A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, ACCEPTING THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE CITY MANAGER, TO REJECT THE SOLE PROPOSAL RECEIVED FROM RIC-MAN INTERNATIONAL, INC, PURSUANT TO REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ) 2021-217-ND CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK (CMR) FOR THE 41ST STREET CORRIDOR REVITALIZATION PROJECT.

It Is recommended that the Mayor and City Commission accept the recommendation to reject the sole proposal received pursuant to pertaining to RFQ 2021-217-ND, Construction Manager at Risk (CMR) for the 41st street corridor revitalization project.

In 2018, the City engaged Alta Planning and Design, Inc. with sub-consultant GEHL Studio, Inc., to prepare a master plan which creates principles for design and development along the 41st Street Corridor. The master plan would prioritize people along the corridor, rather than cars, by supporting consistent, safe and comfortable bus and bike networks, creating more reasons to spend time on the street, support transit riders and foster social resiliency. In 2020, the City engaged AECOM to prepare a feasibility study for the implementation of the Alta/GEHL findings, with estimates of the probable construction costs, and develop conceptual drawings for the area which encompasses that portion of 41st Street, between Alton Road and Pine Tree Drive, and that portion of all avenues, between Alton Road and Pine Tree Drive, North to 42 Street and south to 40 Street.

On June 23, 2021, the Mayor and City Commission authorized the issuance of Request for Qualifications (RFQ) 2021-217-ND for Construction Manager at Risk (CMR) for the 41st Street Corridor Revitalization Project. On June 25, 2021, the RFQ was issued. A voluntary pre-proposal conference to provide information to proposers submitting a response was held on July 7, 2021. The Department issued bid notes to 32,334 companies utilizing www.periscopeholdings.com website. 65 prospective bidders accessed the advertised solicitation. RFQ responses were due and received on August 9, 2021. The RFQ resulted in the receipt of a sole response from Ric-Man International, Inc.

Following the receipt of the sole proposal, the Procurement Department contacted several viable bidders to understand why no other bids were received. Primarily, the bidders queried indicated that either the current workloads did not allow them to respond, or they were unable to join a team to become part of the construction manager at risk process stipulated in the RFQ.

Staff is concerned that a sole response on a project of this magnitude will limit the City’s ability to conduct a full evaluation, including a comparison and understanding of the approaches and methodologies proposed for the most efficient and cost-effective completion of the project. Typically, when the City entertains multiple responses, the evaluation committee and staff can evaluate proposers against each other and provide a robust evaluation so the proposer that has submitted the proposal that in the City’s best interest can be selected. However, with only one response received, the Administration’s ability to conduct a full evaluation is not possible.

Therefore, the Administration believes it is not in the City’s best interest to continue the construction manager at risk process proposed in the RFQ. Instead, our recommendation is to procure this project in a traditional design-bid-build process. In an effort to keep the project on schedule and moving forward, the City will continue with the design development and preparation of construction documents as authorized by the City Commission on September 17, 2021. Once the construction documents are completed, the City can issue an Invitation to Bid (ITB) to secure a contract with a contractor that will implement the approved design in a cost-effective manner.

Based on the foregoing, I recommend that the Mayor and City Commission accept the  recommendation to reject the sole proposal received pursuant to RFQ 2021-217-ND, Construction Manager at Risk (CMR) for the 41st street corridor revitalization project.