According to real estate agent and Burbank Chamber of Commerce Chairman Darin Chase, only 50 residential units have been created in Burbank in the past decade – until the opening of the Talaria at Burbank project earlier this year. Last month developer Michael Cusumano of Burbank-based Cusumano Real Estate Group gave the Business Journal’s editorial staff a tour of Talaria. Officially opened in February, the property at 3425 West Olive Ave., features 241 luxury apartments perched atop a sparkling new Whole Foods Market. In real estate circles it has garnered attention — the 2019 Gold Nugget Awards named Cusumano Real Estate Group and the Talaria at Burbank design team of Nadia Geller Designs and VTBS Architects as Grand Award winner in its annual competition. Cusumano and Talaria at Burbank’s design team were recognized in the category of Best Mixed-Use Project Burbank’s first LEED Gold certified residential or mixed-use project. The Gold Nugget Awards are considered one of the biggest, most prestigious competitions of its ilk nationwide. The 2019 winners were chosen from more than 600 submissions. The awards are administered by the California Building Industry Association. Talaria consists of large individual residences — one, two and three bedrooms, and townhouse-style penthouse units, ranging from 823 square feet to more than 3,000 square feet. Cusumano said that the windows, which are soundproofed against such noise as the 134 freeway right outside, had to be imported from Europe, and a filter process prevents particulate matter from entering the building. The 4-acre, 250,000-square-foot property is loaded with community amenities, from on-site concierge, fitness center and cabana-lined pools to a 34-seat private movie theater. It also has a community pub room, business and bike centers, massage facilities and pet spa and rooftop lounge. Modern-art sculptures and floor mosaics illuminate the complex as well. “We built Talaria to be Burbank’s first and only ultra-luxury, for-rent housing community in the heart of the Burbank Media District, a short walk from thousands of entertainment-related and healthcare jobs,” Cusumano said. During the tour, Cusumano told the Business Journal that Talaria took 12 years from start to finish. The 43,000-square-foot, ground-floor Whole Foods employs 150, and Cusumano told the Business Journal staffers that, per his discussions with community members, he moved to make the Amazon Inc.-owned supermarket’s behind-the-scenes loading and refuse process invisible to the public eye. Cusumano Real Estate Group is the largest owner of multifamily units in the Tri-Cities area. The company was founded in 1959 by brothers Chuck and Roger Cusumano, who still lead the enterprise, while Chuck’s sons Michael and Charlie, along with 80 employees and associates, operate the firm. Michael Cusumano said that his firm has another project, First on Premier, a mixed-use hotel development, in progress in downtown Burbank. Four years into the process, the project is currently awaiting its entitlements, Cusumano said.
