DISPOSAL OF HISTORIC BUILDING AT THE DES MOINES VA MEDICAL CENTER

CONTINUATION PAGE The purpose of this Sources Sought is to conduct market research to determine if responsible sources exist to remove/relocate and rehabilitate an historic building at the Des Moines VA Medical Center. The Government will use this information to determine the best acquisition strategy for this procurement. The government requests all interested businesses to respond to this notice if applicable. All Businesses are encouraged to participate in this Market Research. No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this "Sources Sought Notice" or any follow-up information requested. INTRODUCTION This request is for interested parties to express interest to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Central Iowa Health Care System (VACIHCS) to remove/relocate and rehabilitate Building 6 of the Des Moines VA Medical Center (VAMC), located at the intersection of Douglas Avenue and 36th Street, Des Moines, IA 50310. VACIHCS will freely convey the building to the Selectee. However, all costs associated with disconnecting the building from VA property, transporting the building to its new location and establishing it at the new location will be the sole responsibility of the Selectee. A selection will be made based upon responses received to this document as there will not be any subsequent advertisement. After the closing date for this advertisement, respondents will be contacted with available date(s) to tour the building. Building 6 was built as a single-family residence in 1933 during the initial construction of the medical center at the Des Moines site. Originally known as the Manager s Quarters and then the Director s Residence, the architectural classification for the building is Colonial Revival (Georgian). The three-story building includes: a one-story screen porch on the west wing, round columns, fluted pilasters, a 5-light transom, inset panels, radiating brick voussoir arches, gabled dormers with curved window, a cornice return, a modillioned cornice with rain trough, and a one-story breakfast room on the east wing of equal size to the porch on the west with dentils. The 3,870-square-foot building is currently vacant. PROJECT SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES: This request is for interested parties to remove one vacant historic building located on the northwest corner of the VACIHCS Des Moines campus. The VACIHCS Des Moines site was officially selected in 1931, the year after the Veterans Administration was officially created by President Hoover, as the location in Iowa. Local businessmen from the Des Moines Chamber of Commerce, the Real Estate Board, and local veterans organizations known as the Des Moines Hospital Committee of 15 purchased the land. The hospital was completed around September 1933, then opened on April 3, 1934. As previously stated, building 6 was built as a single-family residence in 1933 during the initial construction of the medical center at the Des Moines site. The building is a three-story structure containing 3,870 square feet. An analysis of the building condition done in 2011 found the following repairs and renovations were needed to the infrastructure of the building: lead and asbestos abatement, roof replacement, window replacement, and interior and exterior modifications. The sewer, water, steam, and electrical systems were all removed from Building 6 in 2008 to limit maintenance and cost expenditures associated with the vacant building. Please see Sections IV and V of this Document for additional building information and photos and drawings. RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS & SELECTION CRITERIA VA will review all responses to this advertisement through an evaluation panel. VA reserves the right to reject any and all responses and may request clarification of any response. Final acceptance of any response will be conditional upon completion of a background check and review of a credit report, satisfactory negotiation and execution of conveyance, as well as approval of selection document by VA legal counsel. The following criteria will be used: The financial capability of the respondent to finance the removal and properly maintain the property at the new location. The demonstrated experience of the respondent with similar removal projects. The quality and nature of the proposed building maintenance plan. The respondent s ability to begin building removal work quickly following selection. Please provide detailed responses to the advertisement addressing each of the criteria above. All criteria will be equally weighted when considering responses. Respondents may either be sole entities or under other acceptable teaming arrangements. Please submit a detailed plan/proposal by email only to Shahidat Abbas at Shahidat.Abbas@va.gov before March 20th, 2020. Please contact Shahidat with any questions regarding the contents of this document. HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE Building 6 was one of four major structures in the Residential Core in the northwest section of the campus. The building was constructed as the director s residence in 1933 in the Colonial Revival Style. As the best-preserved historic resource on the hospital grounds, building 6 attests to the distinctive and noteworthy architectural quality that once characterized the entire campus. It retains substantial potential for adaptive use. All fa ades of building 6 retain a high degree of their significant architectural features and contribute to the building s significance and eligibility for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Moreover, public spaces in the interior (foyer, living room, and staircase) contain noteworthy elements and materials that likewise contribute to the building s significance. Exterior Character Defining Features of building 6: 1. Two and a half story height with basement 2. Side gabled roof 3. Brick exterior finish 4. Grass lawn and placement relative to Douglas Avenue 5. One story wings on east and west fa ades 6. Horizontal course between basement and first floor 7. Symmetrical front fa ade with central doorway and ornate woodwork trim 8. Broken pediment above primary single door entrance 9. Concrete and brick stoop with metal railing 10. Double hung, wood sash windows with 8/8 lights 11. Flat or jack archways above window openings 12. Front facing gable roofed dormers 13. Eave returns 14. Dentils and other woodwork in cornice 15. Brick chimney Interior Character Defining Features of Building 6: 1. Mantle around fireplace in living room on first floor 2. Decorative wood bas relief in mantle 3. Fluted woodwork in mantle 4. French doors on either side of fireplace 5. Built in wood bookcases 6. Keystone in round archway in hallway (one of each side of front hallway) 7. Volute newel post (spiral) at bottom of stairs 8. Box newel post at top of stairs 9. Squared wood balusters and stained wood railing in bannister BUILDING PHOTOS AND DRAWINGS See attached document: S02 Building 6 Drawings. --- End ---