Cross & Company

B-417971 Dec 20, 2019 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Cross & Company, LLC, a veteran-owned small business (VOSB) concern of Frederick, Maryland, protests the terms of request for lease proposals (RLP) No. 8PA2226, issued by the General Services Administration (GSA) for the lease of space to be used as a community-based outpatient clinic by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. The protester asserts that the solicitation violates the Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006 (VBA) by improperly failing to consider setting aside the lease for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs) or VOSBs. We deny the protest. View Decision Decision Matter of:  Cross & Company, LLC File:  B-417971 Date:  December 20, 2019 Edward J. Tolchin, Esq., Offit Kurman Attorneys At Law, for the protester. Heather R. Cameron, Esq., Elyssa Tanenbaum, Esq., and Jessica Gunzel, Esq., General Services Administration; and Stephen J. Kelleher, Esq., Department of Veterans Affairs, for the agencies. Uri R. Yoo, Esq., and Laura Eyester, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest challenging terms of solicitation issued by the General Services Administration (GSA) that did not consider the requirements of the Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006, is denied where GSA is acquiring a lease of real property, and not goods or services, to be used by the Department of Veterans Affairs. DECISION Cross & Company, LLC, a veteran-owned small business (VOSB) concern of Frederick, Maryland, protests the terms of request for lease proposals (RLP) No. 8PA2226, issued by the General Services Administration (GSA) for the lease of space to be used as a community-based outpatient clinic by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area.  The protester asserts that the solicitation violates the Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006 (VBA) by improperly failing to consider setting aside the lease for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs) or VOSBs.  We deny the protest. BACKGROUND GSA has authority to enter into lease agreements with entities “for the accommodation of a federal agency in a building (or improvement) which is in existence or being erected by the lessor to accommodate the federal agency.”  40 U.S.C. § 585(a).  Pursuant to this statutory authority, GSA controls over 188 million rentable square feet of leased space through approximately 8,100 individual leases.  GSA Memorandum of Law (MOL) at 2.  In February 2019, prior to issuing the RLP at issue here, GSA entered into an occupancy agreement with the VA.  Agency Report (AR), Exh. 2, Occupancy Agreement, at 1.  The occupancy agreement set forth a description of the rental space needed by the VA in Pittsburgh, PA; responsibilities of each party; and estimated rent to be paid by the VA to GSA.  Id.; see also 41 C.F.R. § 102-85.25 (purpose of occupancy agreement is to capture business terms “to which GSA and a customer agency agree concerning individual space assignments”).  On June 5, GSA issued the RLP seeking offerors to “propose space for lease to be used as a Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) by the [VA]” under a 20‑year lease in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area.  AR, Exh. 3, RLP, at 1.  The RLP requires that the building provide between 61,486 and 64,159 square feet of space, configured to meet certain agency-specific requirements as set out in the RLP.  Id. at 5‑8.  The RLP sets out a two-phase, design-build selection procedure where the agency will first evaluate offerors on their experience and past performance on similar projects; project staffing; and design philosophy (methodology) and approach.  Id. at 22-23.  GSA will select up to five offerors with the best rating in phase 1 to proceed to phase 2.  In phase 2, the selected offerors will submit full technical and price proposals, including identifying the proposed building or site, and the agency will evaluate proposals based on the quality of their building and design concept, quality of site location and configuration, and project management plan.  Id.  The award will be made on a best‑value tradeoff basis considering price and the technical factors.  Id. at 22.  The RLP also specified that the combination of non-price factors is approximately equal in importance to price.  Id. On September 9, GSA issued an amendment to the solicitation that provided specifications for proposal submissions and responded to questions from prospective offerors.  AR, Exh. 4, RLP amend.