An ugly Toronto parking lot has been transformed into a colourful oasis
A Toronto parking lot known for raking in over $1 million per year just gained a colourful addition.
The Green P Carpark 244 at 34 Hanna Ave in Liberty Village is planned to be converted into a new public park following the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and the neighbourhood is getting a taste of things to come through a new temporary public space.
The 184-spot surface parking lot at the corner of East Liberty Street and Hanna Avenue has just been spruced up with a colourful mural that invites locals to love their community.
The Love Liberty mural by local artist Elise Goodhoofd officially opened on Friday, June 20, to kick off the summer season.
Funded with support from the City of Toronto through the 2025 Outdoor Mural & Street Art Program, the Liberty Village BIA, Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik's office and the Parks, Forestry & Recreation Department, the project brings a splash of life to what was just a grey expanse a few weeks earlier.
Goodhoofd explains that the 10,000 square foot mural "will be used as a temporary park for the next few years, during FIFA."
"I painted eight-foot letters spelling 'LOVE...' and I noticed an increase of helicopter tours going overhead. I'm pretty sure someone's been proposed to while looking down at it," she tells blogTO.
The mural was conceived through a Call for Artists from the Liberty Village BIA and the City of Toronto.
The new mural reclaims a pocket of the parking lot ahead of plans to transform the ugly expanse of pavement into a public park, first outlined in a 2024 public realm strategy.
Future plans will see this plot of land converted into a new park measuring 4,900 square metres, slightly larger than the existing Liberty Village Park a short distance away.
The City states that "before full construction begins, a portion of the site will be converted into a Park in Progress – a park space that will open for public use while planning and preparations for the permanent park continue."
"The permanent park's design, amenities, and features will be determined through a design competition and community engagement process."
The future park will come at the cost of a major cash cow for the City. The lot raked in $1,010,952 in revenue in 2023 (120 per cent of 2019 revenue), which breaks down to almost $5,500 per parking space.
The Park in Progress is set to close in 2027, and construction of the new park will begin immediately after. The permanent park at this location is currently anticipated to open to the public in late 2027.
