the offer exceeds the funds available, a single award will be made on [the alternate] item.”  Id.