INGLEWOOD – The Inglewood Finance Department is requesting the Inglewood Joint Powers Authority adopt a resolution to issue $60 million in Lease Revenue Bonds to rebuild the Inglewood Main Library.
The City will hold the requisite Public Hearing on Tuesday, October 28 at 2:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers on the 9th Floor of Inglewood City Hall.
The Inglewood Joint Powers Authority (JPA) consists of the members of the Inglewood City Council with Mayor James T. Butts Jr. serving as chairman.
(Photo credit: Inglewood Public Library)
The $60 million in Lease Revenue Bonds will be used to construct a state-of-the-art library and undertake a seismic retrofit of the structure.1
“The City desires to perform certain improvements to the Inglewood Main Library, referred to as the Inglewood Main Library Renovation and Seismic Retrofit Project (the “Project”). The Project consists of the design, construction, and renovation of the Inglewood Main Library, located at 101 W Manchester Blvd, Inglewood, CA 90301. The Project also consists of other public capital improvements identified by the City.”
“As part of the Project, the City will implement seismic upgrades, redesign floor layouts to improve space planning, and construct updated interior and exterior features to enhance functionality, accessibility, and aesthetics. The Project will also provide new exterior signage and incorporate design elements developed in collaboration with the community, the Library Board, the Library Services Department, and the Inglewood Unified School District (“IUSD”).
The Project is expected to be completed in three phases:
- Phase 1 consists of community outreach and input, which took place from July 2023 through January 2024, and is complete. LPA, Inc. is the prime consultant leading the design team.
- Phase 2, which includes design and pre-construction services, took place from February 2024 through September 2025.
- Phase 3 will comprise the construction phase of the Project. Construction began in October 2025 and is anticipated to be substantially complete in July 2027.
(Photo credit: Inglewood Public Library)
The total estimated cost of the Project is approximately $53 million, which includes $2.7 million from the California State Library’s Building Forward Grant for seismic retrofitting and $1 million from the CDBG-CV Program for Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system improvements.
The remaining $7 million will be used to fund other capital improvement projects (CIP) in the City.
According to the staff report, “the City can generate proceeds required to complete the Project through the issuance of the Bonds, which would be secured by legally available funds of the City’s General Fund and would not require an increase in taxes to its residents.”
“Under this financing mechanism, the Authority will issue the Bonds. The Authority and the City will simultaneously enter into a Site and Facility Lease whereby the City leases city-owned property (the “Leased Property”) to the Authority and a Lease Agreement whereby the Authority leases the Leased Property back to the City, in consideration for semi-annual lease payments, which in turn, are used to pay debt service on the Bonds.”
According to the City’s 2025-2026 adopted budget, the City’s debt obligation for bonds already issued is roughly $18 milion per year.
The City expects to issue $60 million in bonds at 4.65% interest with a total finance charge of $980,000. The annual debt on the bonds will be approximately $4.3 million. In total, when the bonds mature in August 2055, the City will have paid a total of $126 million.
- Public Hearing: Approval and Authorization of Issuance of Revenue Bonds Series 2025 (Inglewood Main Library Renovation and Seismic Retrofit Project) October 28, 2025 https://www.cityofinglewood.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/19968?fileID=26922 ↩︎
