More than 80 respond to Navy’s call for rental property near Bremerton
Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Northwest, the Navy’s arm to provide engineering and acquisition services, issued a Request for Information (RFI) on October 26 to seek information regarding properties within a distance of approximately 40 travel miles from the base. The initial request asked for properties that could be available for 14 different operations, ranging from office space to warehouses or even outdoor sites.
The Navy received more than 80 responses in a month after asking the public for information about properties near Naval Base Kitsap that could be leased to support military operations as the shipyard in Bremerton is scheduled for upgrades in the next decade.
Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Northwest, the Navy’s arm to provide engineering and acquisition services, issued a Request for Information (RFI) on October 26 to seek information regarding properties within a distance of approximately 40 travel miles from the base. The initial request asked for properties that could be available for 14 different operations, ranging from office space to warehouses or even outdoor sites.
“All responses were acknowledged as received,” NAVFAC Northwest spokesperson Sarah Lincoln told the Kitsap Sun in an email on Thursday. “The Navy is currently reviewing responses and will tailor an acquisition strategy for leases based on further evaluation.”
The responses the Navy received before its Nov. 24 deadline are primarily within the range identified in the request, Lincoln said.
If there are viable leasing options per the information requested in the RFI, the Navy may publish a Request for Proposal (RFP) that best meets its needs, Lincoln said.
What’s the difference between a Request for Information (RFI) and a Request for Proposal (RFP)?
According to the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), a Request for Information (RFI) is used when a government agency wants to obtain price, delivery, and other market information or capabilities for planning purposes. Responses
to RFIs aren’t offers and can’t be accepted by the government to form a binding contract.
A Request for Proposal, however, is used in negotiated acquisitions to communicate government requirements to prospective contractors and to solicit proposals, according to NRL.
“The RFI was a tool for market research, not to determine which properties the Navy is interested in leasing. No determination has been made as to which properties the Navy is or is not interested in leasing,” Lincoln said.
“If the Navy moves forward with actual procurement of leases, Requests for Proposal will be posted on the SAM.gov website,” Lincoln said.