New Dominion Construction LLC (N4008024R2396)

B-424227 May 04, 2026 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights New Dominion Construction, LLC (NDC), a small business of Dumfries, Virginia, protests its exclusion from the competitive range under request for proposals (RFP) No. N4008024R2396, issued by the Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) for construction projects and services for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems at military installations. The protester alleges the agency's evaluation and decision to exclude it from the competition for failing to meet the solicitation's requirements is improper. 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: New Dominion Construction LLC File: B-424227 Date: May 4, 2026 Stephen P. Ramaley, Esq., Roger V. Abbott, Esq., Lyle F. Hedgecock, Esq., and Lauren S. Fleming, Esq., Miles & Stockbridge P.C., for the protester. Kyle W. Krombach, Esq., Department of the Navy, for the agency. Samantha S. Lee, Esq., Jungi Hong, Esq., and Peter H. Tran, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Protest alleging that a solicitation contained a latent ambiguity defining relevant corporate experience is denied where the protester's interpretation of the solicitation language is not reasonable when the solicitation is read as a whole. 2. Protest alleging that the agency conducted misleading discussions is denied where record shows that the agency's discussion questions led the protester into the area of its proposal that required revision. DECISION New Dominion Construction, LLC (NDC), a small business of Dumfries, Virginia, protests its exclusion from the competitive range under request for proposals (RFP) No. N4008024R2396, issued by the Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) for construction projects and services for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems at military installations. The protester alleges the agency's evaluation and decision to exclude it from the competition for failing to meet the solicitation's requirements is improper. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND The Navy issued the solicitation as a set-aside for 8(a) firms on May 23, 2024, pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 15.[1] The RFP contemplates the award of firm, fixed-price indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contracts for mechanical construction-type projects and related services for HVAC equipment, systems, and infrastructure at military installations. Agency Report (AR), Tab 2, RFP at 1, 4-5.[2] The agency intends to award approximately five IDIQ contracts with a 2-year base period and two 3-year option periods. Id. at 5. The solicitation provides for award to be made on a best-value tradeoff basis, considering price and five non-price evaluation factors: (1) technical approach; (2) corporate experience; (3) management approach; (4) safety; and (5) past performance. Id. at 6. The solicitation states that the corporate experience, management approach, and safety factors are equal in importance, and when combined, equal in importance to the past performance factor. Id. All five non-price factors, when combined, are “approximately equal” to price. Id. Under the RFP, the agency would evaluate offerors' responses to the technical approach factor as either acceptable or unacceptable. Id. For the corporate experience, management approach, and safety factors, the Navy assigned a corresponding adjectival rating of “outstanding,” “good,” “acceptable,” “marginal,” or “unacceptable.” AR, Tab 3, Source Selection Plan at 20. An unacceptable rating under any of the non-price factors would “result in an overall rating of ‘unacceptable' for the [non-price] factors, unless corrected through discussions.” RFP at 6. For the past performance factor, proposals were evaluated and assigned a performance confidence assessment adjectival rating of “substantial confidence,” “satisfactory confidence,” “neutral confidence,” “limited confidence” or “no confidence.” See AR, Tab 16, Source Selection Advisory Council Report at 5. The Navy intended to evaluate proposals and award contracts without discussions, but reserved the right to conduct discussions should the agency find it necessary. RFP at 6. The RFP further provided that, in the event of discussions, the contracting officer may choose to limit the number of proposals “to the greatest number that will permit an efficient competition among the most highly rated proposals.” Id. The agency received proposals from 12 offerors, including NDC, by the August 5 deadline. Contracting Officer's Statement and Memorandum of Law (COS/MOL) at 5; AR, Tab 5, Initial Source Selection Evaluation Board (SSEB) Report at 2.