Dunedin moves ahead with design-build procurement for downtown parking garage; RFQ shortlist due in October

The City of Dunedin will proceed with a design-build procurement for a proposed downtown parking garage, staff told the Community Redevelopment Agency on Sept. 18. Statements of qualifications for project teams will be due Oct. 8, after which a five-member selection committee will shortlist up to three teams for further proposals.

Why it matters: the procurement method — a design-build delivery with a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) negotiated near the 90% design stage — changes the city’s decision points. Commission approval will be required before construction proceeds with a GMP.

Deputy City Manager Jorge Quintas and engineering manager Martin Wade described the planned process during the CRA director’s report. Quintas said the RFQ is intended to identify teams with past experience on similar projects and sufficient financial and safety credentials. “The evaluation committee will shortlist those firms … and give you a ranking and what they feel is the best qualified firm, 1, 2, and 3,” Quintas said.

Martin Wade described the practical steps: shortlisted teams will develop design proposals and scope; as design moves from schematic to roughly 90% complete, the selected team is expected to provide a GMP. At that point, staff will return to the commission for a go/no-go decision on construction and on awarding the guaranteed-maximum-price contract.

Commissioners asked about evaluation criteria and price negotiation. Quintas and staff emphasized that the RFQ stage evaluates qualifications, not final price; price negotiations and potential value engineering occur as design progresses. Staff also said they are pursuing an interlocal agreement with the county to address debt for the garage.

Commissioner Walker and several colleagues asked for clarification of the decision points and the difference between a tendered hard bid and the design-build GMP approach. City staff described the process as a competitive qualifications-based selection followed by negotiated pricing and a commission approval point before construction.

Next steps and timing: statements of qualifications due Oct. 8; the selection committee will downselect to three teams and forward ranked firms to the commission; shortlisted teams will prepare proposals and a design package that will be used to negotiate a GMP and return to the commission for final authorization.