The City of Edmond chose this site for a reason. Its project page says the location "is near the geographic center of Edmond and was chosen to serve the community as the population continues to expand east of I-35." The site is on 15th Street just east of the interstate, on land Henderson Hills Baptist Church used to own. This November it becomes the East Edmond Library and the Kupiec East Edmond YMCA under one roof, and Edmond Outlook reports the Y opens November 16, 2026.
The building is only part of the story. The city is also finishing a trail connector it says will help link the developments along I-35, including the new library and YMCA, to Spring Creek Trail and Arcadia Lake. A busy library, a full-size Y, a shopping center and a paved route to the lake are all landing on one stretch of 15th within weeks of each other. East 15th has mostly been a road you drive through on your way somewhere else. This November it starts to work like the middle of town.
Edmond's two busiest buildings are about to get a sibling
The scale of this building comes from what's already overloaded. The city's project description calls the Edmond library the busiest branch in the state. It also says the Mitch Park YMCA is the busiest of the 14 YMCA branches in the Greater Oklahoma City area, and that the new Y is meant to be closer in size to Mitch Park. So this isn't a neighborhood branch. It's meant to take pressure off the two Edmond buildings that already get the most use.
Edmond Outlook calls it a first-of-its-kind facility in Oklahoma, built through a three-way partnership of the YMCA, the City of Edmond and the Metropolitan Library System. The city is paying most of the cost. The construction budget is $31,640,000, and $30,000,000 of that comes from the city. Over a long-term lease, the YMCA is expected to pay about $12 million back to the city.
The site plan shows how closely the building ties into the street around it. Henderson Hills is sharing an entrance off 15th Street and letting the facility use one of its existing parking lots. The first trip there will start from a driveway many east-side drivers already know.
What's under the one roof
Edmond Outlook describes a shared lobby with the library on one side and the Y on the other. Here's what each side has listed so far.
East Edmond Library, according to the Metropolitan Library System:
- Print and digital collections, plus public technology
- Programs for all ages and creative learning space
- Multipurpose meeting rooms
- Drive-through pickup and returns
- A holds locker in the lobby
Kupiec East Edmond YMCA, according to the YMCA and Edmond Outlook:
- Indoor pool, gymnasium, fitness center and indoor track
- Group exercise and cycle classes, with two group exercise studios
- Pickleball and EGYM equipment
- Child care, a playground and a dedicated youth space
- A dry sauna, plus a universal and family locker room
- 24-hour access
The drive-through pickup and the 24-hour access matter most for weekly routines. Library holds and early workouts can happen on your own schedule instead of during set hours.
Chris Berry, the YMCA's Associate Vice President of the Edmond District, put the organization's view this way: "The YMCA has never been just a building. It's the relationships and impact we create in the community."
If you want in before November 16
Kupiec memberships went on presale September 1, 2026. Until the new building opens, the YMCA says those members can use the Rankin or Mitch Park YMCAs. The YMCA also posts All-Access rates on its membership page, such as a household rate of $78 a month plus a $105 joining fee. Check the current page before you sign up, since prices can change.
Neither of the existing buildings is shutting down for the opening. The downtown Edmond Library at 10 S. Boulevard still lists regular hours and has programs scheduled this month. The Rankin YMCA at 1220 S. Rankin has served Edmond since 1968. Its branch page says the building "is no longer adequate to meet the needs of our members and our growing population" and calls this a chance to "re-imagine the YMCA in Edmond." It doesn't give a date for any change to Rankin.
The trail makes it a hub instead of a big parking lot
A large building at a highway exit is still mostly a place you drive to. The Arcadia Lake Trail NW Connector changes that. It adds 1.8 miles of trail starting at Midwest Boulevard and links to Spring Creek Trail with a low-water crossing. The construction cost is $3,415,004.38.
The city's September engineering update says construction began in February and the contractor was working on the low-water crossing. It expected completion in November. The Parks and Recreation board packet from September 17 said the two ends should connect soon. That's a target, not a confirmed opening date. If the schedule holds, the trail and the building open in the same month.
The connector joins two trails many east-side residents may already use:
- Spring Creek Trail is a paved path between Spring Creek Park at Arcadia Lake and Fox Lake Trail west of I-35. It has separate lanes for bikes and for walking and running. A westward extension toward Coltrane Road is under construction. There are public parking trailheads at Spring Creek Park, 7200 E. 15th St., and at Integris Hospital, 4503 Integris Parkway.
- Arcadia Lake Trail is a paved route along the east and north sides of the lake, with trailheads at Edmond Park and Post Road. Visit Edmond lists Edmond Park's trail access at 7100 E. 2nd St. and says the Post Road trailhead has a large parking lot.
- The Arcadia Lake mountain bike trails are a separate, natural-surface network of more than 35 miles. The South Trails are beginner-friendly, the West Trails are harder, and the Dam trails add sandstone, lumber and rock features.
The city's list of what the connector helps join reads like a map of east Edmond errands: Integris and Mercy hospitals, the new library and YMCA, Sam's Club and Walmart. Spring Creek Park, the trail's eastern anchor, sits 2.5 miles east of I-35 on 15th Street. It has a boat ramp, disc golf, pavilions, a playground and swimming. The library, the Y and the lake park are all on the same street, and the trail network is what links them.
The 15th Street businesses already in place
The new building isn't opening in an empty area. Cheba Hut opened August 31 at 1389 E. 15th St., near 15th and Bryant in Spring Creek Plaza. Franchise owner Rose Taylor runs it. That's the same address where Louie's Grill & Bar operated for 20 years until it closed in April. Before opening, Cheba Hut announced a patio, a full-service bar and hours from 10 a.m. to midnight every day.
Spring Creek Plaza's directory also lists Fuzzy's Taco Shop and Panera Bread for food. Its shops include Gearhead Outfitters, Big River Footwear, Lovesac, Kendra Scott and Nichols Hills Cleaners. Farther east on the same road, Summer Moon Coffee at 3832 E. 15th St. has a drive-through and outdoor seating. It opens at 6 a.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. on weekends.
Plaza dining, a library with a drive-through, a 24-hour gym, a coffee drive-through and a lake park with a paved trailhead all line up along one road. Once the connector opens, that road also has a paved trail link to the lake.
The east-side calendar from now to the opening
- October 23 to 30, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.: Storybook Forest at Spring Creek Park, 7200 E. 15th St. It's a not-scary storybook trail with characters, a hayride, carnival games, a campfire and story time. Tickets are sold online in advance and are listed at $15 per child and $5 per adult.
- November 16: The Kupiec East Edmond YMCA opens on 15th Street just east of I-35, according to Edmond Outlook. The Metropolitan Library System lists the East Edmond Library in the same building as opening in November, and the city's September parks packet says the joint facility is planned for a mid-November opening.
- November, if the city's schedule holds: The Arcadia Lake Trail NW Connector is finished, linking Midwest Boulevard to Spring Creek Trail.
The Storybook Forest dates and the Y's November 16 opening are set. The trail connector depends on the low-water crossing, so check the city's project updates before planning a ride to the lake from the trail's I-35 end.
If your home is near this stretch of 15th and you'd like to know whether a trail connection and a new library and Y next door are starting to affect what homes like yours sell for, Brandon Toombs and The Ambassador Group team can run the numbers for your street. Get your free home valuation and we'll walk you through what's changing nearby.
