Harper Construction Company, Inc.

B-419947.3 Mar 18, 2026 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Harper Construction Company, Inc., of San Diego, California, protests the issuance of a task order to Clark Construction Group - California LP, of Irvine, California, under request for proposals (RFP) No. N6247325RF016, issued by the Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) to repair five housing buildings. The protester contends that the agency's evaluation of the protester's technical proposal as unacceptable was unreasonable. 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: Harper Construction Company, Inc. File: B-419947.3 Date: March 18, 2026 Dirk Haire, Esq., Jessica Haire, Esq., A. Michelle West, Esq., Michael J. Brewer, Esq., and Isabella S. Capanna, Esq., Burr & Forman LLP, for the protester. Robert J. Sneckenberg, Esq., and William B. O'Reilly, Esq., Crowell & Moring LLP, for Clark Construction Group - California LP, the intervenor. Kristopher M. Cronin, Esq., Department of the Navy, for the agency. Samantha S. Lee, Esq., and Peter H. Tran, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest challenging technical evaluation is denied where the technical evaluation was reasonable and consistent with the terms of the solicitation. DECISION Harper Construction Company, Inc., of San Diego, California, protests the issuance of a task order to Clark Construction Group - California LP, of Irvine, California, under request for proposals (RFP) No. N6247325RF016, issued by the Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) to repair five housing buildings. The protester contends that the agency's evaluation of the protester's technical proposal as unacceptable was unreasonable. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND On July 1, 2025, under the fair opportunity procedures of Federal Acquisition Regulation subpart 16.5, the Navy issued the solicitation to holders of the agency's indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) multiple award construction contracts. Contracting Officer's Statement (COS) at 401.[1] The agency sought proposals to repair five existing bachelor enlisted quarters (BEQ) at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, including converting units to new room standards and replacing deteriorated building components and outdated building systems. Agency Report (AR), Exh. 1, RFP, amend. 11 at 160. The solicitation contemplated issuance of a fixed-price task order with a period of performance of 820 calendar days. Id. at 164. The RFP provided for award to be made on a lowest-priced, technically acceptable basis, considering the technical solution evaluation factor and price. RFP, amend. 2 at 117. The technical solution factor would be evaluated on an acceptable or unacceptable basis; offerors deemed unacceptable under the technical solution factor were ineligible for award. Id. at 116. Under the terms of the solicitation, the Navy would evaluate the technical proposal from the lowest-priced offeror only. Id. at 115. If the lowest-priced offer was found to be unacceptable, the Navy would evaluate the technical proposal of the next lowest-priced offeror. Id. The agency received five proposals by the September 8, deadline. COS at 402. Harper had submitted the lowest-priced proposal with a total evaluated price (TEP) of $124,958,781. See AR, Exh. 3, Initial Technical Evaluation at 212-13; AR, Exh. 11, Debriefing at 480. In evaluating Harper's technical solution, however, the Navy found the technical proposal to be unacceptable. Id. at 476. On September 10, the agency sent an unsuccessful offeror letter to Harper. AR, Exh. 4, Notification of Initial Award at 217. In that letter, the Navy notified Harper that the task order had been issued to Clark for $68,408,703 “for Base Items 0001-0005,” from a TEP of $136,739,500. Id.; AR, Exh. 11, Debriefing at 480. Harper filed a protest with our Office, challenging the agency's evaluation of the firm's proposal. Harper Constr. Co., Inc., B-419947.2, Nov. 17, 2025 (unpublished decision). In response, the agency advised our Office that it intended to take corrective action; specifically, the agency stated that it would reevaluate Harper's proposal under the technical solution factor. Id. We dismissed the protest as academic on November 17. Id. Upon reevaluation, the Navy again found Harper's technical solution to be unacceptable. AR, Exh. 5, Revised Technical Evaluation at 220.