Liberty Village has plenty of bars, but there is no school, library, or community centre, something Hofley says needs to be on the agenda at city hall and the school boards sooner rather than later.
“These aren’t things that need to be planned for in 15 or 20 years. These are things that are going to be needed in five,” he said.
In the meantime, some young families can’t wait.
Michael Camber is a realtor with The Sutton Group working in Liberty Village. He acknowledges families are staying longer, but they still leave.
“I’m not so much moving families in. What I tend to be doing is moving them out,” he said.
Camber himself left the village six months after his second child was born, citing a lack of parks and “not the right amenities.”
“They’re staying a little bit longer than they used to five or 10 years ago,” he said, but ultimately Camber sees families go far afield to get what they need, in their price range.
According to Shim, that move to the suburbs will become increasingly difficult as people acclimatize to urban life.
“I think people are trying to make it work,” Shim said. “They’ll stay downtown in the cramped two-bedroom and den because it allows them to walk to work.
“It’s a lifestyle. It’s the ‘I can spend more time with my children because I’m not sitting on the Gardiner or DVP for hours and hours a day.’ ”
