Forefront Architecture pitches A/E services for Hillsborough County CDBG home‑repair program; committee probes capacity

Forefront Architecture outlined its qualifications on an oral presentation for RPS 25-00379, the county solicitation for architecture and engineering services supporting the CDBG disaster-recovery single-family housing repair and replacement program.

Justin Parker, Forefront's business development lead, told the committee the firm traces its residential work to Hurricane Andrew and now has more than 30 years of Florida experience and a team based in Fort Myers. He said the firm has grown to about 65 staff and can scale up a project team led by Nunzi Berzo and Bill Spencer if selected, adding, “This is a 6 year program. You're gonna need a firm who is gonna be here from day 1.”

Nunzi Berzo, the proposed project director, described Forefront's role in prior CDBG projects as providing A&E services to ensure designs meet CDBG compliance and are constructible. He cited work on a CDBG 'Doctor' program in Lee County — which he said involved $43,000,000 allocated to single‑family design compliance — and projects that addressed flood‑zone elevation and building‑code requirements.

Mike Vitale, who described a Forefront 'quality task force,' explained how the firm conducts assessments and site visits. He said an inspector and a project manager visit properties to verify the original assessment and to identify additional repairs that may appear once work begins, noting that repair scope can expand when crews 'peel back the onion.'

Committee members focused questions on Forefront's field capacity and relevant program experience. In response to a question about who would conduct site inspections, Vitale said, “We send an inspector up there to go review that document and what we see on the ground. And we bring that back to the team.” When asked about the firm's ability to handle program volume, Parker said Forefront can flex staff and draw from its drafting staff, project managers and local inspectors.

Officials also clarified contracting relationships. When the committee asked if Forefront was contracted with Horn or JWTC, Forefront said its work on Lee County projects was performed through JWTC. Nunzi said the Lee County arrangement — where Horn provided program management and JWTC allocated tasks — differs from Hillsborough's planned structure, which the committee said will be administered internally with vendors providing administration support.

Forefront identified several recent grant‑funded projects to demonstrate capacity: a Hawthorne community resource center (approximately $4.5 million), a Vernon community center renovation (about $1 million), and a Paxton senior center new construction project (about $2.7 million). Bill Spencer, Forefront's project manager, noted more than 30 years of residential experience with major builders, including long tenures with Toll Brothers and Taylor Morrison.

The committee did not take a selection vote during the presentation. Ethan Cursey, the county buyer who opened the session, said the county reserves the right to select multiple contractors and that the solicitation remains under evaluation. Cursey told presenters the committee will continue conversations later in the solicitation process.

Next procedural steps: the committee will meet again to evaluate proposals; the number of firms to be selected had not been finalized during the session.