[Protest of VA Solicitation for Office Space]

A firm protested a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) solicitation for the lease of space, contending that: (1) the solicitation unfairly favored bidders proposing new construction; (2) the solicitation failed to consider the cost of relocating from the existing facility as part of the price evaluation; and (3) VA failed to provide written answers to its pre-proposal questions and requests for clarifications. GAO held that: (1) the protester failed to show that the claimed competitive advantages were the result of unfair action by VA or did not represent VA's actual requirements; (2) there was no basis to object to VA's failure to provide for the evaluation of relocation costs; and (3) VA was not required to pre-approve the protester's solutions to the solicitation's requirements or disclose the numerical weighting of evaluation factors. Accordingly, the protest was denied.