Sudbury updates Event Centre procurement to progressive design-build model
The City of Greater Sudbury has changed its procurement method for getting a downtown event centre built.
On April 8, it announced that it had issued an addendum for the Event Centre Design-Build request for proposal (RFP) that changed the method of the procurement from design-build to a progressive design-build (PDB) process.
The city began its process to select a contractor for the project in April 2017 when it issued a request for supplier qualification that produced three short-listed teams for the RFP process.
The issuance of a formal design-build RFP for the project, however, was delayed until January 2022 due to the pandemic and legal challenges related to property rezoning. During that time, the city says, market conditions in the construction industry shifted dramatically.
Following the RFP release on January 28, 2022, and through the regular answering of questions and meetings with proponents, the city received several requests to revise the procurement process. In particular, questions centred around changing the form of the proposal submission to acknowledge risks relating to supply-chain reliability and labour availability.
After consulting with legal and industry advisors, the city shifted to an alternative procurement method that uses a different approach for managing these market risks.
The progressive design-build model, on the other hand, manages market risks by increasing the level of engagement between the preferred proponent and the client.
Under a PDB model, proponents use a multi-step collaborative process to determine a final, approved design and associated cost. The city says these still will provide additional checkpoints for council to evaluate each proponent’s approach to build the Event Centre and, if necessary, make adjustments that maintain an appropriate balance between the building’s features and the project’s anticipated construction cost.
The updated RFP document is available on the City of Sudbury’s procurement website.