REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ) FOR CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK
Re: South Winneshiek Community School District Addition
Superintendent of Schools: Kris Einck
Lead Design Professional: Nick Hildebrandt, AIA (Emergent Architecture)
The South Winneshiek Community School District is seeking submissions for Statements of Qualifications (SOQ) for Construction Manager at Risk (CMaR) services for the above project. The Scope of the Work will involve pre-construction services and construction phase services, with the intended form of contract for the project being AIA Document A133- 2019 (GMP), with AIA Document A201–2017, General Conditions of the Contract for Construction. Any objections to such a basis for the form of agreement should be articulated in submission made in response to this RFQ. The District invites those qualified firms to submit their Statement of Qualifications to complete the items described under the following
project description. Submissions shall cover all requirements as described in this request for qualifications.
Project Descriptions and Background
The School Board of the South Winneshiek Community School District has teamed with Emergent Architecture to complete master planning of district facilities. The process for the planning included reviews by the design team, staff team feedback, Administration team feedback, and recommendations by the design team. Based on this collaborative effort, a Master Plan was developed to best represent the needs of the District and Community for years to come. Based upon the findings, the School Board approved proceeding with a bond issue that passed and will culminate with this construction project. The district will be demolishing the old existing High School and replacing it in its current location with a new facility. The project also will remodel some of the existing high school and require some work to keep this building in operation while the old school is torn down and the new is constructed. The District is planning to utilize multiple funding sources for these projects which have all been previously approved: General Obligation bonds, SAVE funds, PPEL funds, and cash.
Addition and Renovations (appx. value $21.5M)
Location:
- 304 S Webster St – Calmar, Iowa
High School:
- Relocate the existing utility infrastructure from the existing older half of the High School followed by the demolition of the old High School building. Construction of an addition to the existing High School building with the following program: new secure main entrance and office area; cafeteria and kitchen; competition gymnasium, locker rooms, elevated track, wrestling and support spaces; classroom spaces, common learning & library space. The project also includes renovation of the existing building for: relocated and updated science room spaces, updated special education spaces, updated performing arts classroom spaces, and relocated mechanical support spaces.
Duration:
- The Design Team is currently working through Schematic Design with the District. The work is intended to be delivered as one project, perhaps phased, with drawings scheduled to be completed for bidding in October of 2026. The estimated construction period is November 2026 through July 2028 but input from the construction team on the schedule is expected.
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Construction Manager at Risk Services
Construction Manager at Risk services shall include:
- Pre-construction services
- Pre-bid cost estimating at SD, DD, and CD phases
- Detailed cost estimates with material/itemized take-offs at completion of DD with detailed cost updates following any subsequent scope changes up to bidding.
- Preparation of Agreement Between Owner and Construction Manager
- Value management while maintaining design intent
- Scheduling
- Constructability/phasing review
- Recommendations while maintaining design intent
- Preparation of Division 00 and 01 specifications, and compilation of all specifications
- Bidding phase services
- Compilation of bid packages with detailed scope definitions from the Design Team projected drawings and specifications
- Assembly of a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) and Agreement
- Modifications to GMP based on requests from Owner and/or Design Team
- Solicitation of subcontractor bids
- Scope review meetings with subcontractors to ensure complete bids
- Preparation of contracts for each subcontractor
- Construction management services
- Electronic management of documents including Change Order preparation and tracking, etc. b. Schedule management
- Distribution of progress reports to Owner and Design Team
- Site collaboration for changes while maintaining design intent
- Quality control
- Safety
- Inspections/testing
- Accounting
- Owner training and operations/maintenance manuals
- Preparation and assembly of all closeout documentation
NOTE: The Work of each bid package will be competitively bid per the state of Iowa’s public bidding process. It is allowable by law for the CMaR to bid on the project scope and self-perform work.
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Tentative Schedule
The selection process anticipates the following schedule. This schedule is subject to adjustments.
- 12/12/2025 Public Notice of Request for Qualifications
- 12/29/2025 Issuance of Request for Qualifications
- 01/05/2026 1:00 pm Contractor’s Site Walk
- 01/07/2026 RFQ Questions Due
- 01/12/2026 RFQ Question Responses issued
- 01/16/2026 12:00 pm Statements of Qualifications Due/Opened Publicly
- 01/16/26 – 01/20/26 Evaluation of SOQs Received
- 01/20/2026 Issuance of Request for Proposals
- 01/26/2026 RFP Questions Due
- 01/29/2025 RFP Question Responses issued
- 02/03/2026 10:00 am Proposals Due
- 02/04/26 – 02/05/26 Interviews, if requested
- 02/05/2026 School Board Selection of CMaR
*Timeline subject to change as directed by the District
Qualifications
This initial request is only qualification-based to determine the firms that will be offered the opportunity to submit their proposed fees for the project. In accordance with Iowa law, the school District will select the firm’s proposal submission that offers the best value based on the criteria listed below and the school District’s ranking of each firm as it relates to the selection criteria.
- Firm Profile & Background
- Applicable Project Experience, Qualifications, & References
- Project Team and Company Structure
- Proposed Delivery Method & Management Process
- Safety Record & Internal Safety Program
Section 1 – Firm Profile & Background
- Firm’s name and primary location along with any branch offices or locations. Identify the office location that will be responsible for the proposed projects.
- Summary of the history of the firm and areas of specialization.
- Estimated volume of completed construction projects in the last 3 years including the role of the firm in each project.
- Discuss your firm’s financial stability, including bonding capabilities and current backlog of work. • Provide your insurance coverage information.
- List of previous litigation filed by or against the firm in the last 10 years. Include a brief description of the situation and the outcome of the litigation proceedings.
Section 2 – Applicable Project Experience, Qualifications, & References
- Examples of at least three (3) Pre-K through 12th grade educational projects (public or private) of similar size, scope, and phasing to that of this request to demonstrate qualifications, including the following for each project:
o Name of project, Owner, Designer, project start date.
o Owner representative’s contact information.
o Design Team representative’s contact information.
o Project description including applicable information to this RFQ.
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o Initial project budget and final project cost, including the percentage of change orders in relation to the total project cost (include reasoning for variation from project budget to final cost, if any). o Indicate project delivery schedule, including estimated schedule and actual schedule and date of substantial completion (include reasoning for variation from estimated schedule to actual schedule, if any).
o Key firm team members on the project and their roles.
o Description and dollar amount of self-performed work.
- Provide at least three (3) references including contact information for whom comparable work has been performed.
- Evaluation will place precedence on the projects with the most applicable scope of work, and those that are the most recent in time and nearest to the school district.
Section 3 – Project Team and Company Structure
- List of proposed personnel for the project team including roles on all phases of the CMaR scope of work. • Indicate which member has key responsibilities during the various project phases and estimated involvement. o Indicate availability of proposed personnel to execute the requirements of the projects. • Brief organization chart of the firm. Indicate the placement of the proposed team members within the organization.
- Relevant experience and qualifications of the proposed personnel and how they will contribute to the success of the projects.
- Discuss your firm’s approach to ensuring continuity of the project team throughout the duration of the projects.
Section 4 – Proposed Delivery Method & Management Process
- Describe how your firm will engage with the Design Team and District to work toward a common design goal as a team.
- How will your firm communicate with the Owner during the process?
- How will your firm ensure that the projects will remain within the project budget while maintaining the design goals for the project?
o Detail your firm’s approach to cost estimating.
- How will your firm ensure competitive bidding and separate self-performed work? Will you self-perform work and please explain the advantage or disadvantage or your process?
- Project scheduling and organization is a very important metric to the District. What are your specific processes for assembling a project schedule and keeping it up to date?
- How will your firm ensure that the work of all subcontractors will maintain that schedule? • How will your firm approach quality control of the subcontractor’s workmanship?
- How are construction related changes managed during the project?
- Describe how your firm will approach changes due to items indicated on the Design Team’s drawings but omitted from a bid package.
Section 5 – Safety Record & Internal Safety Program
- Provide a brief description of the company’s safety history with any metrics that differentiate you from other firms.
- Provide a brief description of the company’s safety program and how your firm proactively approaches safety concerns and ensures compliance with relevant health and safety regulations.
- How does your firm ensure the safety of the building occupants around an active construction area in a building that is partially occupied?
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Selection Criteria
Submissions shall be evaluated and scored based on the following criteria:
- Completeness of the response to this RFQ in addressing each of the criteria listed. 10 pts 2. Previous experiences of the firm as well as the experiences of its proposed team for the project. 15 pts 3. Relevant references from both the applicable projects and any others provided. 15 pts 4. Previous success in delivering projects on time and within budget. 15 pts 5. Availability of the listed team members to execute the requirements of the project. 10 pts 6. Teamwork approach with Owner and Design Team. 10 pts 7. Firm’s applicable differentiators from other firms. 10 pts 8. Other relevant criteria as determined by the school District. 15 pts
Firms scoring at least 80 points will be deemed qualified. Such qualified firms will then be requested to provide a Proposal and may be interviewed. The South Winneshiek Community School District reserves the right to ultimately decide which firms are qualified to submit a proposal in the best interest of the District.
The school District also reserves the right to the following:
- Clarify any errors in the RFQ.
- Modify the selection procedure and criteria to qualify the submissions.
- Waive any deficiencies in any submissions received.
- Reject submissions that are either incomplete or received after the submission deadline. • Reject all submissions.
- Select a committee to review the submissions and proposals.
- Weigh the selection criteria as the District sees fit for this project.
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RFQ Response Instructions
Statements of Qualifications shall be created in electronic format and combined into a single file (PDF) titled “South Winneshiek CSD SOQ for CMaR Services.” All submittals shall be limited to 20 pages (8.5” x 11”) in total length. Submit all SOQs electronically by email to all of the following email addresses and include the project title and submitting firm’s name in the email subject:
keinck@swinn.k12.ia.us
ksmith@swinn.k12.ia.us
nick@emergentarch.com
bids@emergentarch.com
Submit by 12:00pm (noon) on Friday, January 16, 2026.
A virtual opening will take place at 12:05 pm on January 16th. The design team will announce the name of each firm in which a Statement of Qualifications was submitted. Link for virtual opening:
Microsoft Teams Meeting
https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup
join/19%3ameeting_MWMxZWJkZTUtN2IwYy00MTU0LTk2ZDAtODhjZGMwODFmZDFl%40thread.v2/0?context =%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22606abe1c-69b4-46ea-9db5-2d09c6174e7a%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%221af3834a 8d33-4ff2-854b-d6abd9d19a43%22%7d
Rapids Reproductions will host this project on their online public plan room. Additional information, responses to questions, addenda to this RFQ, etc. shall all be posted on their site.
Questions regarding this RFQ shall be submitted by email to the Design Team Representative. Verbal responses shall not be considered official. All questions submitted will be compiled and addressed.
Owner’s Representative Design Team Representative:
Kris Einck – Superintendent
keinck@swinn.k12.ia.us
Nick Hildebrandt – Principal Architect South Winneshiek Comm. School District Emergent Architecture
nick@emergentarch.com and bids@emergentarch.com 319.529.3534
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