Liberty For All was initiated in 2024 to establish a comprehensive planning framework for Liberty Village and set out a long-term vision for the achievement of a complete community centered around transit investment.
Liberty For All will result in a plan for the future of Liberty Village, supporting investment in community services and facilities, an expanded and enhanced public realm, a transportation network that supports active transportation, and conservation of heritage attributes reflective of community’s identity.
Liberty For All builds on completed City initiatives such as the Liberty Village Public Realm Strategy, the Liberty Village Traffic Action Plan and ongoing community engagement.
On December 4, 2023, City Council adopted a settlement for Official Plan Amendment 231, an amendment to the City’s Official Plan that sets out City-wide economic policies. The settlement resulted in re-designating lands west of Hanna Avenue from Employment Areas to Regeneration Areas. The settlement also introduced residential uses, the requirement of affordable housing in new development, and the retention, replacement, and expansion of existing non-residential uses.
Lands that are designated Regeneration Areas are intended to attract investment, re-use buildings and encourage new construction to bring life to the streets. Regeneration Areas will need “tailor-made” strategies and frameworks for development, provided through a Secondary Plan.
A Secondary Plan is the result of a Regeneration Area study. The Secondary Plan represents a land use vision for a specific area identified by the City. Secondary Plans are land use plans and policy that guide how the identified areas are intended to grow over the long-term, resulting from consultation with partner agencies, stakeholders and community engagement.
Liberty For All focuses mainly on those areas in Liberty Village that are designated Regeneration Areas; however, the study is intended to look more broadly at the whole of Liberty Village.
Liberty For All will look at the following city building components:
Both the Liberty Village Public Realm Strategy and the Liberty Village Traffic Action Plan will inform the parks and public realm and transportation aspects of this study, with the intention that the Secondary Plan will further refine those City Council-adopted strategies.
Heritage Planning is working on a Cultural Heritage Resource Assessment (CHRA) for the Liberty Village neighbourhood. A CHRA begins with historical research to understand an area’s historic context and how properties relate to and support that context. A draft Historic Context Statement (HCS) is produced to explain the area’s contemporary form and character by identifying significant periods of historical evolution and analyzing key themes.
Two meetings were held with a small group that have local knowledge and lived experience of Liberty Village, including its history, culture, and built environment. The focus group helped to inform an understanding of the area’s historical development, including its social and community values. Discussion topics included providing feedback on the proposed themes and content in the draft Historic Context Statement, and a review of the preliminary list of properties identified as having potential heritage value. The version posted below reflects the feedback received from the focus group members.
Connect with Heritage Planning and provide your comments about the draft HCS to Vibhuti Joshi, Assistant Planner, at 416-397-7579 or Vibhuti.Joshi@toronto.ca.
Development Review and City Planning will also be engaging with local stakeholder groups, such as the Liberty Village Residents’ Association, the Liberty Village BIA, Exhibition Place, Metrolinx, developers with an interest in redeveloping Liberty Village, and others throughout the life of the study.
Other ways to consult with the City on this planning study is to:
Have your say by taking the online survey for the Liberty For All planning study.
To get involved or to be added to interested parties list, you can provide your comments and contact information (address, phone number, and email) directly to the study lead, George Pantazis, senior planner, at george.pantazis@toronto.ca, or to the co-lead Josh Estrella, planner, at josh.estrella@toronto.ca.