Construction Management Adviser Service - Ulysses S Grant Presidential Library.

Mississippi State University
Request for Proposals (RFP) 26-23
Construction Management Adviser Services
Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library
IHL Project #205-377

ISSUE DATE: December 19, 2025

ISSUING AGENCY: Office of Procurement and Contracts

Mississippi State University
610 McArthur Hall
245 Barr Avenue
Mississippi State, MS 39762

Sealed Proposals, subject to the conditions made a part hereof, will be received January 14, 2026 at 2:00 PM in the MSU Office of Procurement and Contracts, same address above, for furnishing services and potentially, optional services as described herein.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Indicate firm name, and RFP number on the front of each sealed proposal envelope or package.

All inquiries concerning this RFP should be directed to:

Jennifer Mayfield
Office of Procurement and Contracts, (Same address above)
jmayfield@procurement.msstate.edu
662-325-2550

Any addendum associated with this RFP will be posted at http://www.procurement.msstate.edu/procurement/bids/index.php located under RFP 26-23. It is the respondent’s responsibility to assure that all addenda have been reviewed and if applicable, signed and returned.

1. PURPOSE

Mississippi State University (MSU) desires to contract with a reputable and responsible Construction Management firm, licensed in the State of Mississippi, capable of providing Construction Management Adviser (CMa) services, on a full-time basis, for IHL 205-377 Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library. The selected CMa shall enhance the project team and assist the design professional in the structuring of the design development documents, the contract documents, and the bidding process. The CMa shall provide pre-construction and construction services. During the construction phase the CMa shall coordinate and manage multiple prime contractors performing the Work at the same time.

2. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The proposed project includes construction of a 34,000 square foot, 3-story facility to house the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library. The existing collection and museum are currently located on the fourth floor of MSU’s Mitchell Memorial Library. The new library will not only be home to the existing Grant collection but will incorporate a museum with new exhibits, event space and support spaces. The project is federally funded and will be administered in accordance with National Archives and Records Administration guidelines.

MSU may elect to procure long lead time equipment (transformers, electrical switchgear, chillers, etc.) directly from manufacturers. If the Owner elects to procure equipment direct from manufacturers, then the CMa shall assist and coordinate these efforts on behalf of MSU.

Anticipated Project Schedule:

Phase	Tasks
Pre-Construction Phase	50% DD Complete April 17, 2026 100% DD Complete July 1, 2026 Construction Document Design Duration – 6 months
Bidding & Procurement Phase	TBD
Construction Phase	TBD
Closeout Phase	One year duration after substantial completion

MP Design Group + Mathes Brierre Architects (Joint Venture) is the Design Professional for the project.

3. GENERAL OVERVIEW OF REQUIRED SERVICES

The selected firm’s Basic Services will generally consist of those described in Sections 3.2 and 3.3 of AIA C132-2019 and include usual and customary construction program evaluation, budget development, constructability review, project phasing, coordination and scheduling, cost estimating, and allocation of construction activities among the multiple prime contractors.

The resulting contract(s) for the selected firm’s services shall consist of two (2) phases as generally outlined in the Standard AIA C132-2019:

Phase 1 – Preconstruction Phase

Phase 2 – Construction Phase Administration of the Construction Contract

MSU intends to utilize the Standard AIA C132-2019, with supplemental and additional terms and conditions.

4. GENERAL INFORMATION AND REQUIREMENTS

MSU’s Reservation of Rights – MSU reserves the right to divide the project into multiple parts. Additionally, MSU reserves the right to reject any and all proposals received. MSU makes no representations, written or oral, that it will enter into any form of agreement with any respondent to the RFP for any project and no such representation is intended to be construed by the issuance of this RFP.

No Reimbursement for Costs – The respondent acknowledges and accepts that any costs incurred from the respondent’s participation in the RFP shall be at the sole risk and responsibility of the respondent.

CMa Limitations – This invitation is limited to firms licensed to do business within the State of Mississippi. Aside from, and in addition to, any other limitations, the selected CMa will be limited to providing services to the Owner. The CMa, or any companies affiliated with the CMa, may not perform any of the Work in the construction process on this project.

5. INFORMATIONAL MEETING

An informational meeting will be held on Friday, January 9, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. CST at the Gast Building, 130 Twelve Lane, Mississippi State, MS 39762.

6. INQUIRIES ABOUT RFP

Prospective respondents may make written inquiries concerning this request for proposal to obtain clarification of requirements. Questions should be submitted either via a Word document or plainly typed in the email itself. Responses to these inquiries may be made by addendum to the Request for Proposal (RFP). Please send your inquiries to Jennifer Mayfield via electronic mail at jmayfield@procurement.msstate.edu.

All inquiries should be marked “URGENT INQUIRY. MSU RFP 26-23

7. ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

a) Issuing Office

This RFP is issued by the following office:

Office of Procurement and Contracts
Mississippi State University
245 Barr Avenue, 610 McArthur Hall
Mississippi State, MS 39762

b) Schedule of Critical Dates

The following dates are for planning purposes only unless otherwise stated in this RFP progress towards their completion is at the sole discretion of the university.

RFP Posted December 19, 2025

Questions from Vendors Due January 5, 2026

Informational Meeting January 9, 2026 at 1PM

MSU Q&A Response Due January 12, 2026

Proposal Submission Deadline – 2:00 p.m. January 14, 2026

Shortlist (Estimated) January 17, 2026

Interviews (Estimated) January 27, 2026

Notice of Award (Estimated) January 29, 2026

Contract Effective Date (Estimated) April 1, 2026

8. PROPOSAL CONTENTS

Qualification Proposal

At a minimum, the following items should be included in the contents of the Qualifications Proposal:

A. Letter of Interest. This letter should include an overview of the services being offered. The letter should also include a statement of exception to any of the terms and conditions outlined in this RFP.

B. Corporate Structure, History, and Key Personnel

1) Corporate structure

2) Provide a brief history of the respondent in narrative form.

3) Provide an organizational chart of the respondent.

4) Provide sample insurance certificates.

5) List key personnel proposed for this project and provide resumes for each including:

• Project executive to be in charge

• Project manager(s)- preconstruction services

• Project manager(s)- construction services

• Lead Superintendent

• Key Personnel

• Consultants

6) Provide a brief management plan in narrative form for this Project. Include an organizational chart that illustrates this plan.

7) Has the respondent ever failed to complete or been terminated on a contract? If so, provide details and circumstances.

8) Provide a summary that describes current or pending lawsuits against the respondent or its parent company.

C. A description of procedures used to assure a successful owner-architect-construction manager relationship. This should include pre-construction services, design-assist and through completion of construction services.

D. Documentation of the respondent’s record of similar projects. Photographs and other evidence may be included as supporting material. For each project provide the following:

i) Name and location of project

ii) End user point of contact and phone number

iii) Budgeted and actual project dollar amounts (submit explanation if amounts differ)

iv) Planned and actual start and completion dates (submit explanation if dates differ).

v) Number of prime contractor trade packages

E. Describe your project estimating system for developing the estimated cost and how you will monitor and track these costs during the Project along with an explanation of your cost control procedures that will be applied to this project.

F. Describe how you will develop, maintain and update the schedule during design and construction, including tools that will be utilized. Include examples of records, reports, monitoring systems, and information management systems the respondent will use on this Project. Include information concerning your Critical Path Method (CPM) scheduling of a project.

G. Describe the respondent’s quality control procedures.

H. Describe the respondent’s procedures for management of warranties and guarantees including year-end warranties.

I. Describe critical issues which the respondent foresees for this project in both Pre-Construction and Construction phases.

J. Ability to handle construction safety risks.

K. Any references the respondent wishes to provide.

L. Additional information can be included in the proposal, as determined by the firm to be instrumental to the statement of qualifications.

Cost Proposal

At a minimum, the following items should be included in the contents of the Cost Proposal:

• Fee for pre-construction services. Estimates will be required for Design Development Documents and Construction Documents.

• Fee for construction services (either percent fee based on the cost of the work or lump sum).

o Weekly rates for proposed management personnel during the construction phase to manage multiple prime contractors. Rates shall include Superintendent(s) and Project Manager(s). Rates shall be includes of all labor fringes and applicable markups.

MSU reserves the right, at any time during the selection process, to request additional information from any individual familiar with the organization, its employees, their work, or projects.

9. DISCUSSIONS/EVALUATION CRITERIA/AWARD PROCESS

MSU reserves the right to conduct discussions with any or all respondents, or to make an award of a contract without such discussions based only on evaluation of the written proposals. MSU reserves the right to contact and interview anyone connected with any past or present projects with which the respondent has been associated. MSU likewise reserves the right to designate a review committee to evaluate the proposals according to the criteria set forth under this section. MSU reserves the right to award a contract in whole or in part depending on what is in the best interest of MSU with MSU being the sole judge thereof.

The initiate evaluation of respondents will be based on the following criteria:

• Ability of professional personnel;

• Past record and experience;

• Past performance information;

• Willingness and ability to meet time requirements/scheduling challenges;

• Workload of the firm;

• Location of the firm;

• Other information requested in response to the RFP; and

• References.

Final evaluation and ranking of shortlisted firms will be based on the following criteria:

• Ability & expertise to perform pre-construction services (25%)

• Ability & expertise to perform construction services (25%)

• References & experiences with similar projects (25%)

• Cost Proposal (25%)

MSU reserves the right to invite Best and Final Offers (BAFO) of any or all shortlisted firm. Following evaluation and ranking of shortlisted firms, MSU will work to finalize contract terms and conditions with the top-ranked firm. If terms and conditions cannot be established with the top-ranked firm, MSU reserves the right to initiate engagement with the second-ranked firm, and so forth, until acceptable contract terms and conditions have been established with one of the shortlisted firms.

10. TWO-STEP PROCESS

The selection will be a two-step RFP process. The first step will include evaluation of respondent’s qualifications. MSU will then shortlist based on Qualification Proposals. The second step will consist of MSU considering the Cost Proposals of the shortlisted firms in addition to qualifications. During the second step, MSU may invite the shortlisted firms to interview or make a presentation. Failure to attend a requested interview or presentation may result in a proposal not being considered.

Interested firms should submit a separate Qualifications Proposal and Cost Proposal in separate sealed envelopes. Indicate firm name, RFP 26-23 and word “Qualifications Proposal” on the front of the sealed qualifications proposal envelope or package. Indicate the firm name, RFP 26-23 and the word “Cost Proposal” on the front of the sealed proposal envelope or package.

11. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

Proposals shall be submitted in two packages (envelopes or boxes). Please make sure that the RFP number is clearly visible on the outside of the package.

Technical Proposal – One (1) original and one (1) USB flash drive of the complete technical proposal should be sealed in a package with “Technical Proposal” in the lower left-hand corner. Each submitted package should be a complete copy. The original shall be marked on the first page “Original”

Cost Proposal – One (1) original and (1) USB flash drive of the complete cost proposal should be sealed in a package with “Cost Proposal” in the lower left-hand corner. Each submitted package should be a complete copy. The original shall be marked on the first page “Original”.

Proposals must include the signature page included as Appendix A to this RFP and contain the signature of an authorized representative of the respondent’s organization. The signature on the “Original” signature page should be in blue ink.

The proposal package must be received on or before January 14, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. It is the responsibility of the respondent to ensure that the proposal package arrives in the Procurement and Contracts office on-time. The proposal package should be delivered or sent by mail to:

Office of Procurement and Contracts
Mississippi State University
610 McArthur Hall
245 Barr Avenue
Mississippi State, MS 39762

MSU reserves the right to reject any and all proposals and to waive informalities and minor irregularities in proposals received and to accept any portion of a proposal or all items bid if deemed in the best interest of the University to do so.

Proposals received after the stated due date and time will be returned unopened. Submission via facsimile or other electronic means will not be accepted.

12. RFP CANCELLATION

This RFP in no manner obligates MSU to the eventual purchase of any services described, implied or which may be proposed until confirmed by a written contract. Progress towards this end is solely at the discretion of MSU and may be terminated without penalty or obligations at any time prior to the signing of a contract. MSU reserves the right to cancel this RFP at any time, for any reason, and to reject any or all proposals or any parts thereof.

APPENDIX A: SIGNATURE PAGE

Provide information requested, affix signature and return this page with your proposal:

Name of Firm: ________________________________________________

Complete Address: ________________________________________________

________________________________________________

Telephone Number: ________________________________________________

E-mail Address: ________________________________________________


Authorized Signature: ________________________________________________

Printed Name: ________________________________________________

Title: ________________________________________________