PALMDALE — Palmdale is building on the economic development successes that earned it the 2021 Los Angeles County’s Most Business-Friendly City award in the 26th annual Eddy Awards, the city’s Economic and Community Development team reported, during a Jan. 18 presentation to the City Council.

LANCASTER — The City of Lancaster will spend up to approximately $3.27 million to purchase a vacant tax-defaulted parcel at Avenue H-6 and Trevor Avenue and a neighboring estimated 14.13-acre parcel at Avenue H and Division Street.

LANCASTER — The Antelope Valley Transit Authority closed out 2022 with another milestone as the nation’s first and largest all-electric local bus fleet to pass 10 million electric miles, at the end of December.

LANCASTER — The City of Lancaster has been allocated approximately $2.45 million in one-time federal funds that could be used for proposed affordable housing with wrap-around services. The funds are from the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOME-American Rescue Plan Act. The city hired consultant MDG Associates Inc. to prepare a proposed allocation plan for the funds.

LANCASTER — Antelope Valley Community College District administrators hope to secure an approximately $60.68 million Affordable Student Housing Grant from the state to fund the cost of construction for a proposed student housing project that could house up to 300 students.

Chinese automaker BYD outsold Tesla by a wide margin last year with the help of its inexpensive electric cars. BYD has now become the biggest EV maker in the world.

PALMDALE — The City of Palmdale, along with other local agencies, is looking for ways to facilitate a housing development on approximately 13 acres owned by the city and the Palmdale School District. The goal of the effort to help a shovel-ready development is to accelerate housing production and to address local housing needs, according to a news release from the City of Palmdale.

LANCASTER — Access Services will purchase two vacant parcels totaling 3.39 acres in the Lancaster Business Park from the city of Lancaster to construct a paratransit operations and maintenance facility. The City Council, at the Dec. 13 meeting, approved a disposition and development agreement with Access Services for the sale and subsequent development of the two parcels on the southwest corner of the park between east avenues L and K-15 along Morton Way.

LANCASTER — The Lancaster Planning Commission approved a tentative tract map and Conditional Use Permit for a first-of-its-kind age-restricted gated residential development on 40 acres at the southeast corner of 60th Street West and Avenue K-8.

LANCASTER — The Lancaster Planning Commission unanimously granted applicant SG H2 Holding Co. LLC/Dr. Robert T. Do, a Conditional Use Permit for the construction and operation of a renewable hydrogen fuel facility on about 15 acres at the northwest corner of Sixth Street East and Columbia Way (Avenue M), in the heavy industrial zone, and approved a mitigated negative declaration for the proposed project.

LANCASTER — The Lancaster Planning Commission approved a tentative tract map for a subdivision of 34 single-family homes on approximately 10 acres of vacant land at the northeast corner of 35th Street West and Avenue J-8.

PALMDALE — The Planning Commission approved plans for another hotel near Avenue P-4 and Fifth Street West, south of the existing Embassy Suites hotel. The proposed four-story hotel will have 107 rooms and will include an adjacent drive-through coffee shop, according to the plans presented to the Commission.

MOJAVE — The Mojave Air and Space Port Board of Directors is eager to get started on a project to add as many as 24 new hangars for general aviation aircraft. The expansion of the General Aviation area of the airport, on the west side of the flight line, would continue the easternmost rows of hangars to the south, into what is about 2.7 acres of currently vacant land.

The goal of the effort to help a shovel-ready development is to accelerate housing production and to address local housing needs, according to a news release from the City of Palmdale. The project site, at East Avenue R-12 and 27th Street East, includes 45 parcels.

PALMDALE — A 120-room hotel got the go-ahead, Oct. 13, when the Palmdale Planning Commission approved a Conditional Use Permit and Site Plan Review for the project. The hotel, part of the TownePlace Suites chain by Marriott, will be on a 2.53-acre site at Trade Center Drive and West Avenue P-4.

PALMDALE — The South Antelope Valley Emergency Services, better known as SAVES, will be able to move to a larger home, after the City Council approved the funding for purchase of a new site.

LANCASTER — After an approximately one-month delay, the Planning Commission approved a tentative tract map for a proposed subdivision of approximately 27 acres at the northeast corner of Fifth Street East and Avenue H-8 into 111 single-family residential lots.

MOJAVE — Virgin Galactic will continue to have a presence at the Mojave Air and Space Port, even after announcing a new manufacturing facility in Arizona. The company has had operations at the airport since its beginning, leasing the land for its FAITH manufacturing and assembly hangar, as well as rocket test stands and additional office and other facilities.

PALMDALE — The draft Environmental Impact Report for the segment of the planned California High-Speed Rail system between Palmdale and Burbank is available for public review and comment.

LANCASTER — The Lancaster Planning Commission continued a public hearing for a proposed tentative tract map for a subdivision of approximately 27 gross acres into 111 single-family residential lots at the northeast corner of Fifth Street East and Avenue H-8 to allow more time for the applicant to re-notice neighbors.