Seventh community centre a ‘dream come true’ for Oakville mayor

For Oakville Mayor Rob Burton, the completion of the Sixteen Mile Community Centre will be a dream come true.

The biggest project on tap in the 2024 budget, construction on the state-of-the-art community centre and library at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex is currently underway.

Slated to be completed in 2025, the Ward 7 project will give Burton something he has long wanted — a new community centre in each ward in Oakville.

“We’ll be opening the brand new seventh community centre of which makes us seven for seven,” Burton told Khaled Iwamura of inhalton.com when asked which big project he was looking forward to most in the 2024 budget. “We have seven divisions of the town called wards and one of my dreams was to have a community centre in every ward and 2024 is that dream come true.”

The newest recreation and culture complex in north Oakville will be located on Neyagawa Blvd.

Project Highlights include:

• A community park that includes two additional lit sports fields (one with artificial turf), cricket field, skateboard park, bike pump track, basketball courts, splash pad, children’s playground, a fieldhouse and washroom facility.
• A community centre which includes a multi-use community centre is projected to include aquatic facilities, fitness/active living centre, flexible multi-use space to accommodate seniors, youth and cultural programming and gymnasiums.
• An Oakville Public Library branch which includes work and study spaces (including collaboration spaces), a creation and media zone, reading and conversation areas, children’s and teen spaces, flexible programming spaces as well as public computers and wi-fi.
• Accessibility features include barrier-free parking and vehicle access close to accessible entrances and pathways and wayfinding that will be lit when it’s dark. Inside the community centre, all washrooms will have hands-free flush valves, faucets, soap dispensers and hand dryers and the pools will have accessible ramp entry.
• Renewable energy technologies and green building standards will be applied, including having the building LEED-certified, taking a net-zero carbon and low-energy design approach and exploring technology and design (self-tinting electro-chromatic glass, solar walls, sensor-controlled LED lighting and more).

The sports fields and cricket pitch will be completed by 2023, with the other park features planned for 2024. The community centre and library will open in 2025.