San Antonio issues pre-solicitation for $6.5 million West End Park senior center and District 1 multigenerational facility

The San Antonio Audit Committee on June 10, 2025 received a pre-solicitation briefing on a competitive sealed proposal to hire a contractor to renovate the existing West End Park Senior Center and build a new District 1 multigenerational facility. Razi Hosseini, director of the Public Works Department, said the project is funded by the city's 2022 bond program and estimated construction value is $6,500,000, with an estimated construction completion of “400 calendar days” and construction anticipated to start in the winter of 2026 and finish in spring 2027.

The briefing outlined the procurement and schedule. Hosseini said the city will release the solicitation on Aug. 15, 2025, host a pre-solicitation conference Aug. 29, 2025, accept proposals in September (date not specified), return to the Audit Committee in November 2025, and seek City Council approval in December 2025. Evaluation team members will include the Office of the City Manager, the Department of Human Services and Public Works. The solicitation is a request for competitive sealed proposals; Hosseini said evaluation criteria include program-related scoring (multiple program categories were listed at 10 points each) and that the solicitation will be advertised through the city’s normal channels.

Hosseini described participation and preference rules the solicitation will follow. He said audited financial statements are not required for this solicitation and that the local-preference program is “not applicable.” When Councilman Kerch asked why local preference and audited financial statements were excluded, Hosseini explained that for a request for competitive sealed proposals the city follows state statute and therefore cannot apply the local-geographic preference the statute allows for low-bid procurements. He added that audited financial statements can be a barrier for small businesses, so the city may use alternative methods (bank letters or other databases) if further financial review is needed.

The procurement also includes contracting goals and subcontracting targets: a 10% MWBE subcontracting requirement and a 1% AEEBE subcontracting requirement (as described in the presentation). The presentation noted veteran-owned small-business and local performance programs were not applicable for this solicitation. Hosseini said there will be a prohibited campaign-contribution period beginning the business day after solicitation release and continuing through the calendar day after council approval, and a communication restriction to city officers and staff during the solicitation period.

Committee members raised operational and policy concerns. Chair Villagran and Council members expressed interest in ensuring the new facility’s HVAC and energy needs reflect hotter summers and extended program hours for seniors; Villagran said to “take that into consideration, in terms of what sort of energy we're gonna need to keep the HVAC unit kind of functioning.” Councilman Courage and Councilman Kerch asked whether limiting geographic local preference to San Antonio city limits could reduce the pool of qualified bidders and slow delivery; Hosseini said the city could expand preference on discretionary contracts but that requests for competitive sealed proposals are constrained by the state statute and that the city has generally kept geographic definitions consistent to avoid confusion. Councilman Courage urged staff to consider whether expanding eligible bidders (for example, to businesses in nearby cities) might speed delivery.

Because this was an information briefing, no formal committee action was taken on the item.