Oceanwide lifeline falls apart, Newsom orders removal of encampments, and more

The City of Inglewood has announced that it has selected Elevate Inglewood Partners as the best value proposer for its $2-billion automated people mover system.

The consortium, which consists of Plenary Americas US Holdings, Inc., Tutor Perini Corporation, Parsons Corporation, and Woojin Industrial System Co., Ltd., will be tasked with building a 1.6-mile elevated people mover which will shuttle passengers between the K Line and destinations such as the Kia Forum, Sofi Stadium, and Intuit Dome.

Inglewood's announcement comes one week after Representative Maxine Waters announced her opposition to the project. Inglewood Mayor James Butts has written an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times disputing some of the arguments made by Waters.

Neutraderm, a manufacturer of medical-grade skincare products, has announced the acquisition of an industrial building at 20680 Nordhoff Street in Chatsworth for $21 million. Erica Balin and Scott Caswell of Lee & Associates - LA North/Ventura represented Neutraderm in the deal.

Combined with Neutraderm's existing headquarters at 20600 Nordhoff Street and an adjoining property at 9000 Lurline Avenue, the acquisition results in a 115,000-square-foot complex which will serve as Neutraderm's new West Coast headquarters.

The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a $500 million grant to combat pollution in the Los Angeles area.

The funding, which will be administered by the South Coast Air Quality Management District, will go toward:

• Installing over 1,000 medium and heavy-duty vehicle chargers and deploying 800 medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicles and 18 electric locomotives. 
• Establishing a partnership with IBEW local 11 to support workforce training 
• Reducing air pollutants from diesel emissions in low-income and disadvantaged communities.  
• Creating hundreds of new high-quality jobs
• Educating communities about electric vehicles to accelerate their deployment.  
• Building resilience in goods movement and supply chain by modernizing vehicles and developing a skilled workforce to be better prepared for the future

According to a representative of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, the 18 electric locomotives to be deployed in the Los Angeles area will be battery powered.

Here's what we're reading this week:

Koreatown building’s transformation into homeless housing is a win for LA4LA program "By avoiding the time-consuming and cumbersome process of raising capital through tax credits, the loan allowed Walker to build units at an average cost of about $300,000, less than half the going cost for tax-credit projects supplemented by the city’s Proposition HHH bond funds. And it was all private money." (LA Times)

Oceanwide Plaza thrown a lifeline...but the deal quickly falls apart (WSJ and TRD LA)

LA is planning for hundreds of thousands of new homes. But not in single-family zones "The city’s current zoning can’t accommodate that much growth. So officials have outlined plans to increase capacity by more than 250,000 homes. Those plans exclude single-family zones. Instead, new housing is being channeled into already dense, renter-heavy districts." (LAist)

New owners on Rodeo Drive betting big on luxury retailers "People have pitched them on restaurants and members-only social clubs, Tyler said. And they toyed with the idea of a hotel on part of the upper floor, but dismissed it, Abdi said." (LA Times)

Gov. Gavin Newsom issues executive order for removal of homeless encampments in California  "The move to begin dismantling thousands of encampments throughout California comes after the high court ruled last month in favor of an Oregon city that ticketed homeless people for sleeping outside. The ruling rejected arguments that such 'anti-camping' ordinances violated the Constitution’s ban on 'cruel and unusual' punishment. (CNN)

Why homelessness has more than doubled in LA County’s once-affordable northern desert "The Antelope Valley has seen a worrisome rise in homelessness. Most are living unsheltered in inhospitable conditions." (LAist)

L.A. Street Vendors Celebrate Removal of No-Vending Restrictions in Huge Win Against City "The victory is the product of a decade-plus-long battle to legalize sidewalk vending on our city streets" (Streetsblog LA)

L.A. County Looks to Buy Distressed Gas Company Tower Ahead of Foreclosure Auction "A deal with the county could complicate the city’s plan to close a massive lease at the former Brookfield office tower" (Commercial Observer)

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