Client: Gower Studio
- Monterey saved Sunset Gower Studios over $25k in annual energy costs
- From conception to completion, we assisted in managing the entire project
Property owner, Hudson Pacific Properties, was tasked with upgrading a four-story, full city block parking structure at Gower Studios. A main area of concern in the structure was its lighting. Aside from day-to-day parking, the building is used extensively for filming, so the project required robust and efficient lighting throughout. Historically, the poor lighting was a detriment to directors and producers and therefore, a major focus of the upgrade. Hudson brought Monterey in at the beginning of the design phase to ensure they could work with a distributor that could save them money and bring transparency to the bidding process.
For all of its construction projects, Gower Studios’ policy requires them to obtain at least three contractor bids. The client knew that their current bidding process was outdated, dysfunctional, and often resulted in incomparable quotes. After all, getting everyone to quote apples to apples is close to impossible. However, by working with Monterey, Sunset Gower Studios was able to utilize our ability to manage the project from start to finish. We put together a budget for the materials needed and reached out to our network of contractors.
Monterey identified three trusted contractors to bid and guaranteed all would provide the same product and service. When the bids came in, they were within 10% of each other. The client had access to all the information they needed, from product costs to lead times, to accurately evaluate the three bids. As a team, we reviewed all three bids and let the client choose the contractor they felt would be the best fit for the job. Hudson Pacific chose the bid that not only worked with their budget, but more importantly, provided the results they were trying to achieve.
The project began and everything was going to plan. The fixtures were installed and looked great. However, we quickly recognized there was an unforeseen problem. Many of the Hubbell lenses started to shake loose from the vibration of the cars throughout the parking garage. This is where Monterey’s complete ownership of the project was needed most. Immediately, Monterey and the contractor were on site to access the problem. We quickly determined that there was a manufacturer’s defect on the lenses. We swiftly notified Hubbell and a plan of action was put forward to promptly remanufacture all of the lenses. While we waited for the new product, the contractor developed a temporary fix to keep the lenses in place. The new lenses were remanufactured and installed within 3 weeks. By avoiding unproven and lowquality manufacturers, Monterey understood that support would be there should a problem arise. This is the value we pride ourselves on: protecting our clients at all costs.
In the end, Gower Studios was equipped with a fully functional and controllable lighting system that was nergyefficient and aesthetically pleasing.
- Created a budget outline of the project’s materials to facilitate a seamless and timely bidding process.
- Vetted manufacturers to secure the highest quality and most costeffective lighting solutions for the client.
- Took ownership of the entire lighting side of the project from conception to completion.
- Proactively developed a successful plan of action when a manufacturer defect occurred.
- Served as the single point of contact for any ongoing support needed throughout the project.
