On July 22, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a new schedule and scope details for a scheduled $986 million cyber and intelligence operations center at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, moving what the Corps describes as one of its first progressive design-build projects with the Transactions Authority from one to the other.
Industry day slides describe a main facility of approximately 600,000 square meters and a central utility plant of 12,500 square meters. the Corps plans to publish the request for qualifications on August 26, with answers until September 25. The center would support the 16th Air Force’s cyber, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, electronic warfare and information missions.
A Corps spokesman told ENR that it received a directive for the facility as part of the 2028 military construction program at Lackland’s Security Hill, with projected employment of over 3,000.
The Corps had identified the progressive design-build and OTA structure in a June 15 special notice. The July 22nd update added the Industry Day slides and an attendee sign-in sheet. The notice says that the industry day questions and answers will be published later and the application has not yet been issued.
According to the procurement notice, the multi-story facility would use a high-performance structural steel frame over a reinforced concrete foundation and incorporate enhanced safety measures, including resistance to progressive collapse. An integrated visitor control center would manage access to the secure campus.
A substantial portion of the building would house a cyber operations data center purpose-built to support high performance computing, artificial intelligence server clusters and machine learning systems. The plans call for a scalable, high-density electrical infrastructure capable of future expansion.
The Corps issued an enterprise playbook for building progressive design through OTA this year. The document calls the method a “fundamental evolution” in how the Corps delivers mission-critical infrastructure. OTAs operate outside of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, work is governed by the negotiated agreement rather than the standard federal procurement framework.
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The Corps previously tested construction OTAs on a much smaller renovation of the $40 million Fort Campbell barracks awarded in 2024, its first construction agreement with the authority.
The planned 600,000-square-foot intelligence and cyber center would be built on Lackland’s Security Hill, southeast of the facility’s airfield and near Valley Hi Drive.
Map courtesy of USACE
“The success of this project is reshaping the way USACE approaches construction acquisition, especially for projects that require speed, flexibility and innovation,” Louisville District Engineering Design Branch Chief Carl Mudd said of the Fort Campbell pilot.
There will be an initial firm fixed price award for design and pre-construction services, followed by an option for final design and construction. The progressive design and construction team will be selected primarily for qualifications and experience before the final project design, construction price and schedule are established.
The government plans to select up to three teams for mandatory one-on-one meetings to test technical expertise, communication and problem-solving before making a “best value” selection not based on lowest price.
The notice says that first-phase teams typically advance the design to about 60% to 90%, while providing open-book cost estimates, constructability reviews and value engineering recommendations. The selected team will then submit a commercial proposal for the remaining design and construction work.
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If the Corps agrees to the price and schedule, it would authorize the second phase. If the parties can’t reach an agreement, the Corps could use an exit ramp that allows the government to take the finished design and get construction done by another method.
The notice also requires companies to be wholly owned and operated in the United States, maintain Level 2 Cybersecurity Maturity Model certification, and provide staff with experience in secure facilities and eligible for security clearances. Teams must also document at least $1.2 billion in link capacity.
A Corps spokesman referred further questions to the Air Force Civil Engineer Center. The value, construction schedule or funding status of the initial phase has not been made public.
