Dear reader, 

In 2017, Sidewalk Labs parachuted onto Toronto’s waterfront handing out promises like candy. The plan was to build a utopian district called Quayside, bolstered by robotic furniture, self-driving cars and architecture out of Star Trek. Then the Google-owned subsidiary started making strange demands. It wanted the right to develop the Port Lands. It wanted a cut of the city’s property taxes. Most disturbingly, it wanted control of residents’ data. Outraged, Torontonians refused, and Sidewalk Labs returned to its Manhattan headquarters, defeated. 

Toronto, the city of neighbourhoods, nearly made the mistake of choosing corporate clout over community. Righting this wrong required a new Quayside developer with city-building at the core of its business ethos. So the city turned to Michael Cooper—No. 22 on our list of the year’s most influential Torontonians—CEO of Dream Unlimited. His winning proposal (in partnership with Great Gulf) was the antithesis of Big Tech bluster: an elegant plan with plenty of affordable housing, mom-and-pop shops, an urban forest and tributes to First Nations cultures. Cooper’s Quayside was greener, more inclusive and, in its own small way, an antidote to some of the city’s biggest problems. It was, in other words, a vision of a future Torontonians actually wanted.

Also in today’s Curb Appeal: a giant house with a car collection worthy of Miami Vice, a Japandi-inspired standout in Summerhill and a Beaches laneway suite steps from Glen Stewart Park.

Michael Cooper has a lot going on. After earning the right to develop Quayside—a futuristic community on the lake with 4,300 planned residential units—Cooper set his post-pandemic sights on the Financial District. He’s bullish about reviving the core with his growing portfolio of boutique offices, and his plan is already underway. This past summer, Cooper’s heritage tower at Richmond and Bay became the site of Daphne, a must-visit new restaurant launched in partnership with Ink Entertainment. Read more here.

Here’s a $14.4-million Milton mansion with six bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, a cigar lounge, a driveway that looks like a race track and a “Hotline Bling” dance floor. Take the tour now.

At 3,300 square feet, this Toronto classic is equipped with lounges galore, two decks and a serene backyard—and it’s currently going for $3.5 million.

This week’s suite sits behind a Craftsman house on Glen Stewart Avenue in the Beaches. It has two storeys, two bedrooms, heated floors, heaps of marble, a Juliet balcony and clever storage solutions all over. 

In the latest issue: our annual ranking of the people whose courage, smarts and clout are changing our city—and the world—as we know it. Plus, the ultimate holiday gift guide, memories of 888 Dupont, a Q&A with prog-rock icon Geddy Lee, and more. Still not receiving Toronto Life at home? Subscribe today.