With the support of the Robert Bateman Naming Shortlist committee, the City is recommending to the Environment, Infrastructure and Community Services Committee (EICS) on Dec. 7 the name of Burlington’s newest community centre be “Robert Bateman Community Centre.”

Thank you to everyone who provided input through the online survey and at Food for Feedback to find a name for the location.

When the submission deadline passed, a committee was formed to review the submissions and create a shortlist of names that aligned to the City’s naming policy and represented the community voice. This committee included representatives from the Advisory Committees of Heritage and Inclusion, City Council, the Indigenous Talking Circle, and City staff.

Survey results

• 221 names were received.
• 44 per cent were for Robert Bateman Community Centre (or a close variation).
• Pinedale was the second-place name with three per cent of the submissions.

The consensus of the committee was that the community has already overwhelmingly chosen the name Robert Bateman Community Centre and it would be disingenuous to poll the community again or put a short list to a vote.

Next Steps

Staff will submit a report with the name recommendation and rationale to the Environment, Infrastructure, and Community Services Committee meeting Dec. 7 and to City Council on Dec. 12, 2023.

Thank you everyone who took the time to provide feedback on the new community centre’s indoor visioning or expressed interest in exclusive use of space.

Over the past three months, City staff have been busy collecting input through online surveys, in-person engagements and virtual engagement sessions.

• We received dozens of expressions of interest for the exclusive use of the indoor space.
• Three in-person visioning sessions and one virtual engagement sessions were held. 85 people attended the four sessions.
• Residents also had the opportunity to provide visioning feedback at the Appleby Line Street Festival and the Food for Feedback event. Each event was very well attended.

Indoor visioning is still accepting submissions through the “ideas” tab until Friday, Oct. 27, 2023.

Staff have started reviewing the submissions, ideas, worksheets and comments.

The next step in this process is to create staff reports that will go to Committee in January 2024. These reports will outline the community vision and the themes of the expression of interest.

Another update on the indoor programming will be posted here early in the new year.

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.

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.

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 Highschool 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.

The City is looking to hear from anyone interested in providing community programming at the new community centre at the former Robert Bateman high school. At this time, the City is only looking for interest related to long-term rental agreement or exclusive use of the space.

Exclusive use is different than an open gym or room where multiple service providers can quickly set up and take down equipment for different activities. Exclusive use means the area is dedicated to the service provider on a long-term rental basis instead of an hourly basis.

There is no formal commitment or expectation at this point in the process. Tell us what services you want to provide at this new community centre and fill out the form and share your interest by 4:30p.m. Sept. 30, 2023.

The building is being renovated to accommodate community partners and recreational/cultural space. The facility has approximately 21,000 square feet of space for rent, programs and user groups, as well as an additional 9000 square feet of potential temporary space available to the community.

Individuals, groups and service providers are all welcome to express their interest in the space. Following this process, a formal bidding process will be launched in 2024 with the chosen renter/service beginning in 2027. Later this year, the community will be asked about the types of recreational/cultural services or programs they would like to have within the new community centre at the former Robert Bateman high school. All of this information will ensure that the site will meet the needs of the community.

The naming and sponsorship report is going to the Environment, Infrastructure and Community Services meeting on June 28, 2023.

Standing committee and City Council meetings are held using a hybrid model, allowing members of Council, city staff and the public the option of participating remotely or in-person at city hall, 426 Brant St. Requests to delegate to this hybrid meeting can be made by completing the online delegation registration form at www.burlington.ca/delegate, by submitting a written request by email to the Office of the City Clerk at clerks@burlington.ca or by phoning 905-335-7600, ext. 7481 by noon the business day before the meeting is to be held.

Former Robert Bateman High School – Communication and Engagement update report is going to the Environment, Infrastructure & Community Services Cttee on June 1, 2023.

Read the draft Engagement and Communications Plan.

Standing committee and City Council meetings are held using a hybrid model, allowing members of Council, city staff and the public the option of participating remotely or in-person at city hall, 426 Brant St. Requests to delegate to this hybrid meeting can be made by completing the online delegation registration form at www.burlington.ca/delegate, by submitting a written request by email to the Office of the City Clerk at clerks@burlington.ca (External link)or by phoning 905-335-7600, ext. 7481 by noon the business day before the meeting is to be held.

The report provides an update on the redevelopment and execution of the phased adaptive reuse of the former Robert Bateman High School site. The Phase 1 construction tender is anticipated to close on March 23 with a subsequent award report to Council on March 30, 2023. Parallel with this process an engagement plan will be developed to engage the public on the greenspace and future amenities needed for the park.

Standing committee and City Council meetings are held using a hybrid model, allowing members of Council, city staff and the public the option of participating remotely or in-person at city hall, 426 Brant St. Requests to delegate to this hybrid meeting can be made by completing the online delegation registration form at www.burlington.ca/delegate, by submitting a written request by email to the Office of the City Clerk at clerks@burlington.ca or by phoning 905-335-7600, ext. 7481 by noon the business day before the meeting is to be held.

At the December 8, 2022 Environment, Infrastructure and Community Services Committee meeting, there will be a presentation on the renovation and conversion of the Robert Bateman High School property. There will be community engagement in 2023 for the use of the community spaces.

This presentation is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. and if required after 6:00 p.m. Visit the calendar for more information. Here is a copy of the presentation.

A comprehensive staff report for the redesign of the adaptive reuse of the recently acquired Robert Bateman High School (RBHS) incorporating the results of a recent cost estimate, prepared by a third-party cost surveyor, along with a multi-year capital financing plan will be presented to the City’s Environment, Infrastructure and Community Services (EICS) committee on Dec. 8.

The City is repurposing the existing Robert Bateman High School into a multi-purpose community hub that will contribute significantly to the City’s major community facilities to accommodate future growth and will also help meet our objective of being net-zero carbon by 2040. The reuse and conversion of the former secondary school will be completed via interior renovations, enhancements and minor site plan modifications as part of Phase 1.

The total gross estimated cost of construction for phase 1 is $72.75 million, with a breakdown of costs below.

Along with the construction costs, staff will also present a financing plan. The financing plan proposes approximately $46 million in tax supported debt financing, with the remainder coming from non-tax supported sources which includes contributions from tenants who will be paying rent annually, and possible funding to be confirmed from the federal government.

The existing building is a two-storey, 212,000 square foot, brick-clad structure that was built in 1969, with additions completed in 1973 and 2003. The building contains community space and the Burlington Centennial Pool, which was recently renovated and will remain accessible to the community throughout the renovation.

This is a multi-phase major community investment, which will see infrastructure upgrades to build up to modern building code standards and implement net-zero carbon technologies, as well as providing space that will support future tenants on both the first and second floors. The project also will include a second phase which is the development of approximately 40,000 square feet of new City community centre space as well as new future space for community partners. The estimated cost of Phase 2 is $15 million to $20 million with the facility design to be brought back to Council following completion of public engagement.

Design features for Phase 1 include:

• Brock University educational classrooms and administration spaces.
• New expanded Burlington Library branch and programs
• New front entrance, open collaborative corridors and seating connecting the front to the rear of the facility.
• New central staircase and elevator
• Meeting room spaces
• Refreshed City operated triple gymnasium
• TechPlace Office spaces
• Halton District School Board adult program classrooms and administration spaces

Public engagement will take place in early 2023 to seek community feedback.

Quick Facts

• In June 2021, HDSB trustees approved a plan to declare the former Robert Bateman High School facility surplus to its needs and retain an interest in a portion of the facility to relocate the Burlington Gary Allan Learning Centre.
• In June 2021, the City of Burlington announced that an expression of interest would be submitted to the HDSB to purchase the Robert Bateman site through a partnership with Brock University.
• In Dec. 2021, Council provided direction to staff to submit a formal offer to purchase the Robert Bateman High School site.
• In Feb. 2022, the HDSB accepted the City’s offer to purchase the Robert Bateman High School site.
• On Feb. 3, 2022, Burlington City Council endorsed next steps to advance the potential acquisition of the Robert Bateman High School site from the HDSB.
• On Oct. 28, 2022 the City formally took ownership of the Robert Bateman property.

The City has completed a purchase agreement and land exchange transaction with the Halton District School Board (HDSB) involving the Robert Bateman High School property. In the agreement, the City purchased the Bateman property for $29.6 million, while the HDSB purchased a City owned property near Burlington Central High School, which includes the high school football field and running track, for $21.7 million. The difference in price of $7.9 million will be debt financed, with annual debt payments recovered from the City’s capital reserve funds.

This acquisition would push forward key objectives laid out in the City of Burlington’s 25-year strategic plan. Key pillars of this Plan include making Burlington a City that grows through attracting talent, good jobs and economic opportunity to the community.

Within the Bateman space, the HDSB will retain a long-term interest at the school to accommodate the Gary Allan Learning Centre. And as previously announced, Brock University will offer their Teachers Education and Applied Disabilities Studies Programs and will be developing professional and continuing studies specifically to the needs of Burlington.

In addition to the partnership with the HDSB and Brock University, the City has partnered with other institutions, ensuring that there is an adaptive reuse strategy for the Bateman site and to create a sustainable community hub which will include community rooms, a triple gym and the existing City pool. The Burlington Public Library will relocate its Appleby Line branch to this location to develop a place for learning and education and the relocation of TechPlace, a hub led by Burlington Economic Development, where the tech community can connect, develop and grow their business.

Public engagement will take place in early 2023 to seek community feedback on possible uses for the remaining space.