LA's most notable developer has plans to help Palisades Fire victims save money and accelerate rebuilding

Developer Rick Caruso said he's serving up ready-made plans to the city of Los Angeles and Palisades residents who lost homes to speed construction projects, keep costs as low as possible and make the neighborhoods destroyed in January's fire better.

“Government agencies do not have a sense of urgency, and they do not have a sense of innovation, with all due respect," he said during a conversation this week on NBCLA's Leonard Files podcast.

Caruso said he expects to reopen his Palisades Village shopping center in early 2026 and sees no reason for the area's recovery to take five to 10 years.

"When you bring private agencies, private companies, very talented people, into the fold, you start solving problems very quickly," he said of his efforts and his non-profit, Steadfast LA, which has brought the heads of a variety of businesses together to accelerate recovery.

The former mayoral candidate said he's already delivered engineering plans to the LA Department of Water and Power for relocating the area's electric lines and equipment underground in order to reduce fire danger.

“We have it solved for them," he said. "If you left it up to the city forces alone, by the time they just went through the thinking of it, you’re going to be spending years to do. So, the undergrounding of the power lines could be happening at the same time people are rebuilding their homes.”

He said he's also talked to building supply companies about purchasing construction supplies wholesale and pre-staging them in the Palisades to reducing rebuilding costs, which could rise with tariffs on supplies from Canada, Mexico, and China.

Caruso also addressed the City's elected leaders, its mansion tax, and the candidates who've filed to run for California Governor.

The full conversation can be heard on NBCLA original podcast "The Leonard Files" on podcast platforms and in the YouTube video below.