Liberty Village committes tackle condo design, attracting business

By Dennis Hanagan –

One of the four committees in the new Liberty Village Residents Association (LVRA) will be looking at ways to help attract new businesses to the community, says association president Todd Hofley.

The design and business development committee “is tasked with working with [the Liberty Village BIA], trying to find out what businesses we feel we need in the area,” says Hofley.

He’s excited about the new group that attracted 20 people to its first meeting in October. Another two dozen showed up at a second meeting thanks to a flyer campaign.

“The room was absolutely filled to capacity with people who are passionate and concerned and engaged with Liberty Village,” says Hofley.

Hofley started the association so that residents in the village—that will grow by another 5,000 to 6,000 people within five years—can have a say in how future development takes place.

One thing the group is looking at is condo design. For the most part the existing condos “are not good design,” says Hofley. “It’s possible we might be able to have some impact on the design of condos … the condos themselves don’t stand out in any sort of way.”

Speaking for himself he believes buildings should have been limited to 10 to 12 storeys, in keeping with the rest of the village. Right now buildings are getting approval for 31 storeys, he says.

“We want to work with the developers. Hopefully the developers will be open to some of the suggestions the residents might have.”

The association will also look at street furniture, a new east-west road, painted lines for sidewalks, stop signs at East Liberty and Lynn Williams, benches, bus shelters, garbage cans for the east side, and greenery. “We need a lot more green space,” says Hofley.

In keeping with a village atmosphere, he’d like to see people get to know their neighbours, with the events committee possibly arranging “a massive garage sale.”

The association “is about a bunch of residents who care about their neighbourhood and want to do some great things for it and connect with their neighbours,” says Hofley.

The association’s email is libertyresidents@gmail.com. Its twitter is @libertyresident.