Description of the Agency need that this procurement meets: The South Carolina Department of Parks Recreation & Tourism (the "Department") is seeking a qualified architect to provide complete architectural/engineering services for the design and construction of the Department's new welcome center at 1-26 South at the North/South Carolina border (at Landrum). The Department is currently designing a new welcome in North Augusta that successfully meets the programmatic needs and requirements of the Department for its welcome center operations and is ideal for the Landrum location. Additionally, site adapting this design will save time and money, and restore the full welcome center services at Landrum to our State as quickly as possible. The Department is not aware of any other suitable design prepared to meet its special needs and requirements. Therefore, the Department intends to site-adapt the North Augusta Welcome Center design for the Landrum Welcome Center. The architect and architect's consultants for the North Augusta Welcome Center own the license for this design. Therefore, the acquisition of the design is a sole source. Due to liability issues, the North Augusta Welcome Center architect is not willing to sell its license for use elsewhere absent their involvement in the project. The Department believes that acquisition of the architect to site adapt the North Augusta Welcome Center design is a sole source and intends to proceed as such. Qualified architects who disagree that the selection of the architect to site adapt an existing design and who are willing to accept full responsibility for doing so, should contact Kevin Kibler at 803-734-3752 by May 15 2026 for additional information.
Description of market research Agency performed to determine the availability of products or services that would meet the Agency's needs: The Agency's tourism division - based on visitor surveys - stresses the importance of historical and cultural authenticity for those visiting regions within South Carolina and as such, believes that the North Augusta Welcome Center design will impart aesthetic consistency to those visiting the equestrian areas of Aiken and Landrum as both welcome centers would be based off the existing North Augusta Welcome Center's equestrian design. Ultimately, such consistency will enhance the State's "brand".
Description of supplies, construction, information technology, and/or services Vendor will provide under the contract: The requested sole source vendor will provide architectural services associated with the Design-Bid-Build (DBB) delivery method of its Welcome Center Rebuild - Landrum Project. This project entails the demolition of the existing structure and the construction of the new center, as well as the associated site improvements.
Detailed explanation why no other vendor's supplies, construction, information technology, and/or services will meet the needs of the Agency: In addition to the unique equestrian design justification described above, the Agency believes that utilizing the North Augusta Welcome Center design will allow for a potential reduction in ongoing operational and maintenance costs as both centers would be developed with a design consistency that would afford a level of sameness of mechanical, electrical, plumbing, roofing and building envelop components. Finally, the shared design will provide a potential reduction in design development costs as well as a potential shortened schedule for the Welcome Center Rebuild - Landrum project.
Any actual or prospective bidder, offeror, contractor, or subcontractor aggrieved in connection with the intended award or award of this sole source contract, shall notify the appropriate chief Procurement officer in writing of its intent to protest within five (5) business days of the date this notice is posted. Any actual or prospective bidder, offeror, contractor, or subcontractor who is aggrieved in connection with the intended award or award of this sole source contract and has timely notified the appropriate chief procurement officer of its intent to protest, may protest to the appropriate chief procurement officer in the manner set forth below within fifteen days of the date this notice is posted; except that a matter that could have been raised as a protest of the solicitation may not be raised as a protest of the award or intended award of a contract.
A protest must be in writing, filed with the appropriate chief procurement officer, and set forth the grounds of the protest and the relief requested with enough particularity to give notice of the issues to be decided. The protest must be received by the appropriate chief procurement officer within the time provided above. Days are calculated as provided in S.C. Code Ann. § 11-35-310(13).
Any Notice Of Intent To Protest And Protest Must Be Addressed To: State Engineer
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803-737-0600 • scbo@mmo.sc.gov • https://scbo.sc.gov • https://procurement.sc.gov
