Amazon adds lots of L.A. jobs, Pasadena to retake 710 stub, and more

Remember when HQ2 was a thing? Los Angeles may have lost out on Amazon's nationwide beauty pageant in 2018, but the tech giant continues to beef up its presence in the region, even without incentives.

This week, Amazon announced plans to add more than 1,000 new corporate and tech jobs in Santa Monica, signing a lease for 200,000 square feet of offices at the Water Garden. The new office is slated to open in mid-2023.

Likewise, the Seattle-based company also expects to add 800 similar positions in Irvine over the coming years. Those jobs will be housed in a 116,000-square-foot office at the Spectrum Terrace, which is owned by the Irvine Company.

Last but not least, Amazon is also expected to add 700 jobs in San Diego.

“We’ve created more than 170,000 jobs across the state and are committed to continue investing [in California],” said Amazon’s vice president of worldwide economic development Holly Sullivan in a news release. “These 2,500 new jobs include roles building cloud infrastructure, improving the Alexa experience, and designing cutting edge video games.”

Amazon already has a significant presence in Los Angeles County, leasing more than 600,000 square feet of space at the Culver Studios and Culver Steps properties in Downtown Culver City.

In other leasing news, Skyryse, a startup which develops hardware and software for aircraft, has inked a deal for 27,000 square feet of offices at 2030 E. Maple Avenue in El Segundo, relocating from a smaller 9,255-square-foot space at 777 S. Aviation Boulevard.

Kristen Bowman and Steve Solomon of Colliers represented landlord Atlas Capital Group in the deal, while Luke Troedson and Matt Anderson of Savills represented Skyryse.

Cities that failed to meet California’s housing deadline seek rezoning extension "Almost every city and county in Southern California faces penalties for failing to adopt new housing plans on time." (Daily News)

L.A. Homelessness Initiative Supporters Say They Have Enough Signatures To Qualify For November Ballot "The plan aims to raise an estimated $800 million annually by taxing property sales of $5 million or more." (LAist)

Pasadena and Caltrans Reach Agreement to Relinquish 710 Freeway Stub to City "City officials have been open about the city’s desire to use the land to increase the city’s low income housing. Once the deal is finalized, the city has promised a public process to decide the future land use, transportation network, and utility infrastructure network for the land that is now-called the Ditch." (Streetsblog LA)

Long Beach to look at reduced fees, pre-approved designs to speed up ADU production "City planning officials estimate that ADU production in the city could peak at around 500 per year in the next decade and remain that high for about five years. The city currently gets around 300 ADU applications per year." (Long Beach Post)

Many homeless people resist group shelters even as L.A. mayoral candidates push to build more "New research from the Rand Corp. suggests that the type of shelters that could end up being the centerpiece of multiple candidates’ homeless plans is not homeless people’s preferred destination. Fewer than a third of those surveyed in Hollywood, skid row and Venice said “group shelter” was an acceptable housing option." (LA Times)

New California program lets first-time homebuyers borrow down payment at 0% interest "The program, the Forgivable Equity Builder Loan, provides forgivable loans to homebuyers for up to 10% of the home’s purchase price." (KTLA)

Cult-Favorite Jollibee Inches Closer to Its Downtown LA Opening "Beloved Filipino fast food chain Jollibee will open its newest location at 729 Seventh Street in Downtown LA this summer. Jollibee’s Downtown branch sits just across the street from the Bloc at Seventh and Flower, a prime location that is near transit lines and a busy retail corridor. The centrally placed hub is part of a rapid expansion wave designed to help Angelenos get to know the brand better, ideally by consuming more fried chicken, peach mango pie, and Filipino spaghetti." (Eater LA)

LA’s Bus Network Redesign Hamstrung by Operator Shortfall "Metro introduced NextGen’s schedule and route changes to the bus network over three “shake-ups” in June, September, and December 2021. The changes were supposed to restore bus service to its pre-Covid level. But since the fall, extreme operator shortfalls have forced Metro to cancel scheduled trips regularly, depriving riders of promised service or a shred of reliability. Cancellations peaked in January when almost one in five scheduled buses didn’t show; half of trips on the high-ridership 754 route were canceled. In February, Metro cut bus service by 12%, recognizing that the shortfall of drivers left it unable to provide its new and improved NextGen network." (TransitCenter)