Pittsburgh Technology Center Association Administration and Property Maintenance

The Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (URA) on behalf of Pittsburgh Technology Center Association (Association) is accepting proposals from firms to provide administrative services and all-season property maintenance at the Pittsburgh Technology Center (PTC) in the South Oakland Neighborhood of the City of Pittsburgh (City).

The PTC is a state-of-the-art riverfront office park and regional center for research and development. It is a nationally recognized example of brownfield reclamation and the first project in Pennsylvania to utilize tax increment financing (TIF).  The URA purchased the 48-acre site of a former Jones & Laughlin Hot Strip Mill in 1983. Since that time, the URA worked to perform environmental assessment and remediation, design and construct public infrastructure, complete master planning and has worked to convey development sites for redevelopment. There are currently nine (9) buildings and two (2) parking structures on site with one (1) building under construction, two (2) buildings in planning, and a third parking garage in the design and planning phase. Two (2) development sites remain.

The Association is a nonprofit corporation that was formed to oversee and manage property and amenities within the PTC.  See Exhibit “A” for a map of the areas to be maintained.  Membership of the Association is comprised of eleven (11) voting members (one (1) director per development parcel and one (1) director from the URA.  The Association meets twice per year in March and November.

A mandatory pre-proposal meeting for all firms that wish to submit a proposal will be held on Tuesday, December 10, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. ET at The University of Pittsburgh Center for Biotechnology & Bioengineering, 300 Technology Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, 2nd Floor, Conference Room 203. A representative (direct staff person or board member) from each firm that wishes to submit must be in attendance. Any single attendee may not represent more than one (1) contractor. If you do not have a representative in attendance at the pre-proposal meeting and then submit a proposal, your proposal will be automatically disqualified. There will not be an additional pre-proposal meeting. RSVP your attendance to Joy Akrie at jakrie@ura.org.  No phone calls.

The selected firm will, under direction of the PTCA, typically provide the following services:  

Administration:

• Draft and distribute correspondence and meeting minutes
• Work with chair to develop and distribute agenda for meetings
• Send notifications for meetings
• Maintain current list of members and contact information
• Attend PTCA meetings twice per year
• Maintain files and records
• Manage bank accounts
• Issue invoices for annual dues, collect dues, deposit into bank accounts
• Manage subcontractors for geese removal, snow/ice removal, common space maintenance
• Pay vendors and/or subcontractors
• Duties as required for the PTCA to maintain its 501c3 status  

Property Maintenance:

Maintenance of the properties includes, but is not limited to:

• Removal and disposal of debris
• Cutting of grass and general overgrowth
• Snow removal and deicing of sidewalks and drives as required by City Code
• Posting signs as needed

A schedule of property maintenance must be submitted after award of the contract.

The contract term will be 36 months – January 1, 2020 – December 21, 2022.

The selected firm must provide all labor, tools, equipment, materials, and technology needed to carry out the described work. Subcontracting activity is to be outlined in the RFP Summary Page (Exhibit “B”).

* Interested parties must attend the mandatory pre-proposal meeting; private appointments will not be scheduled. The meeting location for the pre-proposal meeting will be:  

The University of Pittsburgh Center for Biotechnology & Bioengineering, 300 Technology Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, 2nd Floor, Conference Room 203  

RSVP your attendance to Joy Akrie at jakrie@ura.org. No phone calls.

Please note the URA is now using Public Purchase as its bid notification, Q&A, and RFP submission platform. All questions about this RFP must be submitted through this bid’s Public Purchase page. See Exhibit “C” – Instructions for Registering on Public Purchase. Registration can be done by using the following link: https://www.publicpurchase.com/gems/register/vendor/register.

Respondent(s) must submit their proposal responses electronically via the Public Purchase platform. Responses received via other means will not be considered.

All responses should include the RFP Summary Page (Exhibit “B”), which can be found at the end of this document. This page must be fully completed by respondent(s). ALL RESPONSES MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE RESPONSE DUE DATE AND TIME AS STATED IN THE RFP TIMELINE FOR CONSIDERATION. Any late responses will not be reviewed. Submissions lacking one (1) or more of the requested documents may be considered irregular. The URA reserves the right to reject any irregular submission and to waive any irregularities in submissions.

The response must follow the general structure as outlined below.

1. RFP Summary Page (Exhibit “B”)

2. Qualifications

a. A description of the project organization and staffing to manage the work and the names and titles of all managerial personnel to be assigned to the project should be identified. The number of employees that will be dedicated to this effort, along with the equipment on-hand to adequately handle the workload, must be identified.

b. A statement of similar contracts currently or previously held, identifying the client and contact person

c. Subcontractor/Partner information: If you are using a for-profit subcontractor or partner to perform any part of this work, list the business name, type, address, owner information (including if minority/woman/disabled business enterprise certified) and experience.

3. Firm Profile – Provide a brief profile of your firm

a. A narrative description of the firm and its history with an emphasis on the type of work performed by the firm, the ability to handle a large property maintenance effort, and an approach both technically and organizationally to providing the required services; work tasks and methodology should be identified.

b. The URA supports the utilization of minority and women-owned business enterprises (MWBE). The respondent’s narrative should reference whether the submitting firm is a MWBE firm.

4. Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) Narrative Requirements

The URA has a long history of diversity and inclusion within all its programs and other activities. The URA encourages the full participation of minority and women business owners and professionals in this effort. The URA requires that all respondents demonstrate a good faith effort to obtain MWBE participation in work performed in connection with URA initiatives. The URA acknowledges and adheres to the City of Pittsburgh’s goal of 18 percent (18%) minority and 7 percent (7%) women participation. In the form of a brief narrative, state as succinctly as possible your firm’s efforts to provide opportunities for MWBE firms. MWBE participation can be satisfied by:

1. Use of minority or women-owned businesses as vendors for legal, printing, office supplies, travel, etc.
2. Subcontracting with organizations owned and controlled by minorities and/or women. If this is to be done, that fact, and the name of the proposed subcontracting organizations, must be clearly identified in the proposal.    Any questions about MWBE requirements should be directed to MWBE@ura.org.

5. Copy of Current Insurance Certificate(s)

6. Other Information – Please provide any other information which you believe is pertinent to the URA’s consideration of your firm. Please limit your response to this question to no more than one (1) page.

7. Fee - The Fee shall be for the entire contract period and include all labor, equipment and materials required to perform the work.

The URA intends to select proposals based upon information in the response to the RFP submitted by the firm(s) performance in previous undertakings and other pertinent factors. Selected firm(s) will be chosen on the basis of the selection criteria listed below.

The URA shall be the sole judge as to which firm(s) best meets the selection criteria. The URA reserves the right in its sole discretion to reject any or all proposals received, to waive any submission requirements contained within this RFP and to waive any irregularities in any submitted proposal.

Prior to the URA’s selection, the URA shall provide directors of the Association with an opportunity to consider and comment on the qualifications and suitability of the proposed management company.

The URA reserves the right to verify the accuracy of all information submitted.

Firm Selection Criteria

Selection will be made using the criteria below:

1. Mandatory Elements

a. The firm(s), including any and all team members, must have no conflict of interest with regards to any other work performed for the URA or related entity.

b. The firm(s) must adhere to the instructions contained in this RFP in preparing the submitted proposal.

2. Technical Qualifications

a. Experience and Expertise

i. The firm’s past experience on comparable issues

ii. The qualifications and capacity of the firm’s professional personnel to be assigned to engage with the URA

b. Fee Information

c. Business location

The URA shall have the right to verify the accuracy of all information submitted and to make such investigation as it deems necessary to determine the ability of a respondent to perform the obligations in the response. The URA in its discretion reserves the right to reject any response for any reason, including when the available evidence or information does not satisfy the URA that the respondent(s) (i) is qualified to carry out properly the obligations of the response; (ii) is a person or firm of good reputation or character for strict, complete and faithful performance of business obligations; or (iii) if the respondent(s) refuses to cooperate with and assist the URA in the making of such investigation.

1. Disclaimer of Liability: Respondent(s) acknowledge by submitting information and proposals to the URA that the URA does not undertake any obligations and shall have no liability with respect to this RFP, and responses thereto, nor with respect to any matters related to any submission by a respondent.
2. The respondent(s), for itself, its employees, and primary subcontractors, agrees not to discriminate in employment, contracting or any other matter against or segregate any person or group of persons on any unlawful basis or on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender.
3. The URA reserves the right to accept an offer or proposal other than that which has the lowest price.
4. The URA shall be the sole judge as to which proposal(s) and respondent(s) best meet the selection criteria. Notwithstanding anything in this RFP to the contrary, URA reserves the right to reject any or all proposals received, to waive any submission requirements contained within this RFP and to waive any irregularities in any submitted proposal.