Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southeast awarded a $99 million indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity multiple award design-bid-build construction (IDIQ-MACC) contract to five small businesses June 28 for construction projects in the NAVFAC Southeast area of responsibility, primarily in the Florida panhandle, Mississippi and Tennessee.

EMR Inc., a small business located in Lawrence, Kansas, was awarded the first task order for nearly $18 million for a design-build project to construct a multi-story Corry Station "A" school unaccompanied housing facility on board Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. The other four entities were awarded a minimum guarantee in the amount of $1,000.

"This project is vitally important for the information warfare students at NAS Pensacola, Corry Station to provide additional berthing capacity for a national training mission that continues to grow," said NAS Pensacola Commanding Officer Capt. Christopher Martin. "It is the last in a series of seven berthing projects at Corry Station to meet student loading numbers."

The Information Warfare Training Center (IWTC) at Corry Station trains "A" school students reporting directly from boot camp. The facility provides training in the fields of cryptology, information operations, and information technology. The coursework combines technology, innovation, and science to produce highly-trained enlisted personnel required to ensure dominance in the information fields.

"A" school students require on-base housing. Currently, rooms in unaccompanied housing often have three students assigned instead of two. This exceeds criteria, can make learning difficult, and is not good for student health. Quality of life can also suffer, affecting academic performance and preparation for the fleet.

This project will provide unaccompanied housing quarters space for 216 students.

"This facility will allow us to get back to Navy berthing standards for our student Sailors aboard Corry Station," said NAS Pensacola Housing Director Bob Crist.

The new facility will feature a brick veneer exterior finish and include 108 double-occupancy rooms (2+0) and a lobby/reception area. The 2+0 rooms will include space for a two-person bedroom, a bath, two closets, refrigerator, and a microwave oven. Each floor will have a TV room, vending space and a common laundry room. The first floor will also feature a bulk storage room, clean and dirty linen storage rooms, staff office space and break rooms.

Construction is expected to be completed by June 2019.

MACC contracts are used to pre-qualify a group of contractors (usually four to seven) with respect to performance, experience, capability and safety and then issue task orders to them for projects that meet the parameters of the MACC. MACCs save the command and the government time and resources.

The work to be performed under the MACC includes new construction, renovation, alteration, demolition, repair work, and any necessary design including: industrial, airfield, aircraft hangar, aircraft traffic control, infrastructure, administrative, training, dormitory, and community support facilities.

The small businesses awarded under this contract include CMS Corp., Bargersville, Indiana; EMR Inc.; Leebcor Services, LLC, Williamsburg, Virginia; MOWA Barlovento LLC, Joint Venture, Gautier, Mississippi; and Whitesell-Green, Inc., Pensacola, Florida.

The five vendors will compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contract for the 60-month term of the contract, which includes a base year and four option years, and is expected to be completed by June 2022.

Small business (which includes 8(a) firms) play a vital role in the American economy - employing half of the country's workforce, creating nearly two of every three new American jobs, and often being the source of the next great American innovation. NAVFAC Southeast strives to meet its goals building on its success by providing contract opportunities to these businesses.

"NAVFAC Southeast invests in small businesses to support our national defense," said Mark Brock NAVFAC Southeast small business deputy. "Small businesses fuel the American dream, which grows the local and federal economies that ultimately strengthen the warfighter."

Brock explained small businesses provide construction expertise, professional services, and supported services that support the Navy's mission and the men and women in uniform. It is through strong policy and sound business processes that NAVFAC is able to develop capabilities based strategies that consider program risks, cost, schedule and technical requirements which help meet the expectations of supported commanders while supporting public policy objectives.

Each year NAVFAC establishes target goals for Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business, Historically Underutilized Business Zone Small Business, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, and Women-Owned Small Business categories. The maximum practicable utilization of small business concerns is a matter of national interest with both social and economic benefits.

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