Anyone who has moved into a Liberty Village one-bedroom or bachelor condo, knows how small some of these units can be. Many times, there’s no space to store seasonal other items. A storage unit in most of these buildings is more expensive than we care to share.
Second Closet is a new tech start-up seeking to address the storage needs of Liberty Village residents and any other Torontonians who don’t have a place to set their stuff. Tiny condos are all the rage these days, with more investments being made in one-bedroom and bachelors than ever before. If storage in your building is too expensive, Second Closet might be the right way to go. Recently launched by 22-year old Mark Ang, this company specifically targets condo dwellers including those in Liberty Village and all across Toronto’s west end.
In a recent Toronto Star feature, Ang describes the process of him and his brother moving into a tiny Liberty Village condo. In their building, storage not only came with a high price but was also difficult to reserve. The space sizes were not accommodating for all items and there was difficulty in moving certain items down to the storage spaces. For many residents in Toronto’s growing west end collection of condos, this struggle is very common. Small and expensive, sometimes the additional storage cost can unnecessarily bleed a monthly budget. So Mark Ang decided to come up with a solution.
Second Closet works like this – prices start as low as $3 per month, depending on a variety of factors. The company picks up what you need stored, sets it away for safekeeping at an alternate location, and will return it to you whenever you need it. All aspects of the storage experience – including packing it, transporting it and storing – is all taken care of with this service. You can either use your own boxes or use Second Closet boxes at no additional charge.
Officially launched in April 2017, storage is priced by size. For the smallest size box, expect to pay $3 a month. For larger items – such as bicycles or mattresses – you might be looking at $9 and above per month to keep it in storage. The easiest part to this whole process is that when you need your stuff back, just head online, send the company a notification, and Second Closet will deliver your storage items to you anywhere in the City of Toronto.
Currently, items through Second Closet are stored at a company-owned warehouse, which comes complete with 24/7 monitoring and climate control. Most of the business is done online (www.secondcloset.com), though there is a toll-free number which can be called for any immediate questions (1-888-800-2824).
We’re highlighting Second Closet because in addition to the services Mark Ang and his company can offer the condo residents, it is also an example of entrepreneurship in Liberty Village. Since revitalization in Liberty Village has been underway, it has attracted several start-ups, tech companies, and entrepreneurs to the region, each seeking success in their respective category. Though Mark Ang no longer lives in Liberty Village, this article is a tribute to one of the neighborhood’s former residents and the growing accomplishments of his company. The creativity of entrepreneurs in Liberty Village has resulted in the neighborhood being one of the fastest growing in the city and a premiere destination for businesses setting up shop.
