The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has awarded GardaWorld a $1.2B contract to enlarge immigration detention facilities in Florence.
While AZBEX does not normally run articles on contract awards, the scope of this award and the comparatively small extent of previous public comment warrants an exception.
The Arizona Republic initially reported on the plan Sept. 22. The Arizona Daily Star in Tucson posted an updated Republic article Sept. 23. The follow-up article does not appear on the Republic website as of the time of writing.
The updated article reports DHS signed the $1.2B contract with GardaWorld Sept. 20, citing information from immigration detention tracking group Project Salt Box. BEX research staff has independently confirmed the complicated structure.
GardaWorld Federal Services is a U.S.-based subsidiary of Canada-based GardaWorld. The firm had previously been awarded a $313.4M DHS contract to convert a 418KSF warehouse in Surprise into an immigration detention facility following Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s January purchase of the facility for $70M.
The warehouse conversion is on hold due to a number of legal and procedural challenges.
DHS is reportedly moving away from some of the planned warehouse projects because of local resistance in various communities, according to Project Salt Box.
The $1.2B Florence award to GardaWorld is reportedly part of a larger $7.3B collection of contracts to expand immigration detention facilities across the country, including sites in Florida, New York, Texas and California, according to the report.
ICE posted terms for a single award construction contract on Sam.gov in August seeking “a contractor to renovate, repair and expand a 400-bed detention facility in Florence called the Florence Service Processing Center,” according to the Republic article.
The $1.2B award is best viewed as an omnibus funding mechanism for an expansive range of potential projects to improve and expand the Florence facility.
The proposed work includes design and site preparation for a new building, selective demolition and utility structure elements for a new Secure Housing Unit, along with other components. The SHU is the only project referenced in detail and is given as a specific example scenario of the types of work that may be performed under the overall award.
BEX research staff found additional details under the scenario detailing 26 new detention cells and a cost of up to $26M.
The SAM.gov description reads:
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Single Award Construction Contract (SACC) Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) for new construction, renovation, and repair of owned Service Processing Center (SPC) solicitation.
The SACC is intended to serve as a highly flexible construction contracting vehicle to support mission-critical facility needs. All contractors will need to have the capacity to manage Single Task Orders.
The scope of work under the SACC includes, but is not limited to:
- General construction.
- Alteration, modification, and renovation of existing facilities.
- Maintenance services and repair of buildings and infrastructure.
- Demolition of structures and facilities.
- Design-build services.
- New construction of buildings, facilities, and real property.
It goes on to say, “This competitive acquisition will result in several Single Award, Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ)s with the ability to issue Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) task orders. The contract will have a period of performance of five (5) years from the date of award.”
The sample scope of work provided for the Florence SHU says, “The project requires the design and construction of a new, single-story Secure Housing Unit (SHU) consisting of 26 modular cells, two of which must comply with Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) Standards; three-day rooms; three ABA-compliant showers; detainee search; storage spaces; security office control room; desk officer office; vestibules; recreation yards; and all associated spaces in accordance with the floor plan in Appendix A. The new building must be architecturally compatible with other structures on the SPC campus.”
According to the articles, the Town of Florence has not yet received any notifications from DHS regarding the plans.
