San Marino, California, one of most prestigious communities in Southern California, has long been the home of the lovely Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. This 875-acre facility has some of the most tranquil and meticulously maintained gardens anywhere in the world. In addition to the delicately manicured gardens, The Huntington is also home to a number of historically significant and ornate buildings which over time have come to require significant renovations in order to restore them to their original state. The most recent of these facilities to be restored is known as The Carriage House. The Carriage House has in recent years come to require significant improvements. Moreover, The Huntington wished to alter its current use of this facility from the storage of collectibles to a museum, exhibition and education hall, museum gift shop, and artwork restoration center. The facility was to be restored to the thing of beauty it once was when it was originally built. Pozzo Construction Company was selected to perform the restoration and was asked to submit a cost quotation which they in turn asked DACM Project Management to prepare. Our estimate was based on the drawings prepared by Levin & Associates which were approximately 70% complete at the time.

The scope of work for the project included the remodel of the Carriage House itself, two combination administrative office and storage facility buildings and a central plant area to support all the operations. The work on the facilities was quite delicate in nature and subject to State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) guidelines due to features such as the ornate balustrades which adorned the exteriors of the buildings. The Carriage House buildings which are fully sprinkled, single story with mezzanine structures required significant improvements as part of the restoration. The work included the restoration of all balustrades, the replacement of all doors and windows, the installation or modernization of the mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire sprinkler, and fire / life safety systems, bringing the facilities into compliance with the American Disabilities Act (ADA), the addition of loading dock facilities, and extensive finish carpentry work. DACM Project Management provided a 70% Construction Document Cost Estimate and identified inconsistencies and omissions within the Contract Drawings. As the scope became further defined, we revised the estimates in conjunction with the latest design information.