A new permanent park is coming to Liberty Village — here's where things stand
As of August 2026, the competition to design a brand-new public park at 34 Hanna Avenue and Liberty Street (southwest corner) has advanced to its critical second phase. The City of Toronto has narrowed an international field of 26 submissions down to five finalist design teams, each of which will now develop and present full conceptual proposals. Originally reported by UrbanToronto on March 18, 2026, the project marks one of the most significant additions to Liberty Village's public realm in recent memory.
The site — currently a Toronto Parking Authority lot — will be converted into a permanent green space measuring approximately 4,900 m². A portion of the lot has already been activated as an interim "Park in Progress" while the permanent design is determined.
The five shortlisted teams
Following assessment by a panel of City staff and a professional advisor, these five teams advanced to Phase 2 of the competition:
| Team | Home Cities |
|---|---|
| CCxA Architectes Paysagistes with gh3 | Montreal and Toronto |
| Daoust Lestage | Montreal |
| MJMA alongside Hapa Collaborative | Toronto and Vancouver |
| NIPPAYSAGE with Saucier + Perrotte | Montreal |
| PMA with Henning Larsen | Toronto and Copenhagen |
The international scope of the competition — which drew entries from firms across Canada and abroad — was announced as an open call by The Architectural Review in November 2025.
What the park is meant to do
Residents and local stakeholders who participated in earlier engagement rounds made their priorities clear: they want flexible, multi-use space capable of handling everything from quiet daily visits to organized events such as markets, outdoor screenings, and performances. Those expressed needs are expected to directly shape the conceptual briefs the five teams are now working from.
The park is explicitly framed as a response to growing demand for accessible green space in the neighbourhood — a pressure well known to anyone who has tried to find a shaded bench on a summer weekend in Liberty Village. For more on the neighbourhood's existing green spaces, see our Liberty Village Parks & Green Spaces guide.
Why this matters in Liberty Village
Liberty Village is one of Toronto's densest mixed-use neighbourhoods, and its ratio of residents to usable parkland has long been a sore point in community conversations. Converting a surface parking lot into a permanent, programmed public park directly addresses that gap. At 4,900 m², the new space would meaningfully expand what's available within walking distance for the thousands of people who live and work in the area.
Beyond square footage, the design competition process itself — with a Community Advisory Committee, public exhibition of proposals, and input from technical reviewers — gives residents an unusually direct role in shaping the outcome. Concept proposals were scheduled for July 2026, with public exhibition and jury review to follow; no public confirmation of submission or exhibition has been published as of this update. A winning design is anticipated to be selected later in 2026.
Timeline at a glance
- November 2025 — Open international competition announced (per The Architectural Review
- March 18, 2026 — Five teams shortlisted; Phase 2 briefing begins (per UrbanToronto
- July 2026 — Concept proposals scheduled; public exhibition to follow
- Later 2026 — Jury selects winning design; construction procurement anticipated
- Spring 2028 — Permanent park construction expected to begin
- Fall 2029 — Targeted completion date
Note: The interim "Park in Progress" is expected to close once construction on the permanent park begins.
What comes next
Once concept proposals are finalized and publicly exhibited, they will be reviewed by the design jury. Community members, the Community Advisory Committee, and City technical reviewers will all provide feedback, which a professional advisor will synthesize to inform the jury's final recommendation. Construction procurement is anticipated in the same year a winner is chosen, with shovels in the ground targeted for Spring 2028 and the finished park expected by Fall 2029.
*Primary source: UrbanToronto, March 18, 2026. Competition originally announced November 2025 via The Architectural Review.*