By Gazette Staff
August 29th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
The City of Burlington is inviting residents to the grand opening celebration of the newly built Skyway Community Centre and Park on Saturday, Sept. 20, from 1 to 3 p.m. at 129 Kenwood Ave.
Mayor Marianne Meed Ward will officially open the state-of-the-art facility with a “first puck drop” and public art unveiling, kicking off free, family-friendly activities.
In the media release there isn’t a single word on how much has been spent and how much has been borrowed to open this site. Transparency and accountability took a hit in this announcement.
Artistic rendering of the soon-to-be-opened Skyway Community Centre
Opening Day Highlights:
-
It is a very large site.
1 p.m. – Opening ceremony, public art unveiling and remarks
- 1:30 p.m. – Nexxice synchronized skating performance
- 2 p.m. – Sledge hockey demo and free public skating (until 4 p.m.)
- 2:30 p.m. – Ceremonial first puck drop
- All afternoon – Program showcases, crafts, marketplace, scavenger hunt and more
Skyway Community Centre
The new Skyway Community Centre is one of the largest and most environmentally advanced projects in Burlington’s history. The 47,000-square-foot facility features:
- An NHL-size ice pad
- A multi-use indoor track
- Two community rooms with kitchenettes for programs, meetings, and pickleball
- Energy-efficient systems, including geothermal heating and a fully electric, zero-emission ice resurfacer, thanks to a $1 million investment from the Government of Canada through the Green and Inclusive Community Buildings program.
- A public art installation celebrating the community’s identity
Skyway Park includes:
- A 275-foot baseball diamond with bleachers and dugouts
- A natural playground with wood play features
- Accessible pathways and shaded gathering areas
Public Art
It represents melting icebergs to echo the climate’s distress call.
A new public art piece, Ephemeral Reverie by Xiaojing Yan, will be unveiled at Skyway. This art installation is crafted from different hues of coloured concrete. It represents melting icebergs to echo the climate’s distress call. This piece is meant to ignite discussions on our planet’s environmental challenges and our shared responsibility to act.
The sculptures are made from eco-friendly and recyclable concrete to reflect the City’s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint and embracing green initiatives.
Ephemeral Reverie stands as a community emblem and serves as a poignant reminder of our collective duty to tread lightly on Earth, fostering a legacy of care, unity, and sustainable vision.
Mayor Meed Ward
“Skyway Community Centre and Park is a shining example of what we can achieve when we invest in our neighbourhoods and prioritize sustainability, accessibility, and community connection. This space was built with community, and by community for everyone—from skaters and seniors to families and future generations. I’m proud to celebrate this milestone with our residents.”
Links and Resources
Burlington.ca/Skyway (includes a time-lapse video of the build)
Green and Inclusive Community Building Program
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I was hoping it would have more activities for seniors
The new Skyway Community Centre may be, “one of the largest and most environmentally advanced projects in Burlington’s history.” It is encouraging to see the City investing in modern, efficient facilities, but this statement deserves closer scrutiny — particularly when it comes to the materials we so often take for granted: concrete and asphalt.
Concrete forms the backbone of almost every civic project — foundations, walls, sidewalks, and structural supports. Yet cement, the main ingredient in concrete, is responsible for nearly 8% of global CO₂ emissions. For every tonne of cement produced, close to a tonne of carbon dioxide is released. This means that despite energy-efficient HVAC systems and modern insulation, the Skyway Centre carries a heavy carbon footprint even before its doors open. Concrete does slowly reabsorb some CO₂ over its lifetime, but the effect is modest, offsetting perhaps a quarter of the emissions at best.
Asphalt, which will surround the new facility in the form of parking lots and roadway connections, compounds the problem. It is made with petroleum-based bitumen, linking it directly to fossil fuel extraction and refining. Each tonne of asphalt carries its own carbon load, and roadways require regular resurfacing, adding to their lifetime emissions. Asphalt also worsens the urban heat island effect, raising local temperatures and driving up energy use in precisely the facilities meant to model environmental responsibility.
None of this is to suggest Burlington should stop building — or that the Skyway project is unworthy. In fact, by local standards it may well be among the most efficient facilities we have constructed. But to call it “environmentally advanced” without acknowledging the carbon cost of concrete and asphalt risks misleading the public about what true net zero building entails.
If Burlington is serious about climate leadership, the conversation must shift beyond energy efficiency inside the walls to the embodied carbon in the walls and pavement themselves. Cities around the world are beginning to require low-carbon concrete mixes, recycled asphalt content, and procurement standards that reward material innovation. Burlington can do the same, and in doing so, live up to its own aspirations of environmental leadership.
We should celebrate progress, yes — but with clear eyes. Otherwise, our so-called “green” buildings risk being built on foundations of carbon, literally and figuratively.
Looking forward to using the walking track this winter.
Interesting. The energy to produce cement that is part of concrete is one of biggest producers of green house gasses in Canada. Suggesting it is eco-friendly is incorrect.
Stated as $39 Million redevelopment in the Summer Edition of City Talk from the Mayor’s office.