News Briefs

Luxury Apartment Towers Secured With Sargent Locks

Located at 100 Grand Avenue in Oakland, CA, The Grand opened in February 2010 after almost three years in construction and features 236 luxury apartments in an impressive 25-story, 311,000 square foot structure, making it the city's tallest building.  The Grand's web site describes it as Oakland's only "ultra-luxe rental homes experience," and its amenities do nothing to dispel that description: concierge service, 24/7 fitness studio, a full business center and Wifi in all common areas, as well as 8000 square feet of retail space. Breathtaking views of Lake Merritt, as well as carefully crafted landscaping, enhance the building's charm. 

Of course, a high level of luxury that is not accompanied by an equally high level of security is no bargain. According to Tony King, maintenance supervisor for The Grand, it is the very profile of the building's tenants that necessitated the property to offer a solid security scheme.

"The residents of our property are different than most tenants," said King.  "They are not seeking an everyday living experience.  They demand something out of the ordinary.  As a result, they expect the best of everything, including their security."

Consequently, back in 2007, when Architecture International was beginning to draw up plans for the project, one of the companies that developer Essex Property Trust Inc. identified was Sargent Manufacturing company.. 

Essex's development group asked Bahri Ozaslan, the chief architect for The Grand, to specify Sargent locks on the project.  He did just that, calling for Sargent on all of the door locks, interior and exterior.  That encompassed the doors on all 236 apartments, 75 storage rooms, and 16 exterior doors.  The three large retail suites on the ground floor are also protected by Sargent products.  The locks were installed in 2009 as interior construction was well under way.   

Even though the locks and exit devices are commercial quality, Essex wanted to make sure that the hardware should not have a commercial look and feel.  Consequently, the hardware used was chosen as much for its aesthetics as its functionality. 

On the front doors of each apartment, MG designer levers were used throughout the facility on 7900 Series mortise locks, DL tubular locks and 80 Series exit devices. The MG levers are part of the Sargent Studio Collection, offering 36 high-style levers that can be used on mortise locks, tubular locks, exit devices and access control products to provide a continuum of design regardless of the lock type chosen.

Sargent 80 Series exit devices, which offer easy installation and a maintenance-free design, were used on the building's exterior doors. DL Series Tubular Locks were used on all interior apartment doors (bathrooms, bedrooms, etc.).  And Sargent 80 Series with Electric Latch Retraction (ELR) exit devices - non-handed devices which are ideal for high-traffic egress doors that require access control - were used on the large doors in the main lobby area.  Once retracted, the door functions in a push/pull manner and delivers quiet, smooth operation.

Exclusively Doors of San Rafael provided all of the doors, including Maiman Thermal-fused doors, Graham wood doors and Adams Rite RITE Doors® (all are ASSA ABLOY Group brands).  The Maiman doors were used for unit entry, with different shades of maple alternating per floor.  Exclusively Doors also performed the actual installation of all the locks and associated hardware.  What made things even more convenient is that Essex didn't have to buy left-handed or right-handed versions; the locks were easily adapted for either side.

The sleek appearance of the locks provided the kind of eye-catching appeal that the project demanded.  Plus, by putting MG levers on all of the Sargent hardware, Essex was able to maintain a sense of design continuity throughout the project.