East Edmond Library and Kupiec East Edmond YMCA Open November 16
The building going up at 4701 E. 15th St. was placed according to a forecast. When the City of Edmond picked land just east of I-35 for its joint library and YMCA, its project page said the site sits near the geographic center of Edmond and "was chosen to serve the community as the population continues to expand east of I-35." The building opens November 16, 2026. If you live in Timberland Creek, about a mile north of Waterloo Road and Broadway, it is the clearest sign yet that the city is building its civic life along the I-35 corridor you already drive.
The project started because two of the metro's busiest facilities were running out of room. According to the city, the downtown Edmond library is the busiest branch in the state, and the Mitch Park YMCA is the busiest of the 14 YMCA branches in the Greater Oklahoma City area. The city's answer was one building that does both jobs. It follows the same pooled approach the city credits for the success of Mitch Park and Edmond Center Court.
The land used to belong to Henderson Hills Baptist Church, which stayed on as a partner. The church shares its entrance off 15th Street and lets the new building use an existing parking lot. A 2024 city document puts the joint-use building at 71,718 square feet, split among the YMCA, a full-service Metropolitan Library System branch, and shared lobby and meeting space.
Edmond Outlook calls it a first-of-its-kind facility in Oklahoma. It also describes the library side as "Edmond's second library." For a city whose only branch has been the busiest in the state, that second library may matter as much as the gym.
The partnership has three members: the City of Edmond, the Metropolitan Library System, and the YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City. The city's project page breaks down the costs this way.
| Cost item | Amount | Who carries it |
|---|---|---|
| Land | $3,850,000 | City of Edmond |
| Design | $3,120,000 | City, up front |
| Construction budget | $31,640,000 | $30,000,000 City, $1,500,000 YMCA, $140,000 Library |
The city's money is mostly an upfront investment that the YMCA pays back over time. Under the plan, the city pays for the land, the full design cost, and most of the construction. The YMCA will repay the city for its half of the YMCA side over a long-term lease, and the city expects about $12 million to come back. The city's share of the design covers the library side and the public meeting space, which is part of why the building reads as a civic project as much as a fitness club.
The schedule also moved. The 2024 groundbreaking coverage in Edmond Life & Leisure projected an opening in early 2026. By July 2026, the city was listing November 2026 as the expected completion date.
Through the front door, you reach a shared lobby with the YMCA on one side and the library on the other.
The Kupiec East Edmond YMCA lists these features in published materials:
The East Edmond Library is Metro Library's official name for the branch. Metro Library lists print and digital collections, public technology, programs for all ages, creative learning, multipurpose meeting spaces, drive-through pickup and returns, and a holds pickup locker in the lobby. In July 2026, MetroFamily Magazine quoted an Edmond children's librarian describing an interactive children's area and dedicated children's programming.
Some details are still from earlier planning. A 2024 Edmond Outlook preview described a makerspace or collaborative workspace and put the library at 12,317 square feet, with another 6,607 square feet of shared space. Metro Library's current page doesn't restate those figures. Library hours haven't been published yet either.
The drive-through return and the holds locker change the most for anyone who uses the library for quick errands. Until now, every Edmond library errand has meant a trip to the downtown branch at 10 S. Boulevard. That branch keeps its current schedule: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday. Nothing announced so far changes downtown's location, hours, or services.
YMCA membership presales started Tuesday, September 1, 2026. Members who join before opening day can use the Rankin or Mitch Park YMCAs in the meantime. The YMCA's membership page lists systemwide rates of $78 a month plus a $105 joining fee for a household and $48 a month plus a $70 joining fee for an adult. These are general YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City prices, not a separate price list for this branch.
Both the YMCA and Metro Library give the opening window as November 2026. The Edmond Area Chamber of Commerce calendar lists a November 16 ribbon cutting, grand opening, and facility walkthrough for the Kupiec East Edmond YMCA and the East Edmond branch. The chamber asks guests to enter off 15th Street. Edmond Outlook gives the same date, November 16, 2026, for the opening. The YMCA says questions can go to [email protected] or (405) 348-9622.
Several of this year's openings share one road, East 15th Street.
Cheba Hut opened August 31 at 1389 E. 15th St., near Bryant Avenue. The toasted-sub shop has a patio and a full-service bar, according to the Journal Record. East of I-35, the new library and YMCA take 4701 E. 15th. Farther east, 7200 E. 15th St. is Spring Creek Park at Arcadia Lake. That's where Storybook Forest runs October 23 through 30, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. nightly. TravelOK lists tickets at $15 per child and $5 per adult.
The trail system is growing toward the same area. The City of Edmond's 2026 trails map shows a new connector between the Arcadia Lake Trail and the Spring Creek Trail under construction this year. The map doesn't list it as open.
A few miles north, East Covell Road is filling in too. Whataburger held its North Edmond grand-opening celebration at 4132 E. Covell Road on August 22, the Journal Record reported. At 4200 E. Covell, a Chick-fil-A at Covell and Sooner was scheduled to open at 6 a.m. on October 8, according to KOKH FOX 25. We haven't seen a post-opening report yet. Closer to the interstate, the larger retail plans at I-35 and Covell are covered in our look at what's coming to East Edmond.
Put together, these openings line up with the city's own reasoning for the 15th Street site. Edmond said it placed its newest civic building where the population is heading. Restaurants, trail crews, and now a second library are arriving in the same part of town on the same schedule. When the ribbon is cut on November 16, a Timberland Creek household will have a drive-through book return, a lap pool, and a pickleball court on one parking lot along the I-35 corridor, with a sub shop and a lakeside park on the same street.
If you're watching how the east side of Edmond changes and want to know what it means for your own street, Laura Lechtenberg follows these openings closely and is happy to talk them through over coffee. Schedule a consultation whenever it suits you.
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