For a school RFP that requires design-build, a $20 million construction budget, prevailing wage compliance, and a three-week response window, which arrangement should CBA Architects and BGC consider?

• A. CBA and BGC form a new LLC and then submit an RFP response and fee.
• B. CBA and BGC form a joint-venture partnership and then submit an RFP response and fee.
• C. BGC submits an RFP response and fee and includes CBA as the consulting architect.
• D. They respond individually without any formal arrangement.

Answer: (A)

In a design-build procurement, the owner expects a single integrated entity to handle both design and construction, with clear responsibility and a unified fee. Forming a new LLC between CBA Architects and BGC creates that one-design-build entity, which can submit one RFP response and one fee as the prime. This simplifies contract administration, provides a single point of responsibility for design decisions and construction delivery, and aligns with prevailing wage compliance since the LLC acts as the prime contractor responsible for payroll and labor compliance.

The three-week response window is tight, so having a pre-formed, unified entity streamlines the bid and avoids time spent negotiating and finalizing a joint-venture agreement or setting up complex multi-party contracts during the bid period. A joint venture could work, but it introduces governance, liability, and equity questions that require additional time to resolve. Having BGC as a consultant while CBA bids as the architect would not satisfy the design-build requirement for a single design-build entity. Responding individually would also fail to meet the owner’s design-build delivery model.