Town of Oakville recognized for commitment to sustainable building design

The town’s long-standing commitment to environmental sustainability has been recognized once again by the Canada Green Building Council, with the achievement of LEED Silver certification for the Trafalgar Park site, home to the Trafalgar Park Community Centre and Fire Station #3.

This latest certification is the fifth time that Oakville has achieved a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. Sixteen Mile Sports Complex was awarded Gold certification in 2012, with Queen Elizabeth Park Cultural and Community Centre and Oakville Transit achieving Silver certification in 2014. The North Operations Depot was LEED Silver certified in 2016.

“Achieving LEED Silver certification for the Trafalgar Park site highlights the importance Town Council places on reducing our environmental footprint by designing facilities that are energy efficient and environmentally-friendly,” said Mayor Rob Burton. “Environmental sustainability continues to be an area of focus for Town Council in moving our vision forward to be the most livable town in Canada.”

Trafalgar Park Community Centre, located at 133 Rebecca Street, officially opened to the public in September 2018. The 65,000 square-foot facility features an NHL-size ice surface, public meeting space, fitness centre, full-size gymnasium, indoor walking track, fully accessible outdoor playground and tennis courts that are converted into an artificial outdoor rink in the winter. It also includes an older adults centre that replaces the former Oakville Seniors Centre on Kerr Street.

Fire Station #3, located next to the community centre at 168 Kerr Street also opened in September 2018. It includes four drive-thru bays housing a fire pumper, a 100’ platform truck, an incident command vehicle, a dedicated communications vehicle and adequate space for an additional heavy rescue truck in the future. The station also features a multimedia fire education centre.

Both buildings have a number of environmentally-friendly features such as:

Through the Livable Oakville Official Plan and the town’s Sustainable Building Design guidelines, which came into effect in 2009, new town buildings over 500 square metres in building area are required to be designed and built to achieve LEED Silver certification. Green building design and construction adheres to Council’s strategic goal to protect greenspace and promote sustainable practices.