Community centre designs being finalized on largest project in Pickering’s history

A final design for the Seaton Community Centre and Library – still more than four years from opening – should be in the hands of Pickering Council in February, with the design being created from public feedback on three options.

The state-of-the-art facility, slated for Pickering’s growing community of Seaton, will be the largest project in the city’s history and represent the first multipurpose recreation complex built in Pickering since the Pickering Recreation Complex (now the Chestnut Hill Developments Recreation Complex) opened in 1983.

There has been no price tag revealed yet for the project, which will be on the agenda for Monday’s Executive Committee meeting.

A community engagement campaign was launched for a five-week period from the end of September to mid-November, with project architect Perkins and Will “consolidating” the results of that campaign into a recommended design for council’s approval.

The campaign included a city-wide survey, three Open Houses (October 3, 9,15), and displays at the Chestnut Hill Developments Recreation Complex and the Pickering Central Library. Staff also held 29 community pop-up events at various locations, led a student engagement initiative and several stakeholder feedback sessions.

The final design will be a hybrid, amalgamating strengths from each of the three options and focusing on building positioning on the site; placement of major spaces within the building envelope; and a summary of estimated costs.

The amenity list for all three options includes dedicated courts for basketball, pickleball and tennis, a skateboard park, splash pad, children’s playground, community gardens, a pavilion stage for events and an optional skating trail – in addition to the library, an aquatics centre with a 25-metre pool and separate warm-water leisure pool, fitness centre and studios and a two-pad arena.

The project will then move into the design development phase, which should be complete by next September.

The community centre remains on schedule for construction to start in the spring of 2026. The target completion date is late 2028, with opening in early 2029.

The three design options for the Seaton Community Centre and Library

The 25-acre Seaton Community Centre project site is at the southeast corner of the future Alexander Knox Road (Whitevale bypass) and Burkholder Drive (currently sideline 24) which will be transferred to city ownership next year. Bridge construction and road construction is expected to follow, along with paving of Alexander Knox Road.

The design contract for the facility was awarded in July to Perkins & Will, a global firm with a history of sustainable design and a portfolio including everything from student housing projects in Victoria, B.C. to renovations at the home of the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets in North Carolina.

Former Pickering Mayor Wayne Arthurs – still fit as a fiddle at 76 and enjoying retirement – will be honoured with his name on the gymnasium at the recreation complex.

Seaton is a huge 7,000-acre block of land in north Pickering that has been in the planning stages since 2006. Most of the land was owned by the Province and five private landowner groups: Lebovic Homes, Mattamy Homes, DG Group, White Sun Developments and Seaton TFPM.

About three-quarters of the lands were approved by 2014 with infrastructure and servicing (sewer and water, roads) getting underway in 2015. New home construction got underway in 2017 and the first residents moved in a year later.

The community is planned to eventually accommodate 70,000 new residents and 35,000 new jobs.