Federal design-build proposal could make it easier for small businesses to land government contracts

The Design-Build Efficiency and Jobs Act, a bill pending in the U.S. House of Representatives, would streamline the bid and proposal process by requiring government agencies to use a two-step process when seeking design-build contracts for projects worth more than $750,000.

In addition, agencies would only be able to solicit more than five bids if they could justify the reason to do so in writing. Lawmakers say the measure would help small businesses compete for federal contracts.

(http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20131203/FACILITIES01/312030010/Lawmakers-Design-build-contracts-must-streamlined?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p)

New York City has two very large buildings dedicated to answering the 911 calls of its five boroughs. With more than 11 million emergency calls annually, it makes perfect sense. The second of these buildings, the Public Safety Answering Center II (PSAC II) is located on a nine-acre parcel of land in the Bronx. It’s an imposing 450,000 square-foot structure—a 240-foot-wide by 240-foot-tall cube. The gleaming aluminum cube risesthe equivalent of 24 stories from behind a grassy berm, projecting the unlikely impression that it might actually be floating. Like most visually striking structures, the building has drawn as much scorn as it has admiration.