Fort Collins officials and the Fossil Ridge High School Community are looking forward to the Southeast Community Center (SECC), which will be built west of Fossil Ridge High School.
Construction is expected to begin in 2026, with an estimated opening in spring 2028. The building will include fitness areas, basketball courts, indoor and outdoor pools and a library.
“We’ve been looking for many years to have a bigger library than Council Tree,” said Ken Draves, deputy director of the Poudre River Public Library District. “It’s well-used and well-loved, but it’s undersized and can’t do a lot of things because we haven’t had enough space. Partnering with the city allows us to build a bigger, better library and have shared spaces where we can do a lot more together.”
The new library will be around 5,000 square feet—larger than the Council Tree Library. It will have a bigger children’s area with a play space for young kids, multiple meeting rooms and an innovation/maker space for creative projects.
“We want kids to come in and enjoy the library, but a lot of times young kids have a lot of extra energy and need to burn that off,” Draves said. “Having a free indoor play space is very popular in other libraries. The maker space will also let the community come together to do crafts, 3D printing, clay work and more, giving people a creative outlet.”
Draves is most excited about all the types of activities the new rec center will have.
“I really love the idea of combining recreation and a library in one space,” he said. “People can take a swim, join a fitness class and then come into the library. It’ll create really good energy.”
Looking ahead, he hopes visitors will leave the new library feeling excited and inspired:
“I hope they come in and say, ‘This is even cooler than I thought.’ I’d love to see so many people enjoying it that we wear out the carpet in five years,” Draves said.
Fossil teachers are also excited about the ways the center could support students, especially with athletics and academics.
“I think it’ll really help out our swimmers,” said Stacy Ruffer, an English and computer science teacher at Fossil. “Pool time is hard to get over at Epic, and there just aren’t enough pools in the city for how fast we’re growing. So it’d be really great for them. I think the pool is probably the best part to fix the overcrowding issues.”
Ruffer also talked about the convenience of having a library at the SECC right across from the school.
“As a teacher, we have a good number of books here, but students often have to go pick up books at the Poudre Library,” Ruffer said. “If it’s right across the street, it’ll be easy to take kids over and check out books. They also have study rooms, just like the library by Target, where students can meet for tutoring or work on projects. Having that right here on campus would be awesome.”
He also hopes library staff will help students with academics and research opportunities that are not always available at Fossil.
“It’s important for kids to have a safe, welcoming place they can go if they need to work and don’t want to be on campus,” he said.
Fossil Ridge High School swimmers look forward to the new center’s athletic option.
“It’s gonna be pretty cool for the kids who use it,” said junior Markus Nina, a Fossil swimmer. “Right now we have to leave the school right after class to get to practice for the high school season. So yeah, it’d be really nice to have it right here.”
He hopes the pool will have at least 10 lanes and new equipment as well. Epic has 10 lanes and is about a 15-minute drive from Fossil.
“It’d be really convenient. Football players, tennis, and track—everyone practices here,” Nina said. “With the rec center nearby, we could just walk down after school and keep our bags in our locker or car, especially for freshmen.”
