Biden floats national rent cap, Waters turns on Inglewood people mover, and more

The Carson Planning Commission has signed off on a proposal to build a $350-mimllion battery energy storage system.

The project from Avocet Energy Storage, described as a 200 megawatt/800 megawatt-hour facility, is expected to pour up to 45,000 homes for four hours daily.

Construction is expected to commence in early 2025, with the facility scheduled to become operational in the second quarter of 2026.

A century-old department store turned office building in Downtown Los Angeles has sold for $16 million, Cushman & Wakefield announced this week.

The six-story, 80,000-square-foot building at 612 S. Broadway, originally Desmond's Department Store, was renovated as offices and expanded by two floors prior to the onset of the pandemic. Subsequently, the property was fully leased as co-working space on its upper levels and a Skecher's shoe store below.

The buyers of the property are identified as a local family office that intends to move into the building.

At a ceremony this week, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and local officials commenced work on “America’s Green Gateway,” otherwise known as the Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility. The $1.5-billion project will connect the Port of Long Beach’s existing on-dock rail system to the regional and national rail system, allowing for faster movement of cargo.

Billed as one of the largest infrastructure projects now underway in the county, the project has received funding from the bipartisan infrastructure bill signed into law by President Biden in 2021.

Buttigieg was also in town to tout investments into L.A.'s transit system in advance of the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Here's what we're reading this week:

Rep. Maxine Waters seeks to stop ‘ridiculous’ $2-billion SoFi transit project ahead of Olympics "The opposition is a major break for Waters, who three years ago wrote in support of a $20-million grant for the line. Waters said she changed her mind as she learned that dozens businesses would be forced to move, and that the cost per station was more than double that of the nearby K Line." (LA Times)

Transit Stations along Highways Expose Riders to Pollution and Limit Development Opportunities  "Placing stations along highways enabled cities to build two modes of transportation at the same time, giving drivers an alternative for part of their trips. But such station placement also has negative consequences." (Urban Institute)

Bus stops in Boyle Heights will soon get new and improved shelters "The transit structures will offer increased shade, lighting and real-time bus arrival information" (Boyle Heights Beat)

A stalled mixed-use development turns into West Hollywood’s newest lake 'The Melrose Triangle mixed-use development project — with 80 residential units, featuring home office pod spaces, a two-level cafe and retail shops — was expected to transform a highly visible intersection in West Hollywood....Instead, with construction on hold, the site has become a large, swampy pool that neighbors have nicknamed “WeHo Lake” because of the accumulation of green-hued water, presumably colored by algae." (LA Times)

Biden to unveil plan to cap rents as GOP convention begins "White House effort comes amid widespread voter frustration over high housing prices." (Washington Post)

Eyes on the Street: Hollywood Boulevard Bike Lanes are Open "The Hollywood bike lanes project, already very much in use, is also already being criticized by commenters at Nextdoor and other social media" (Streetsblog LA)

Can the Hollywood and Sunset intersection be fixed? "East Hollywood/Los Feliz -- The junction of Sunset and Hollywood boulevards by the Vista Theatre is one big, confusing, six-way intersection. And boy, does it take a while to walk or drive across." (Eastsider)

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