Inglewood’s multibillion-dollar makeovers: How major redevelopments transformed the multifamily market

SoFi Stadium and Intuit Dome have helped create a SoCal construction hot spot

By Catherine Yeh

CoStar Analytics

October 1, 2025 | 12:48 P.M.

During the early 2010s, the city of Inglewood, California, was experiencing significant financial difficulties. Following the Great Recession of 2008, the unemployment rate reached 17%, with 22% of residents living below the poverty line, per the 2010 U.S. census. Average market asking rents were 17% lower than in the rest of the Los Angeles metro area. Recognizing these challenges, the newly elected mayor advocated for targeted entertainment investments, starting with $18 million to renovate The Forum, known today as the Kia Forum. That project marked the beginning of a transformative era that has significantly reshaped Inglewood’s landscape to what it is today.

Following the renovation of Kia Forum, Inglewood approved the redevelopment of the abandoned Hollywood Park in 2015 into what is today SoFi Stadium. Home to two NFL teams, the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers, the project cost around $5.5 billion, making it the most expensive stadium ever built. SoFi Stadium was completed in 2020, not long before the start of the next big project: The Intuit Dome began construction in 2021. Completed in 2024, the Intuit Dome cost around $2 billion and is the home of the NBA's LA Clippers. What was once a struggling city turned into a flourishing entertainment center, hosting thousands of visitors with every sporting event and concert.

The impact of these major investments has been massive on the multifamily market of Inglewood. Prior to 2015, the area saw 80 more units demolished than delivered cumulatively since 2000. After 2015, 680 units have been completed to date, a 750% increase. When looking at construction starts, the difference is even more staggering: Between 2005 and 2014, construction began on just 365 units, compared to 6,790 units started since 2015, including 1,400 units under construction now.

Because of the robust development pipeline, vacancy rates for Inglewood have risen above the metro area's average of 5.3% to 5.9% while the market stabilizes. Market rents have also been volatile, which is typical when a large wave of supply comes online in a short period of time. Heightened competition amongst landlords drives rents down as many need to offer concessions to stabilize vacancy. Annual rent growth for Inglewood has been negative since 2023. However, when looking at rent growth over a longer period, the growth has been remarkable. Market rent growth in Inglewood was 9.6% from 2005 to 2014, below the Los Angeles average growth of 12.7%. From 2015 to 2025, Inglewood’s rent growth reached 23.5%, much closer to the Los Angeles-wide average of 25.1%.

New construction has begun to slow, with 2025 starts returning to pre-stadium-and-dome levels. This reprieve in new supply will give both vacancy and rents the opportunity to stabilize. Only time will tell how much further these investments will improve the multifamily market, but there are more long-term signs of progress: The unemployment rate for Inglewood is down 10 points in 15 years to around 7%, and the Census Bureau in 2020 found the poverty rate had dropped to 14.9%.