South Dade Air Conditioning and Refrigeration, Inc.

B-424292 Jun 05, 2026 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights South Dade Air Conditioning and Refrigeration, Inc. (SDAC), a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) of Selma, Alabama, protests the issuance of a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) to AAA Complete Building Services, Inc. (CBS) of Washington, District of Columbia (DC), under request for quotations (RFQ) No. 47PN1125Q0002, issued by the General Services Administration (GSA) for building services. The protester raises conflict of interest allegations and challenges the source selection decision. 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: South Dade Air Conditioning and Refrigeration, Inc. File: B-424292 Date: June 5, 2026 Shane J. McCall, Esq., Nicole D. Pottroff, Esq., John L. Holtz, Esq., Gregory P. Weber, Esq., and Annie E. Birney, Esq., Koprince Law, LLC, for the protester. Kara M. Sacilotto, Esq., and Nicholas T. Iliff, Esq., Wiley Rein LLP, for AAA Complete Building Services, Inc., the intervenor. Tara N. Mitchell, Esq., General Services Administration, for the agency. Raymond Richards, Esq., and John Sorrenti, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Protest that the awardee gained an unfair competitive advantage based on employment of a government employee is denied where the agency investigated the matter and reasonably concluded that no unfair competitive advantage exists, and the record demonstrates that any potential conflicts have been sufficiently investigated and mitigated. 2. Protest alleging that the agency improperly converted the source selection decision from a best‑value tradeoff to a lowest‑priced technically acceptable competition is denied where the record demonstrates that the agency conducted a reasonable tradeoff in accordance with the terms of the solicitation. DECISION South Dade Air Conditioning and Refrigeration, Inc. (SDAC), a service-disabled, veteran‑owned small business (SDVOSB) of Selma, Alabama, protests the issuance of a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) to AAA Complete Building Services, Inc. (CBS) of Washington, District of Columbia (DC), under request for quotations (RFQ) No. 47PN1125Q0002, issued by the General Services Administration (GSA) for building services. The protester raises conflict of interest allegations and challenges the source selection decision. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND The RFQ was issued on May 21, 2025, using the federal supply schedule (FSS) procedures of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 8.4. Agency Report (AR), Tab G, RFQ at 2, 4.[1] GSA sought quotations for facilities engineering, operations and maintenance services, pest control services, and elevator maintenance at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center (RRBITC) in Washington, DC. Id. The RFQ contemplated establishing a BPA with a 1-year base period and nine 1-year option periods. Quotations would be evaluated on a best-value tradeoff basis considering the following evaluation factors, listed here in descending order of importance, and where the collective weight of the non-price factors was considered more important than price:  (1) management plan; (2) prior experience; (3) past performance; (4) socioeconomic designation; and (5) price. RFQ at 11, 19-20. Quotations were due by October 21. Contracting Officer's Statement (COS) at 4. GSA received eight quotations in response to the RFQ, including from SDAC and CBS. COS at 4. The relevant evaluation results are as follows:   SDAC CBS Management Plan Very Good Acceptable Prior Experience Acceptable Acceptable Past Performance Acceptable Acceptable Socioeconomic Designation SDVOSB Large Total Evaluated Price $157,500,853 $138,924,952 AR, Tab F, Source Selection Decision Document (SSDD) at 12-13. The agency recognized SDAC's technical superiority but also noted its higher price. Id. at 17. Based on the evaluation results, the agency concluded that it was in the best interest of the government to issue the BPA to CBS, the firm offering the lower‑priced, lower‑technically rated quotation. Id. On February 19, 2026, SDAC received a brief explanation of the award decision. Protest, exh. C, Brief Explanation of Award at 1. On February 23, an SDAC employee telephoned the contracting officer concerning what SDAC describes as a potential organizational conflict of interest (OCI) involving a CBS employee who also works for GSA. Protest at 6; id., exh. D, Declaration ¶ 7; COS at 5‑6. In response, the contracting officer vowed to investigate the matter. COS at 6. On February 25, the contracting officer shared the results of the investigation with SDAC.