In 2004, Jorge Gutiérrez and Sandra Equihua, the creative husband and wife team behind the multiple Emmy Award-winning animated television series El Tigre, The Adventures of Manny Rivera, the Book of Life, and their latest Maya and the Three, moved from Culver City to live in their first home, a spacious condo in Burbank.
Built on a street with a backdrop of mountains, their spacious single-level condo strikes the perfect balance between a quiet home life and enjoying the energy of a vibrant city. It’s also near the most recognized media companies in the world, including Warner Bros., The Walt Disney Company, Cartoon Network, and Nickelodeon.
As their home hits the market, Jorge and Sandra reflect on living close to work and raising their son, Luca.
Jorge: “We were renting in Culver City. We lived a block away from Sony. We always liked to walk to work. We started working at Disney, and the commute killed us. Then we found this place online.”
Sandra: “Our main focus was that it was close as possible to the studios so that we could walk to wherever we needed to be. It’s literally next to everything, including San Fernando (the street) that has restaurants, bars, and shops.”
Inside, the single-level condo opens to a spacious living room with a fireplace and a dining area with a balcony. With a large window positioned above the sink, the kitchen sits adjacent to the dining area and is fitted with newer appliances.
Jorge: “The living room and dining room together, that open area was great, especially when people would come over for a Super Bowl party or watch Laker games or anything like that. You can fit a lot of people and have it be an area that’s very communal.”
Sandra: “We use to have movie nights and fit about 20 animators in this space. Oh, and the balcony during the pandemic—man, that place came in handy! It’s really deceiving cause you’re like, ‘oh, it’s just like a balcony-whatever’ but we put a bistro table outside and connected a hot plate to it. We made carne asadas and tortillas. It felt really good.”
The bedrooms are located down a hallway. One of the bedrooms is currently set up as a home office. Another room is great for guests. The primary bedroom has an ensuite bathroom and a walk-in closet.
While the interior provided enough room to work from home and raise their son the neighborhood perks came as a surprise.
Sandra: “You know when you go on vacation, and you have your hotel room, and you walk to places? kinda feels like that.”
Jorge: “Burbank doesn’t feel like LA. We walk down to a restaurant and then walk back. Usually, that’s not normal—you drive everywhere in LA. That, for me, was a big ‘wow.’ We can actually not drive and go and enjoy an evening.”
Going to work felt the same. Sandra sometimes rode her bike to Nickelodeon.
Jorge: “ is perfect for anybody in animation or in film. The studios are all here.”
Jorge: “The memories we created here. We were newlyweds and just started. Having a kid there. Honestly, having our first success professionally. All those memories happened in our condo. And every condo has a story.”
Located in a highly rated public school district, 620 E Palm Ave Burbank, CA is listed for $850,000 with monthly HOA fees of $350 and comes with two parking spots. Showings begin July 23, 2022 from 2-5pm.