Meet the Torrance Team Behind Ellery ADU Studio Torrance
Every ADU we’ve designed, permitted, and built in Torrance since 2015 has been handled by people who show up in uniform, answer to their own names, and know the difference between a Coastal Commission setback and a Torrance Planning Department variance. Our crew lives in the South Bay. They know which blocks in Old Torrance have clay-heavy soil that shifts foundations, and which inspectors prefer photos labeled by date rather than by room. Here’s who you’ll actually meet.
Our People
Marcus T. - Lead Technician, ADU Site Prep & Utilities
Marcus has been running underground on Torrance properties for fourteen years, long enough to remember when the city still required hand-dug potholing for utility locates on every garage conversion. He’s Trenching and Shoring certified and holds a Class A contractor’s license, which means he can legally sign off on the structural portions of your ADU foundation that most crews have to subcontract. Marcus grew up in North Torrance near Wilson Park, and he still won’t schedule concrete pours on Monday mornings because the traffic on Crenshaw backs up the ready-mix trucks. He carries a laminated copy of the Torrance Municipal Code Chapter 46 in his truck, not for show, but because he’s been asked about side-yard setbacks at 6:47 AM by an inspector who didn’t drink coffee.
Darla R. - Senior Installer, Prefab & Modular Systems
Darla came to us from a commercial framing crew in 2019, which means she can read a structural steel drawing without blinking and has zero patience for installers who “eyeball” modular unit leveling. She’s factory-certified on Abodu, Cover, and Mighty Buildings systems, and she’s the person Nadia calls when a Dvele unit shows up with a finish discrepancy between the spec sheet and the actual panel. Darla lives in Lomita and commutes up Western Avenue, so she knows exactly how wide a crane truck needs to be to get a Boxabl unit into a backyard off Anza Avenue without taking out a fence. She keeps a spreadsheet of every prefab install she’s done, with crane company names, boom lengths, and whether the neighbor complained. The spreadsheet has 127 rows.
Jin P. - Service Coordinator, Permits & Client Communication
Jin worked three years at the Torrance Planning Counter before joining us, which means he knows the difference between how the online portal says permits work and how they actually work. He handles our LADBS and Torrance Building & Safety filings, including the dreaded fire-sprinkler variance requests for JADUs in the Hillside Overlay. Jin speaks Mandarin and Korean, which matters more than you’d think in a city where multigenerational ADU conversations often happen across three languages at the kitchen table. He has a standing Tuesday lunch at Mitsuwa because the parking structure gives him time to return calls without wind noise. Jin is the reason our permit timelines are quoted in weeks, not “we’ll see.”
Esteban V. - Apprentice, ADU Design & Field Documentation
Esteban is in his second year with us, rotating through every phase so he understands why the drawing detail he sketched in the office actually has to work in a 6-foot-wide side yard in Southwood. He’s completing his AutoCAD and Revit certification through El Camino College and already handles as-built documentation on smaller garage conversions. Esteban grew up in Harbor Gateway and can tell you which Torrance neighborhoods built in the 1950s have original garage slabs that won’t pass current load calculations without a full replacement. He takes the photo record on every site visit, and he’s been trained to shoot the problem, not the solution, so clients see what we found, not what we felt. His camera roll is 80% concrete cracks and 20% his grandmother’s chihuahua.
One Standard, Every Job
The Haven Standard isn’t a poster in our break room. It’s the reason Marcus won’t start a sewer lateral until the as-built survey is in writing, why Darla checks every modular connection against the manufacturer’s torque spec sheet, why Jin won’t file a permit application until the client has seen the full set, and why Esteban’s photo record gets uploaded before he drives off site. Every one of us has signed the same clause set: Clause 1 (written price before work starts), Clause 4 (documented photo record on every visit), Clause 7 (365-Day Done Right Promise, backed in writing). We’ve done this on 900-plus ADUs since 2015, and the standard doesn’t relax because the job is small or the timeline is tight. When you call (424) 344-4822, you get a live person who can tell you which of us is on your block this week, not a callback queue that evaporates into voicemail.
Written by Nadia Ellery, Owner at Ellery ADU Studio Torrance, serving Torrance since 2015.