East Edmond's Next Boom

East Edmond’s Next Boom: What Covell & I-35 Development Means for Home Prices, Rents, and Relocation

If you live, invest, rent, or plan to relocate on the east side of Edmond, keep your eye on the Covell & I-35 corridor. This gateway has all the ingredients for a true mixed-use hub—anchored by the Hilton Garden Inn + Edmond Conference Center and ShowBiz Cinemas—and it’s finally adding the kind of daily-use retail that signals long-term momentum. The headline: a Whole Foods-anchored project is moving forward at Legacy at Covell on the northwest corner of I-35 & Covell.

What’s there now—and why it matters

• Hilton Garden Inn + Edmond Conference Center: 20,000+ SF of event space and 158 rooms bring steady visitor traffic and year-round business travel to the area. That’s daily demand for restaurants, retail, and services—exactly what supports a healthy mixed-use node.
• Legacy at Covell (NWC of I-35 & Covell): Active retail pads and leasing with strong traffic counts (±65,300 VPD on I-35). Marketing materials emphasize high nearby incomes and established co-tenancy—classic markers for durable retail.
• Whole Foods project approved: City leaders advanced a multi-building plan for a Whole Foods-anchored site. In market after market, premium grocers tend to lift surrounding values and accelerate nearby leasing.

What may be coming next

• Faster retail fill-in: Expect restaurants, boutique fitness, quick-service food, pet services, and medical/dental offices to cluster around a high-end grocer. Leasing velocity typically increases once the anchor is confirmed. (Site and leasing collateral already point to this trajectory.)
• Public push for execution: City leadership has publicly called the slow pace at I-35 & Covell an “embarrassment,” underscoring pressure to convert infrastructure spend into visible outcomes. Translation: more urgency to deliver tenants and activate sites.

• How this could impact home prices and rents in East Edmond

Premium grocery-anchored nodes tend to create a convenience and lifestyle premium that supports both for-sale and for-rent pricing within about a one-mile radius:

• National evidence: Multiple studies and analyses (Zillow, academic research, and industry roundups) have found that homes near Whole Foods/Trader Joe’s often sell at higher prices and/or appreciate faster than broader market averages; measured effects in various studies range roughly +2% to mid-single digits depending on distance and market context.
• Local baseline: Edmond pricing trends have been steady to slightly up depending on the source and time slice (ZHVI shows ~+1.2% YoY; other trackers show varying medians). A new premium anchor can tilt micro-areas upward versus the citywide mean.

Our read for East Edmond (12–24 months after opening/flagship tenant delivery):

• For-sale homes within ~1 mile of Covell & I-35 could see a modest premium (think ~2–5% over what they would have done otherwise), especially for updated or new construction with quick access to the node.
• Single-family rentals & build-to-rent near the node typically experience stronger inquiry volume and slightly higher achievable rents once the amenity set is in place; investors often underwrite a 2–4% rent lift against submarket baselines for premium-grocery adjacency in similar metros.
• Winners: Walkable or quick-drive neighborhoods east of I-35 (e.g., near Fairfax, Iron Horse Ranch, and other Covell/Coltrane/Sooner corridors) that can market “5 minutes to Whole Foods, cinema, and conference center.”
• Watch-outs: Traffic patterns and turn lanes near the interchange. If congestion spikes before all road tweaks are complete, buyers and renters may focus just off the intersection for easier access.

Investor angle: why this node matters

• Sticky demand drivers: Business travel (conference center), entertainment (cinema), and a destination grocer create a diversified trip pattern that supports weekday and weekend traffic.
• Tenant credit + foot traffic: A Whole Foods-anchored plan reduces leasing risk for adjacent pads and boosts the perceived stability of the area—useful when marketing short-term rentals or executive rentals.

How Fidelity Real Estate Brokers can help buyers, sellers, investors, and tenants

For buyers & relocating families

• Micro-market briefings: We will map neighborhoods by drive time to Covell/I-35 and show you how listings stack up on price per SF, age, schools, taxes, and projected “amenity premium.”
• Brivity-powered alerts: Get real-time alerts the moment homes hit within your target radius
• New-build strategy: We will identify builder lots and upcoming phases most likely to benefit from the retail roll-out and help you negotiate incentives tied to timing.

For tenants

• Rent-vs-buy analysis: Compare total monthly cost for a home near Covell & I-35 vs. alternative areas; if buying makes sense, we will connect you with excellent local lenders for fast pre-approval and payment scenarios.
• Neighborhood matchmaking: Shortlist rental homes with easy access to the node (commute, schools, parks), then schedule efficient tours.

For sellers

• Amenity-forward marketing: We will reposition your property description, photos, and ad targeting to showcase the Whole Foods-anchored convenience story and capture relocating demand as the project opens.
• Timing the market: If you are near the node, we will advise on whether to list pre-opening (lower competition) or right after key tenants open (demand spike).

For investors

• Acquisition lists: Identify SF rentals and small multifamily poised to capture higher rents from amenity proximity.
• Underwriting support: We will build rent and exit comps using conservative lift assumptions and sensitivity to interest rates, so your numbers stay disciplined.

Covell & I-35 is evolving from “interchange with potential” to Edmond’s next everyday destination, and the Whole Foods-anchored Legacy at Covell is the missing link that can crystallize demand. That typically means slightly higher sale prices, stronger rentability, and faster lease-up for nearby homes—especially within a short drive.

If you are exploring a move, investment, or sale near the corridor, Fidelity Real Estate Brokers can plug you into hyper-local data, curated tours, and smart negotiation strategies—so you benefit from the growth curve, not chase it.