Navy looks to fast-track Camp Pendleton barracks project

Ten new barracks buildings are coming to Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, according to a U.S. Navy notice.

The Navy put out a fast-track solicitation for new on-base housing facilities for unmarried military personnel. The project includes four Bachelor Enlisted Quarters, or BEQs, with 401 rooms each, three with 361 rooms apiece and three more with 261 rooms each.

“The initiative will replace 10 outdated barracks buildings … nearly 656,000 square feet in total … with modern, high-quality facilities engineered to meet revised spatial standards and living configurations for today’s Marines,” according to a Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command news release.

On July 1, NAVFAC published a Special Notice announcing new barracks for Camp Pendleton, as well as Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California; Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina; Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina; and Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia; as well as childcare centers at several Navy bases.

NAVFAC released a solicitation for the actual construction Saturday, with a deadline of Oct. 1. The Navy wants barracks that are built using “advanced manufacturing and IC [industrialized construction] methodologies (such as volumetric modular, hybrid, and/or Kit of Parts) to deliver high-performing, durable barracks,” the solicitation said.

Buildings will use modular construction to reduce maintenance costs.

“Barracks are especially well-suited for industrialized construction because their repeated room layouts and common building systems support faster, more standardized delivery at-scale,” the NAVFAC release noted.

The project will use the Progressive Design Build concept in which the government, contractors and off-site manufacturers collaborate early in the design phase. The goal is to cut construction time by at least 30%, and construction and design costs by at least 20%.

“Selected vendors will be invited to submit full proposals covering design, manufacturing, logistics, and construction pricing and schedules for replacement barracks at Camp Pendleton,” the solicitation said.

The contract will be an Other Transaction Authority arrangement, which allows agencies to speed up projects by bypassing many regulations and processes governing federal acquisitions.

Originally a 1950s mechanism to energize research and technology projects during the Cold War, OTAs were recently extended to include military construction and repair efforts.

“Our Marines cannot wait for traditional acquisition and construction timelines,” NAVFAC Commander Rear Adm. Jeffrey Kilian said in a statement. “Using this new OTA authority, NAVFAC can move faster, bring in the best of industry, and deliver barracks that match the standards our Marines deserve.”

The Camp Pendleton construction is part of Barracks 2030, a nearly $11 billion initiative to replace aging and decrepit Marine living quarters by 2037. Marine Corps leaders describe the program as a top priority.