General: The National Park Service, Department of Interior, is soliciting proposals for construction firms having the capability to perform the work described below. The solicitation will be issued electronically, on the Department of Interior's National Business Center (NBC) web site, http://ideassec.nbc.gov. Paper copies of this solicitation will not be made available. Prospective offerors desiring to conduct business with DOI are requested to register at the NBC website. Proposal documents will be available in Microsoft Word, HTML, and Adobe PDF. Specification will be available in Adobe PDF format; drawings will be available in TIFF format. Offereros wishing to receive electronic notification of changes will need to register to receive notification of this specific solicitation at http://ideasec.nbc.gov. This service is provided for convenience only and does not serve as a guarantee of notification. Subscribers to this service are ultimately responsible for reviewing the http://ideas.nbc.gov site for all information relevant to this solicitation. Plan holders will be required to visit this website periodically to check for amendments and other changes to the contract documents. No other notification will be sent. Proposed Issue Date is on/or about July 5, 2006. NAICS Code: 236220, Size Standard $31.0 Million Title of Project: This project will be to rehabilitate the Corson Block at New Bedford Whaling National Historic Park, New Bedford, MA for use as the park's education and public program facility. The Corson Block is comprised of two three-story nineteenth century buildings (approximately 12,000 square feet) located adjacent to the Park Visitor Center. The project includes: installation (and ultimate removal) of a facade retention system to temporarily reinforce the Corson Block prior to the completion of the structural reinforcement system; demolition work to include abatement and disposal of asbestos and lead containing materials within the Corson Block building and demolition of the toilet room at the Visitor's Center. A Corson Block structural system will be installed which includes basement slabs, foundation walls and column piers; structural steel frame and bracing; floor decks, slabs (mechanical chases cut); roof deck, and roof overhang framing. The exterior envelope work includes new aluminum windows; new and restored wood entrance doors, fixed-in-place doors, storefront windows, and transoms; masonry restoration: rebuilding, repointing, and cleaning work (also at the interior face of exterior brick walls); stone restoration; cast iron column/capital restoration. Construction also includes: a link structure between the Corson Block and New Bedford Whaling National Historic Park Visitor Center; complete rehabilitation of the Corson Block basement, 1st floor theater and shell retail space; 2nd and 3rd floor shell space as indicated on the drawings. In addition to the base bid there are eight bid options All work will be performed under a single contract. Type of Procurement: A negotiated firm-fixed price contract will be awarded requiring submission of both a technical and a price proposal. The government will consider an offeror's technical capability and will then select the contractor whose proposal represents the best value to the government. Construction cost for this project is estimated range to be in the range of $3,000,000 to $4,500,000. Time for completion will be approximately 395 calendar days. Proposal receipt date is approximate; actual date will be established at the time proposal documents are available. All responsible sources may submit an offer that will be considered. This is a competitive Small Business Set-Aside under the Small Business Competitiveness Demonstration Program, FAR 19.1001(b).