Centre Market Building, LLC

B-417413.2,B-417413.3 Aug 07, 2019 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Centre Market Buildings, LLC (Centre), of Chicago, Illinois, challenges the amended terms of request for lease proposal (RLP) No. 4NJ0222, issued by the General Services Administration (GSA) for a fully-serviced lease of office and laboratory space for the Department of Homeland Security, United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in the vicinity of Newark, New Jersey. Centre challenges the agency's revisions to the solicitation, made as corrective action in response to a prior protest. Centre primarily argues that the amended RLP still contains ambiguities and other flaws. We deny the protest in part and dismiss the protest in part. View Decision Decision Matter of:  Centre Market Building, LLC File:  B-417413.2; B-417413.3 Date:  August 7, 2019 Richard L. Moorhouse, Esq., and Józef S. Przygrodzki, Esq., Greenberg Traurig, LLP, for the protester. Leigh Erin S. Izzo, Esq., General Services Administration, for the agency. Lois Hanshaw, Esq., and Christina Sklarew, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1.  Protest that terms of solicitation for lease of building space do not adequately communicate the agency’s requirements is denied where the solicitation provides sufficient information to allow offerors to compete intelligently and on an equal basis. 2.  Protest challenging the conduct of discussions is dismissed as premature when brought prior to the receipt of final proposal revisions and the source selection decision. DECISION Centre Market Buildings, LLC (Centre), of Chicago, Illinois, challenges the amended terms of request for lease proposal (RLP) No. 4NJ0222, issued by the General Services Administration (GSA) for a fully-serviced lease of office and laboratory space for the Department of Homeland Security, United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in the vicinity of Newark, New Jersey.  Centre challenges the agency’s revisions to the solicitation, made as corrective action in response to a prior protest.  Centre primarily argues that the amended RLP still contains ambiguities and other flaws. We deny the protest in part and dismiss the protest in part. BACKGROUND Centre identifies itself as the current lessor of office and laboratory space to CBP under a GSA lease.  On July 10, 2018, GSA issued the RLP requesting a space not to exceed 123,000 rentable square feet of office space, including parking, for a 15-year lease term with 10 years firm.  Agency Report (AR), Tab A, RLP at 4.  The RLP outlined the government’s various requirements for the building, such as specified ceiling heights and specific requirements pertaining to laboratory space; and conditions for award, such as giving preference to offers of space in historic properties or districts.  See e.g., Id. at 4-15.  As relevant here, the RLP required offerors to propose a maintenance plan and tenant improvement costs for building out the space for the government’s use, including laboratory construction costs.[1]  Id. at 21-22, 35, 66, 71.  GSA estimates that the total value of the lease is approximately $69 million.  Contracting Officer’s Statement (COS) at 1. The agency amended the RLP twice, extending the closing date for receipt of lease proposals to September 18, 2018.  Centre submitted its initial proposal by the amended closing date.[2]  The agency evaluated proposals and conducted discussions by issuing deficiency letters, and requested revised proposals.  After accepting and evaluating revised proposals, and issuing a second round of deficiency letters, the agency requested second revised proposals to be submitted by March 22, 2019. On March 22, 2019, Centre protested the terms of the RLP with our Office, asserting that the second deficiency letter introduced “material deficiencies and defects” into the procurement and essentially complaining in a variety of ways that the RLP did not provide sufficient information concerning the agency’s actual requirements.  On April 9, GSA filed a notice of its intention to take corrective action by amending the RLP to provide additional detail regarding the requirements and to remove certain elements of the RLP from the present value analysis.