The Old Rite Aid Is Now Elk Grove's Library. So What Happens to the Old One?

"This is a perfectly good building that didn't need to be torn down," Sacramento Public Library Director and CEO Peter Coyl told KCRA during the preview days at the new Elk Grove Library. "We were able to remodel it and turned this old drugstore into a brand new library."

The drugstore is now open as a library, at Elk Grove Boulevard and Waterman Road. The bigger civic question sits up the boulevard at 8900 Elk Grove Blvd. That's the building the library just left, at the entrance to Old Town's Historic Main Street. The City of Elk Grove is running the reuse process and hasn't picked a new use. It has said a recommendation will go to City Council in December 2026. Elk Grove now has one library opening and one prominent building with no plan yet, and the second will shape Old Town longer than the first.

How a Rite Aid Became the Branch

This is the library's second move in two decades. According to the City Manager's project updates, the city moved the Elk Grove branch to 8900 Elk Grove Blvd in 2006. That gave it more room and "a prominent corner entering Old Town." A 2018 study found the community had outgrown that site. In early 2021 the city bought the former Rite Aid at 9260 Elk Grove Blvd.

The latest city update says construction is done, the Certificate of Occupancy has been issued, and the library has moved its operations into the new building. The public could preview the space October 8 and 9, and the grand opening was set for Saturday, October 10. The ribbon-cutting was planned for 10:30 a.m., with doors opening at 11 a.m.

Sacramento Public Library calls it a $15.3 million retrofit, funded partly by a $7 million state grant plus local sources. The city's library relocation page splits the funding a little differently:

• State grants: $8,731,267
• Library capital facilities fees: $3,346,499
• Library ownership and maintenance funds: $2,084,139
• Disaster Recovery ARPA funds: $1,300,000

The two sources don't use the same state grant figure, so each number above belongs to the agency that published it. In the city's table, the library capital facilities fee line covers more than twice the federal recovery dollars.

What the Extra 4,000 Square Feet Bought

The new building is 18,147 square feet, about 4,000 more than the old one. Coyl said the extra room let the library "reimagine how this library could serve the community now and into the future." Most of that space went to things you couldn't do at 8900:

• A makerspace. Coyl told KCRA it's "a maker space that we're gonna be developing," so expect programming to build up over time.
• A Library of Things lending household tools, electronics and kitchen equipment on a library card.
• A teen area with its own seating, two study rooms and a gaming area.
• A children's area with imaginative play spaces and a covered patio for outdoor programs.
• Three study rooms, a quiet reading room, a bigger meeting room and EV chargers.
• New restrooms, more parking and a book locker, according to the Elk Grove Citizen.

Systemwide Library of Things rules are posted on Sacramento Public Library's collection page. Borrowers must be over 18 and owe less than $5 in fees. Items go out for two weeks with no renewals, and they have to come back to the branch where you picked them up. The library's examples include a GoPro, home care and yard tools, musical instruments and photography gear.

When this was written, the library's Elk Grove branch page didn't list regular hours yet. Check that page before planning a weekday visit.

Thirty-Two Streetlights and Two Names

The plaza outside makes it easy to spot the new branch. Radiant Eddy is a sculpture by Aaron T. Stephan, an artist based in Portland, Maine. It's made of 32 traditional streetlights, like the ones in Elk Grove parks and along city streets, set in a sweeping curve through the air. The city's press release on the installation says it lights up at night, "creating a beacon for passing traffic."

The sculpture honors Harriet Eddy, the educator and librarian who founded Elk Grove's first library and helped create California's county free library system. The Elk Grove library dates to 1908.

The new meeting room is named for Patricia Sandefur, a former Elk Grove Library Supervisor. Sacramento Public Library says she managed the move into the building at Elk Grove Boulevard and Elk Grove-Florin Road and started new programs for youth and families. That's the building at 8900, the one now up for reuse, so the new branch carries a direct link back to the old one.

8900 Elk Grove Blvd Is Now the Open Question

The city has named the process "Beyond Books: Reimagining 8900 Elk Grove Blvd." Its project page calls the property "a unique opportunity to reimagine a public amenity that has been central to community life for nearly two decades." The guiding objectives are a creative, inclusive and economically feasible vision. The final use should also offer broad and equitable public benefits and fit the City Council's vision.

According to the City Manager's update, here is what's happened so far:

1. Youth sessions, spring 2026. Four sessions drew 71 participants: Joseph Kerr Middle School on April 29, Elk Grove High School on May 5, the old library building on May 20, and the Teen Center on May 21.
2. Focus groups, July 2026. Sixteen people came to a nonprofit session on July 15, followed by a business session on July 29.
3. Community workshops, September 2026. Two workshops at District56 on September 2 drew about 35 people each. A final workshop on September 16 drew about 20.
4. A citywide survey that collected 333 responses.

The clearest direction so far comes from the youth sessions. Their ideas centered on "flexible spaces that combine food, creative activities, music, gaming and quiet study." The city says that reflects a belief that "community spaces should serve many different people at once." The city hasn't adopted a use, and its project page says themes and recommendations will come only after all the input is combined.

The youth wish list sounds a lot like what the new library across town just built: a makerspace, a teen gaming area, study rooms and flexible meeting space. Whatever goes into 8900 will open near a library that already covers several of those uses.

The Dates to Watch

The city has published two upcoming milestones:

• October 28, 2026. City staff are scheduled to present community feedback and recommendations on which use options to study.
• December 2026. The project timeline calls for combined community input, a feasibility analysis and a recommendation to go to City Council.

The feasibility analysis is the part to watch. "Economically feasible" is one of the city's stated objectives, and the feasibility analysis is where the youth sessions' combined food, music and study concept will be tested against cost.

Old Town has a full calendar between now and those meetings. Magical Makers is at Old Town Plaza, 9615 Railroad Street, on Saturday, October 24, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Dickens Street Faire runs Saturday, November 28. Street vendors close at 5 p.m., and the Christmas tree lighting on Walnut Street is at 6 p.m. Light Up Elk Grove returns to Old Town Plaza on Sunday, December 6, from 2 to 5 p.m. That's the same month the 8900 recommendation is due at City Council.

If you own a home near Old Town, the future of the former library building at its main entrance is something to follow alongside the market numbers. At Francine Masudi, we track civic decisions like the 8900 Elk Grove Blvd reuse as part of the financial picture around a property. If you'd like to see where your home stands while that decision moves toward City Council, request a home valuation and we'll go through it with you.