Public engagement opportunities for the new community centre at former Robert Bateman High School

Burlington, Ont.—Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023— The City of Burlington is ready to start two engagement opportunities related to the former Robert Bateman High School building. One is engagement on the facility name. The second is engagement on the vision for the indoor recreational and cultural services offered at our newest community centre.

These opportunities for engagement and input are only for the use of the inside of the building, and not about greenspace or parking. Input on greenspace and parking will come at a later date.

All of these opportunities and any updates will be posted on getinvolvedburlington.ca/bateman-highschool.

Indoor visioning engagement opportunities

• Aug. 22, 7 to 9 p.m. Appleby Ice Centre, 1201 Appleby Line. Registration required.
• Aug. 23, 1 to 3 p.m. LaSalle Park, 50 North Shore Blvd. Registration required.
• Sept. 16, noon to 4 p.m. Food for Feedback. Central Park, 2299 New St. No registration needed.
• Sept. 24, 1 to 5 p.m. Appleby Street Festival, Appleby Line between New Street and Fairview Street. No registration needed.
• Oct. 18, 7 to 9 p.m. Tansley Woods Community Centre, 1996 Itabashi Way. Registration required.
• Oct. 19, 7 to 9 p.m. Online engagement session. Link to join is at getinvolvedburlington.ca/bateman-highschool. Registration required.

To register, email getinvolved@burlington.ca or call 905-335-7777, ext. 7965. Please include the date of the session you’d like to attend.

Name our new community centre

Help us name our new community centre at the former Robert Bateman High School site.

Residents are invited to submit names and any supporting reasoning at getinvolvedburlington.ca/bateman-highschool.

The names will be reviewed to ensure they meet the City of Burlington naming standards and a short-list will be created. Residents will have another opportunity to vote on their favourite name from the short-list later this year. Once residents have voted on the short-list of names, the top names will be brought to City Council for final decision in late 2023.

This opportunity is open now. Names will be collected until Sept. 18, 2023.

Reminder: Opportunity for Community Service Providers

We are also still looking for anyone interested in providing community programming with a long-term rental agreement for the exclusive use of space at the former Robert Bateman High School site. There is no commitment or expectation at this point. Tell us what services you can provide at getinvolvedburlington.ca/bateman-highschool by Sept. 30, 2023.

Background

The City of Burlington has purchased the former Robert Bateman High School building and greenspace.

With sustainability and community-building in mind, the City of Burlington is repurposing the existing Robert Bateman High School into a City-owned multi-purpose community-focused asset that will align with the City’s objective of being net-zero carbon by 2040. The reuse and conversion of the former secondary school will have interior renovations, exterior building changes and minor site plan modifications as part of Phase 1.

When the renovation is complete, tenants such as Brock University, Burlington Public Library, Halton District School Board, Tech Place and City of Burlington will move into the building and begin offering services.

Burlington is a city where people, nature and businesses thrive. Sign up to learn more about Burlington at burlington.ca/subscribe and follow @CityBurlington on social media.

Quote

Emilie Cote, Director, Recreation, Community and Culture

“Each of the registered sessions will be the same format, presentation and visioning workshop. The opportunities at Appleby Street Festival and Food for Feedback are a bit different but just as important. No matter which session you attend, we will be gathering input for what kinds of recreation and cultural programming residents would like to see at the new community centre. This is a significant step in the creation of this community centre.

Naming our new community centre is important. It should reflect the values of the city and the residents and will be carried forward for generations.”

Links and Resources

www.getinvolvedburlington.ca/bateman-highschool

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