GROUNDWORK Public-construction intelligence · Delaware

Every public building project moving in Delaware, read from the primary record.

Delaware's public construction market is announced in plain sight — county bid boards, the state solicitation directory, capital budgets — but scattered across portals nobody reads together. Groundwork reads them together. Design-stage RFPs surface here 12–18 months before the construction bids they become.

47
open state solicitations reviewed
24
building-relevant listings on the board
$44M+
flagship project file, documented
100%
of rows linked to a source document
THE FLAGSHIP FILE

Anatomy of a $44 million public build: the new Newark Free Library

Owner, architect, construction manager, twenty-three prime trade contracts across five bid packs, a five-contract rebid round, first steel to final fit-out — the whole delivery of New Castle County's flagship library, reconstructed from the procurement record. One trade bid is open right now.

READ THE FILE →
PROJECT FILE NO. 002

Anatomy of a state-funded special school: the new John G. Leach School

Thirty prime contracts advertised in one package, two scopes re-bid, twenty-three firms named on the state award notice, a therapy pool inside a 65,000 sq ft single-story school, and a pre-bid schedule that ends on a January 2028 first day of class — all from the primary documents. The landscaping re-bid closes September 24.

READ THE FILE →

The Board

DATA RE-VERIFIED 2026-09-07 · SOURCES LINKED PER ROW
STAGEPROJECTOWNER / AGENCYCONTRACT NO.DEADLINESOURCE
BIDDING NOW Newark Free Library — Audio Visual Systems (Bid Pack 4)The county's $44M+ flagship library; Wohlsen Construction is CM. See the full file. New Castle County DPW 25-2522 2026-09-15 NCC bid board
BIDDING NOW Stormwater Management Basin Retrofits — Various Locations IIICounty drainage-infrastructure package; retrofits to existing stormwater basins across New Castle County. New Castle County DPW 26-2603 2026-10-20 NCC bid board
BIDDING NOW Eisenberg Elementary School — RenovationsWhole-school renovation package advertised by the district directly. Colonial School District COL027005-EISRENOV 2026-10-02 DE MMP
BIDDING NOW Delaware State Police Crime Lab — HVAC Unit ReplacementMechanical replacement in an occupied state facility. Delaware OMB OMB-MC1002001114 2026-10-15 DE MMP
BIDDING NOW Delaware State Police Troop 5 — HVAC ReplacementState-police facility mechanical package; posted to the state portal 2026-09-04. Delaware OMB OMB-MC1002001141 2026-10-08 DE MMP
BIDDING NOW Electrical Contractor — Statewide SolicitationGovernment Support Services solicitation for electrical contracting; scope per the solicitation documents on the portal, not a single project. Posted 2026-09-04. Government Support Services GSS27748-ELECTRICIAN 2026-10-01 DE MMP
BIDDING NOW BBTS — Running Track Lighting Army National Guard ARNG202610-BBTSTRKLGT 2026-09-17 DE MMP
BIDDING NOW Leach School — Bid Pack CLandscaping re-bid on a 30-contract, state-funded special school; EDiS Company is CM. See the full file. Colonial School District COL027004-LEACHBIDC 2026-09-24 DE MMP
BIDDING NOW William Penn High School — Athletic Field Colonial School District COL027003-ATHFILD 2026-09-15 DE MMP
BIDDING NOW James T. Vaughn Correctional Center — New K-9 Facility Delaware OMB OMB-MC3804000169 2026-09-15 DE MMP
BIDDING NOW Leonard L. Williams Justice Center — Escalator Replacement Delaware OMB OMB-MJ1002000087A 2026-09-24 DE MMP
BIDDING NOW Holloway Campus — Carvel Roof Replacement Delaware OMB OMB-MC3501000111A 2026-09-24 DE MMP
BIDDING NOW DSP Headquarters — Boiler Replacement Delaware OMB OMB-MC1002001111A 2026-09-10 DE MMP
BIDDING NOW Darley Rd EEC — Boiler and Chiller Replacement Brandywine School District BSD270001-CHILLERDRD 2026-09-24 DE MMP
BIDDING NOW AASF Original Hangar — Roof Replacement Army National Guard ARNG2408-AASFROOF 2026-09-22 DE MMP
BIDDING NOW Reith Hall — Stained Glass Window Restoration Delaware OMB OMB-MC2006000214 2026-09-16 DE MMP
BIDDING NOW Thomasson Building — Demolition Delaware State University DSUPC24008-THOMDEMOLI 2026-09-15 DE MMP
BIDDING NOW Ted Harvey Conservation Area — Viewing Platforms DNREC NAT26001-THWILDVIEW 2026-09-10 DE MMP
BIDDING NOW Public Buildings and Facilities — Repair ImprovementsPurchasing Division "Sealed Bid and Proposal Solicitation" filed under Goods and Services: a term contract with renewal options and an evaluation attachment, not a Public Works construction contract. New Castle County 27SA-349 2026-09-29 NCC bid board
DESIGN SERVICES Engineering, Architectural, and Construction Management ServicesCampus-wide professional-services award — the construction bids this produces land later. Delaware Technical CC DTCC27344-ARCENGCON 2026-09-16 DE MMP
DESIGN SERVICES Architectural Services — Shelter Conversion and RenovationDesign award now; conversion and renovation packages follow it. Delaware State Housing Authority DSHA26001-RHTGARCH 2026-09-23 DE MMP
DESIGN SERVICES Subsurface Investigation Services DelDOT DOT262216-2217-SUB_INVEST 2026-09-24 DE MMP
DESIGN SERVICES Stormwater and Water Quality Design DelDOT DOT262214-2215-STORMWATER 2026-09-24 DE MMP
DESIGN SERVICES Mechanical and Controls Maintenance Services Delaware State University DSU260817-MCMSERVICE 2026-10-29 DE MMP
UNDER CONSTRUCTION Newark Free Library — new 40,000 sq ft buildingSteel topped; interior trades progressing; completion scheduled 2027. Full file on this site. New Castle County DPW 25-2501…2522, 2524 2027 The file

How to read this board

Design services come first

Before an owner advertises a single trade bid, it hires architects, engineers, and construction managers. Those professional-services RFPs are public too — and they are the earliest reliable signal that a building is coming. A design award on this board today is a set of construction bids twelve to eighteen months from now.

Bid packs mean multiple primes

When a Delaware public project appears as "Bid Pack 1, 2, 3…", the owner is holding every prime trade contract itself, with a construction manager coordinating the packs. Reading the pack sequence tells you where the building actually is: sitework packs mean ground, finish packs mean walls, AV packs mean opening day is in sight.

Primary sources only

Every row links to the portal it was pulled from — the State of Delaware bid directory and the New Castle County bid board. Nothing on this board is scraped from a commercial aggregator, and no figure appears here that a source document doesn't state. Where the record is incomplete, the board says so.