On Wednesday, February 27, the Cusumano Development Team saw 12 years of planning and hard work come to fruition while they and 400 guests watched as the ribbon was cut for the new Talaria mixed-use building.
In the garden courtyard of the new complex, Michael Cusumano shared some reflections and observations. Since his team started work on the project, the City has had five City Managers; when he started there was Mary Alvord, then came Mike Flad, Ken Pulskamp, Mark Scott and now Ron Davis. It was hard enough to keep one city manager happy yet he kept five happy.
They started in 2007 with a dream, a vision to build a community in the media district that was unlike any community that had been built before in this region, Cusumano said.
Those who have been watching for 12 years recall the site was 24 different parcels of land on two blocks. In the beginning, it wasn’t clear that they would ever be able to buy all of the parcels that were necessary to consolidate the site. Then the financial world fell apart in September of 2008. The team could have walked away but they continued to trust that in the end, it would all come together and they would build the project that they had always dreamed about.
Cusumano said there were hundreds of people that played important roles in the development of the project and contributed hours.
From the beginning, Whole Foods has been a wonderful part of the project, he said.
“They were committed to this site and this project from day one, they never wavered or flinched in their commitment and when they opened their doors on June 20, 2018, the public got to see their long-awaited Whole Food Burbank. It’s been noted that the store is one of the most beautiful stores in the world and to date one of the most successful in the Whole Food Chain.”
The project architect, Gustaf Soderberg and his team from VTBS, have been able to capture the design of a community that was dreamed of in the beginning. “They were the design masters in what is being acknowledged as one of the most exciting designs anywhere in the Los Angeles area.”
Cusumano also acknowledged Nadia Geller Designs who are also based here in Burbank and were responsible for all of the interior designs and furnishing. The other big part of the development was Burbank based McCormick Construction who oversaw the complete construction of the complex project.
Cusumano took time to acknowledge one person very important from the beginning and that was Michael Hastings. “He never would let any issue dampen his enthusiasm for this project.” Cusumano said it was Michael who coined the name “Talaria” and he had taken pride in the project the same as the Cusumano team.
Cusumano also thanked his team at Cusumano Real Estate Group. On this project, his partners had been steadfast in their commitment and belief in the project. He shared that his wife Caroline will now have him back after working 80 hour weeks and he was happy to work with his son Tanner on his first project.
The Taleria project is Burbank’s only Green Certified residential community certified by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.
The living units consist of one, two and three bedroom units with a total of 241 units. Some of the amenities include: in-home dining, fully equipped fitness center with spa facilities, saunas, messages rooms, a pool with lap swimming and a private screening room. The garden where the party was held includes fire pits, BBQs, green lawn and an area private for dog owners.
Here is a gallery of pictures from the party. Click on the frames to enlarge it.
