New York Construction Report staff writer
The NYC Department of Design and Construction (DDC) has established the city’s first Pre-Qualified List (PQL) that is limited to M/WBE (Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprises) general contractors. Firms on the list have the exclusive right to bid on the agency’s general construction projects valued from $500,000 up to $2.99 million. A Pre-Qualified List allows DDC to speed up projects by reducing the time it takes to review vendors’ backgrounds and qualifications prior to awarding construction contracts.
“As a city, we are committed to supporting our M/WBE firms, helping them build capacity, and using smart and innovative procurement tools to direct more and larger contracts to these firms,” said Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer.
“Introducing the city’s first-ever M/WBE exclusive Pre-Qualified List at DDC will help speed up projects at the agency and it helps deliver on a key initiative from our Blueprint for Economic Recovery. This is an important step forward for our M/WBEs and will help our city toward a more equitable recovery.”
A Pre-Qualified List is a tool for city government procurement in which companies are pre-screened for their ability to complete certain projects as well as their history of regulatory compliance. Companies that apply for and then pass that review earn the exclusive right to bid on certain types of city contracts. Use of a PQL is estimated to save DDC approximately three months during the contracting process.
M/WBE firms on the new PQL will be able to bid to perform general construction work for projects with an estimated construction cost of $500,000 to less than $3 million.
DDC is the city’s leading capital construction agency and builds and upgrades municipal buildings such as firehouses, clinics and libraries, and projects awarded under the new PQL will involve those types of public buildings including interior renovations, HVAC, fire suppression, facades, roofs and building-wide system upgrades.
“Diversity does not just happen, we have to design and implement initiatives such as this one to bring about equity and access to opportunity,” said DDC Executive Deputy Commissioner Magalie D. Austin. “This important step will help M/WBEs build capacity in the high-demand field of construction.”
DDC’s new PQL currently has seven firms, but others may still apply. Firms must:
- have successfully completed during the past five years as either a prime contractor or subcontractor at least three general construction projects with a cost range between $1.5 – and $3 million
- have completed at least one project which included interior renovation and mechanical, electrical and/or plumbing system upgrades
- demonstrate the financial ability to support a project of the size that would be solicited under the PQL
- be a New York City-certified M/WBE or a qualified joint venture
The city’s PQLs are available for viewing through PASSport, the City online procurement portal:
https://passport.cityofnewyork.us/page.aspx/en/sup/pql_browse_public
Applications to be added to the new PQL should be submitted through PASSport. Information on how to submit an application or register for PASSPort is here: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/mocs/systems/about-go-to-passport.page.
