OttawaA new library branch in leased space could open by mid-2027, filling a gap in an area that both the library and the local councillor say has been underserved.New library branch in leased space could open by mid-2027, says OPLCameron Mahler · CBC News · Posted: Oct 15, 2025 11:41 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour agoThe Ottawa Public Library says a new branch in Hunt Club could open its doors by mid-2027. (Francis Ferland/CBC)Book lovers in Ottawa’s Hunt Club neighbourhood could finally get their own library branch.On Tuesday, the Ottawa Public Library Board set the wheels in motion for the new facility. River ward Coun. Riley Brockington says the community has waited long enough.”We’re the only urban ward in the City of Ottawa without any library — 50,000 residents,” he told CBC. “I can tell you without hesitation that the community is very excited, and that we are very hungry and thirsty for the resources that the Ottawa Public Library offers.”For years, residents have had access only to such library services as the bookmobile and self-serve lockers at the Hunt Club-Riverside Park Community Centre on McCarthy Road. Brockington said the nearest existing library branches are Greenboro and Alta Vista, both bout four kilometres away.”Frankly, we have no direct bus routes to any library branch,” he said. “If you have a mother with three or four children with no car, how is she supposed to get [there]?”In addition to books and other materials, the new branch will offer meeting rooms, access to the internet and other technology, on-site experts and other programming.Bumped up the listCraig Ginther, the Ottawa Public Library’s (OPL) manager of facility and technology services, says Hunt Club rose quickly up the library’s priority list of underserved communities, from fifth in 2022 to third in 2025, behind the new central branch and the Greenboro branch, which will be undergoing “some renewal in the coming year.”While the location hasn’t been finalized, the OPL is hoping to lease space near the community centre where existing library services in Hunt Club are located.“We’re kind of targeting our search around that area because we already know there are library services that have been very popular adjacent to that space,” Ginther said, adding that the process of identifying that location is already underway.OPL staff estimate it will cost about $2 million to renovate a leased space for the new branch.Once city council approves it, the new branch could open by mid-2027.ABOUT THE AUTHORCameron is a journalist with CBC News. He’s worked with CBC Kitchener-Waterloo covering local news, municipal councils, and both the 2025 provincial and federal elections. Cameron also interned with CBC Toronto’s Enterprise Unit, helping to cover elements of the Greenbelt controversy. Contact Cameron with story ideas at cameron.mahler@cbc.ca. Follow Cameron on X @cam_mahlerWith files from Trevor Pritchard
Hunt Club in line for new Ottawa Public Library branch
