CMAR - Junction Road Paratransit / Fay Street Bus Operations & Maintenance Facility

Request for Qualifications (RFQ)
For
Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) Services
for Junction Road Paratransit Bus Operations & Maintenance Facility at
730/734/740 Junction Road, Durham, NC 27703
and
Fay Street Bus Operations & Maintenance Facility Renovation at
1903/1907/1911 Fay Street, Durham, NC 27704
Date of Issue: 3/12/2026
A. PURPOSE FOR RFQ
1. Through this request for qualification (RFQ), notice is hereby given that the City of Durham, North
Carolina, General Services Department, is seeking a firm to provide Construction Manager at Risk
services for two (2) projects - a new administrative building and maintenance facility at 730/734/740
Junction Road, Durham, NC 27703 (Parcel Numbers: 0841596319 , 0841597564, 0841690779) and
the renovation of existing facilities at 1903,1907, 1911 Fay Street, Durham, NC 27704 (Parcel
Number: 0832601950).
2. This RFQ provides complete information on the services being sought, the submittal requirements,
and timeline. Copies of the RFQ may be downloaded directly from this site:
http://durhamnc.gov/bids.aspx.
Interested firms shall email a Statement of Qualifications, meeting the requirements defined in the
RFQ to:
Michael Aresco, CCM
City of Durham, Owner
General Services Department
2011 Fay Street
Durham, NC 27704
Phone: 919-480-9264
Email: michael.aresco@durhamnc.gov
3. Emailed Statements of Qualifications must be received by 3:00pm EST on 4/17/2026
To ensure receipt of any addenda to the RFQ, please contact the person listed above to register as
an interested firm. The City is not responsible for providing updated information/changes to firms
not known by the City as holding a copy of this RFQ.
4. Any questions regarding this RFQ must be received in writing prior to 3/27/2026 by 3:00pm EST.
Questions received after this date may not receive a response. Questions should be directed to
Michael Aresco at michael.aresco@durhamnc.gov and will be answered in an addendum posted on
the City's website: http://durhamnc.gov/bids.aspx. Firms who are registered as interested firms will

receive the addendum via email. Questions received by the Department of General Services after
this date will not receive a response or be the subject of addenda.
5. This RFQ does not obligate the City to pay any costs incurred by respondents in the preparation and
submission of a response. Furthermore, the RFQ does not obligate the City to accept or contract for
any expressed or implied services. The City of Durham reserves the right to reject any and all
submittals. The City of Durham is committed to a program of equal employment opportunity
regardless of race, color, creed, sex, age, nationality or disability.
B. BACKGROUND AND SCOPE OF SERVICES
Background
The City of Durham requires construction services to fully renovate the Transportation Department's
operations at their existing Fay Street facility and relocate the paratransit operations to a new facility
constructed at the City's undeveloped property on Junction Road. These improvements should provide more
efficient vehicular maintenance, storage, and account for the Transportation Department's future
expansion. This project requires all operations currently in place at the Fay Street Bus Operations and
Maintenance Facility to be maintained throughout the construction of all improvements at both project
sites. The preliminary project program is outlined below. The final project program will be determined at the
conclusion of the Advanced Planning Phase identified in Appendix F.
Junction Road Paratransit Bus Operations and Maintenance Facility
- Administrative & Office Space | ~ 9,300 square feet
- Maintenance Warehouse(s) | ~ 11,000 square feet
- Site Improvements | 128,100 square feet of paved area to support the storage and circulation of buses
and other vehicles
Fay Street Bus Operations and Maintenance Facility (Renovation)
- Administrative & Office Space | ~ 22,000 square feet
- Maintenance Warehouse(s) | ~ 32,000 square feet
- Addition for Enhanced Staff Circulation | ~ 6,000 square feet
- Site Improvements | 80 new parking spaces (minimum), 1 new bus access road, 1 new walking path
- Fueling depot to be provided
Scope of Services
The CMAR contract will be performed in two parts which are as follows:
Part 1
This phase will include the pre-construction phase services up to and including the negotiation of the
preliminary guaranteed maximum price (pGMP). As a part of pre-construction services, the construction
manager (CM) will develop a Master Project Implementation Plan that will identify schedule, phasing and
logistics of completing scope of work. The City of Durham requires that the pGMP be submitted prior to bid
opening(s) for the project. A final GMP will be submitted after completion of 50% to 100% complete
construction documents, or upon award of bids and serve as an attachment for execution of the
construction contract. This contracting arrangement is preliminary and a sequentially phased project may be
developed, depending upon the ability of the CM to forecast and facilitate earlier delivery and cost
efficiency in sequential phases within the approved final project construction budget. All Part 1
(Preconstruction) services shall be coordinated to align with design deliverables identified in Appendix F.
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Part 2 (or additional sub-phases)
This phase will (or may) include the Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) proposal and
construction management of the project from bid to close-out.
Procurement of the CM services will be made in accordance with the provisions of G.S. 143-64.31 which
requires
that CM firms be selected on the basis of demonstrated competence and qualification for the type of
professional services required without regard to fee. After selection of a qualified CM, the City and the
selected
firm will negotiate a contract for those services at a fair and reasonable fee with the best qualified firm.
The CM will be an integral member of the integrated project team, which consists of representatives from
the
City, the project Architect/Engineer (Project Design Team), and other consultants, as determined by the City.
Generally, it will be the responsibility of the construction manager to work to integrate the design and
construction phases, utilizing the firm's skills and knowledge of general contracting to contribute to the
development of the project during the pre-construction phase. During the construction phase, the CM will
be
responsible for affecting construction of the project within the GMP and providing all necessary construction
services through trade contractors selected as provided by the NC General Statutes.
C. PROJECT BUDGET
The preliminary construction budget for each facility is noted below. These preliminary budgets exclude
owner costs such as contingency, and furniture, fixtures, and equipment (FF&E) not secured to the building.
730 Junction Road Paratransit Facility: To be determined at the conclusion of the Advanced
Planning Phase identified in Appendix F.
1903 Fay Street Transportation Renovation: To be determined at the conclusion of the Advanced
Planning Phase identified in Appendix F.
D. SCHEDULE
Preliminary Project Schedule Date
Establish a shortlist of firms and schedule interviews May 2026
Complete interviews of short-listed firms May 2026
City Council award of contract July 2026
Notice to Proceed (Part 1) August 2026
Project Completion (Part 2) July 2030
E. PRE-SUBMITTAL MEETING
1. There will be a pre-submittal meeting for interested firms on Friday, 3/20/2026 at 10:00am EST at
2011 Fay Street, Durham, NC 27704. Attendance at the pre-submittal meeting is strongly
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encouraged but not required. The General Services Department staff will present details about the
project and submittal requirements and be available to answer questions. Please email the City's
Project Manager, Michael Aresco, for any meeting concerns at michael.aresco@durhamnc.gov.
F. EQUAL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM
1. It is the policy of the City to provide equal opportunities for City contracting for small firms owned
by socially and economically disadvantaged persons doing business in the City's Contracting
Marketplace. It is further the policy of the City to prohibit discrimination against any firm in pursuit
of these opportunities, to conduct its contracting activities to prevent such discrimination, to correct
present effects of past discrimination and to resolve complaints of discrimination. This policy applies
to all professional services categories.
Minority(M)/UBE and Women(W)/UBE goals will be established for the construction of both
project sites and will be established by the City in advance of the construction phase of each
project site. All construction contracts will be required to comply with the M/W UBE goals
established by the City.
All responses to this RFQ must provide a written statement acknowledging the submitting firm's
understanding that M/W UBE goals will be required for the construction contracts and indicate
that the firm, and all associated personnel, will make all necessary efforts to satisfy any future
M/W UBE goals established by the City.
In accordance with the Ordinance, all contractors are required to provide information requested in
the Professional Services Forms package. It is the intention of the City that proposals that do not
contain the appropriate, completed Professional Services Forms will be deemed non-responsive and
ineligible for consideration and that the Participation Documentation is required of all contractors.
The Letter of Intent to Perform as a Sub-consultant/Subcontractor must be completed for UBEs
proposed to perform on a contract. This form must be submitted with the proposal. The "UBE Goals
Not Met/Documentation of Good Faith Efforts" form must be submitted if the goals are not met.
The "Post Proposal Submission Deviation" form is not applicable at this time.
2. The Finance Department, Underutilized Business Compliance Division is responsible for the Equal
Business Opportunity Program. All questions about Professional Services Forms should be referred
to UBC department staff at (919) 560-4180.
G. CONTRACTOR WORKFORCE DIVERSITY QUESTIONNAIRE Not applicable.
H. NOTICE UNDER THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA)
1. A person with a disability may receive an auxiliary aid or service to effectively participate in city
government activities by contacting Durham One Call at 919-560-1200 or ADA@DurhamNC.gov, as
soon as possible but no later than 48 hours before the event or deadline date.
AVISO EN VIRTUD DE LA LEY DE ESTADOUNIDENSES CON DISCAPACIDADES
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Con el fin de recibir un recurso o servicio auxiliar para participar de manera efectiva en las
actividades del gobierno de la ciudad, cualquier persona con una discapacidad puede comunicarse
con la linea Durham One Call al telefono 919-560-1200 o al correo ADA@DurhamNC.gov, tan pronto
como sea posible, a mas tardar 48 horas antes del evento o fecha limite.
I. E-VERIFY COMPLIANCE
1. If this contract is awarded pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes (NCGS) 143-129 - (i) the
contractor represents and covenants that the contractor and its subcontractors comply with the
requirements of Article 2 of Chapter 64 of the NCGS; (ii) the words "contractor," "contractor's
subcontractors," and "comply" as used in this subsection (a) shall have the meanings intended by
NCGS 143-129(j); and (iii) the City is relying on this subsection (a) in entering into this contract. (b) If
this contract is subject to NCGS 143-133.3, the contractor and its subcontractors shall comply with
the requirements of Article 2 of Chapter 64 of the NCGS.
J. STATE TREASURER'S LISTS REGARDING IRAN AND BOYCOTT OF ISRAEL
1. If the successful bidder or the City signs the contract on October 1, 2017 or afterwards, and the
value of the contract is $1,000 or more, the following applies unless the bidder otherwise states in
its bid: the bidder affirms (by submitting a bid) that (1) its name does not appear on the list of
companies that are engaged in a boycott of Israel developed by the N. C. State Treasurer under
N.C.G.S. 147-86.81(a)(1) or on a list created by the Treasurer pursuant to N.C.G.S. 147-86.58 as a
company engaging in investment activities in Iran, and (2) it has no reason to expect that its name
will appear on either of those lists. Take notice that a contract between a company named on either
list and the City may be void.
K. VALUES OF CITY OF DURHAM REGARDING TREATMENT OF EMPLOYEES OF CONTRACTORS
1. Statement of City EEO Policy. The City of Durham opposes discrimination in employment because of
race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, familial status, military status, sexual orientation,
gender identity, and protected hairstyle. Consistent with Chapter 34 (Non-Discrimination) of the
Durham City Code, the City requires that firms doing business with the City:
a. not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color,
religion, national origin, sex, disability, familial status, military status, sexual orientation,
gender identity, and protected hairstyle.
b. take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed and that employees are
treated equally during employment, without regard to race, color, religion, national origin,
sex, disability, familial status, military status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and
protected hairstyle. This action includes employment, upgrading, demotion, transfer,
recruitment or advertising, layoff or termination, rates of pay or other forms of
compensation, and selection for training, including apprenticeship.
c. state, in solicitations or advertisement for employees, that all qualified applicants will
receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin,
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sex, disability, familial status, military status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and
protected hairstyle.
d. include this Statement of City EEO Policy in every purchase order for goods to be used in
performing City contracts and in every subcontract related to City contracts.
2. Livable Wage. The City of Durham desires that firms doing business with the City pay their workers a
livable wage rate while working on City contracts. The livable wage rate effective 7/1/25 is $21.90.
L. SUBMITTAL RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS
1. EMAIL one electronic copy in PDF format of your submittal to michael.aresco@durhamnc.gov.
Please limit response to 125 pages. The page limit does not include required City forms. Font size
shall be no less than 10 pt. Submittals must contain the following information:
1. Cover Letter
The Submittal should contain a cover letter, signed by an executive in the company, indicating
his or her title and that he or she has authority to submit the Submittal on behalf of the firm.
The cover letter should contain the following statement:
"The undersigned has the authority to submit this Submittal on behalf of the name of company
in response to the Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) RFQ for the Junction Road Paratransit
Bus Operations & Maintenance and the Fay Street Bus Operations & Maintenance Facility "
The cover letter should contain one of the following two paragraphs:
"With respect to all trade secrets that the Submitter may submit to the City in connection with
this Submission or the Contract, if the Contract is awarded to the Submitter, the Submitter shall
comply with the section of the RFQ titled "Trade Secrets and Confidentiality," (see Appendix E)
including but not limited to all of its subsections, such as the subsection titled "Defense of City."
The Submitter acknowledges that the City will rely on the preceding sentence."
-or-
"The Submitter is not submitting and shall not submit any trade secrets to the City in connection
with this Submission or the Contract, if the Contract is awarded to the Submitter. The Submitter
acknowledges that the City will rely on the preceding sentence."
2. Qualifications of the Company
The Submittal should provide a description of the professional and technical experience,
background, qualifications and professional licensing / certification of the company. The
company should show that they possess the demonstrated experience in all areas of the
profession. Include:
Qualifications of the company
Brief history of company
Organizational structure, (e.g. LLC, Corp., Partnership, etc.)
State of incorporation
Years in business
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Attach evidence of authority to do business in North Carolina
Provide the following information regarding the company:
* Range of services offered
* Number of staff by location, staff licensure by location and number of years'
experience.
* Identify the location of the company's principal office, and percentage of
staffing and services to be provided locally.
Annual dollar workload listed for each of the last five (5) years inclusive of projects
per year:
2023 #projects $ tot.
2022 #projects $ tot.
2021 #projects $ tot.
2020 #projects $ tot.
2019 #projects $ tot.
Demonstrate experience working with government entities and building parks
aquatics facilities.
Demonstrate at least 5 years' experience in construction manager at risk delivery method.
Provide the address of the office that the project staff assigned to this project will be based.
Provide the following Organization Chart:
* Overall corporate structure
* Project Team Organizational Chart that at a minimum identifies key
individual(s) to be contacted for technical service requests; list training,
education, certificates and/or licenses completed or earned by assigned
staff members. Identify location of staff. Identify the project manager(s) to
be given prime responsibility for pre-construction services; to be given
prime responsibility for UBE participation; to be given prime responsibility
for construction management; to be contacted (when required) for
development of scope of work and/or task order negotiations.
* List the current projects in progress (name and location), their size, phase,
and estimated time and date of completion. Include significant projects on
hold, which may become active during the City of Durham's project.
* List the company's total number of staff and their responsibilities (e.g. 2
project directors, 4 project managers, 1 scheduler, 2 estimators, etc.).
Provide a chart that shows the percentage of the company's total work-hour
capacity that its current work (in progress, on-hold, or anticipated)
represents and estimate the percentage of total work-hour capacity that the
City of Durham project would represent.
If this proposal is a joint venture / association agreement provide information on
the proposed firm to include:
* Clear explanation of the role of the proposed firm and the percentage of
involvement.
* Qualifications of the firm
* Provide relevant experience of the firm
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* Provide the qualifications of the joint ventures key staff
* Litigation/Claims. If yes to any of the questions below, list the project(s), dollar value,
contact information for owner and designer and provide a full explanation with
relevant documentation.
o Has your company ever failed to complete work awarded to it? Yes No
o Has your company ever failed to substantially complete a project in a timely
manner (i.e. more than 20% beyond the original contracted, scheduled
completion date)?
Yes No
o Has your company filed any claims with the North Carolina public entity within the
last five years? Yes No
o Has your company been involved in any suits or arbitration within the last five years?
Yes No
o Are there currently any judgments, claims, arbitration proceedings or suits pending
or outstanding against your company, its officers, owners, or agents? Yes No
o Within the last ten (10) years, has Submitter been named in any action,
administrative proceeding, or arbitration in which it was alleged that the Submitter
failed to comply with N.C. Gen. Stat. Chapter 22C or any similar state or federal
statute requiring the prompt payment of subcontractors? Yes No
o Has your present company, its officers, owners, or agents ever been convicted of
charges relating to conflicts of interest, bribery, fraud, misrepresentation or bid-
rigging?
Yes No
o Has your present company, its officers, owners, or agents ever been barred
from bidding public work in North Carolina? Yes No
o Have your company been assessed Liquidated Damages with the last ten (10) years?
Yes No
o Within last ten (10) years, has any contract for construction or CM services of
Submitter's been considered in default, suspended or terminated for convenience
or cause? If so, please attach an explanation of the matter including the name
and location of the project, the name and address of the owner's representative,
and all pertinent details of the default, suspension or termination.
o Within the last ten (10) years, has Submitter's contract or any portion of the work
connected to the contract been completed by the Owner or Submitter's surety? If
so, please attach an explanation providing the name and location of the project, the
name and address of the owner's representative, and all pertinent details of the
matter.
o Within the last ten (10) years, has Submitter been debarred or suspended for any
reason by any federal, state or local government procurement agency or refrained
from bidding on a public project due to an agreement with such procurement
agency? If so, please attach a full explanation.
o Within the last ten (10) years, has Submitter been named in any action,
administrative proceeding, or arbitration in which it was alleged that the Submitter
failed to comply with N.C. Gen. Stat. Chapter 22C or any similar state or federal
statute requiring the prompt payment of subcontractors? If so, please attach a full
explanation.
o Within the last ten (10) years, has the Submitter or any predecessor or related
entities, or any officers, shareholders/partners or key personnel of the Submitter
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ever been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any crime (a) related to the bid process
for contracts on public or private projects or (b) involving fraud or
misrepresentation? If so, please attach a full explanation.
o Identify any projects in which the firm was assessed Liquidated Damages within the
last ten (10) years.
2. Relevant Experience
Please list five (5) CMAR projects of similar size, scope and complexity performed by the submitter.
This would include new projects involving phasing, construction in comparable Transportation
facilities. For each project, provide the following information:
* Description of the project, scope of work, location of project, total project cost and
project dates for preconstruction services and construction.
* Name and title of owner's representative, address, telephone and fax numbers, and
e-mail address.
* Designer of Records references including the name, address, telephone and fax
numbers, and e-mail address of the project owner representative.
* Specific details on the extent to which pre-construction and construction phase
services were provided.
* Indicate which office and personnel within your firm managed this project.
* Project's original contracted construction cost (GMP) and final construction cost.
Attach an explanation for each project where total project cost exceeded GMP OR
estimated project cost by greater than 10 percent (10%).
* List CM fee for each project as $ and as a % of the overall construction cost.
* Comparison of the number of days in the original schedule with the number of days
taken for actual completion. Attach explanation for any project completion date
greater than 30 days behind the original schedule as adjusted by change order.
* Number of Phases, short elaboration on Phasing strategy and success, and/or
strategy of logistics plan of work within occupied spaces, if applicable.
* Participation in partnering:
* UBE / DBE / HUB original goals and percent of actual participation achieved at
project completion;
* Describe all Mentoring activities;
* Describe all Outreach efforts - UBE / DBE / HUB or local;
* Describe all Workforce Development activities;
* Describe any joint ventures / association agreements with any other firm, indicating
whether firm was a UBE / DBE / HUB, explaining role of firm and percentage of
involvement, and providing contact information for the firm.
4. Methods and Procedures
* The Submittal should provide a detailed methodology for accomplishing the
construction of these projects. This approach shall include additional suggestions
that are not specifically requested in this RFQ, but are considered necessary to
ensure the highest degree of safety, constructability, value and operation. Provide
the following information based on your experience on similar projects over the last
five years (unless otherwise stated, if you have not performed the type of work listed
below, state your general approach for performing the work described).
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* Provide a brief, overall description of how the project will be organized and
managed, and how the services will be performed in both Pre-Construction and
Construction Phases. Project planning that offers the same project manager for pre-
construction and construction phases shall be given preference. Address the
following elements in the description.
a. Value Engineering
b. Project Controls - Ability to meet schedules and complete projects within
budget
c. Impact Avoidance/Mitigation - Approach to minimizing business and
operational disruptions during construction
d. Planning - Planning, scheduling and staffing plans
e. Risk Management - Major issues/risks you anticipate impacting this
project and mitigation plan
f. Constructability Reviews/Issues
g. Cost Model/Estimates
h. Project Tracking/Reporting
i. Request for Information (RFI) and Shop Drawings
j. Quality Control
k. Dispute Resolution
l. Safety Management
m. Building Information Modeling (BIM) Software Experience
n. Collaboration - Collaboration on the integrated project team.
* Discuss your firm's approach to partnering, mentoring and outreach. Provide a
proposed conceptual plan to maximize UBE and HUB participation on this project.
Attach at least three past UBE and HUB plans prepared by your firm and utilized on
other public construction projects where you were the CM or general contractor,
and provide information indicating whether UBE and HUB goals were met or
exceeded on those projects.
* Discuss how you envision the relationships working with your firm and the City of
Durham, the Architects, and other organizations that may be involved.
* Discuss your firm's approach for furthering design to construction based on the
vision of the 100% Schematic Design Report in coordination with a design team.
* Discuss your firm's approach for resolving issues, concerns, and opportunities
identified in the 100% Schematic Design Report.
* Discuss your firm's approach to providing public information during the pre-
construction and construction phases of this project. Identify other firms that you
plan to subcontract or joint venture with, if any, for this contract and identify what
they will be responsible for.
* If your submission assumes that the City will take certain actions or provide certain
facilities, data or information, state these assumptions explicitly.
M. SELECTION CRITERIA
1. Submitted CMAR Team's responses to this RFQ will be evaluated and ranked by an RFQ
Evaluation Team comprised of members of the City and County of Durham appointed to assess
submitted qualifications. Each submitter will be evaluated based on their Statement of
Qualifications (SOQ) score (100 points maximum) as determined through the qualification review
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