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Sam Mizrahi

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Sam Mizrahi
Born
Sam Mizrahi (Persian: سام میزراهی)

1971 (age 52–53)
Tehran, Iran
NationalityCanadian
OccupationReal estate developer
Years active2007–present
Known forReal estate development in Toronto and Ottawa
Notable workThe One

Sam Mizrahi (Persian: سام میزراهی or سام مزراحی; Hebrew: סם מזרחי, born 1971) is an Iranian-born Canadian real estate developer who is active in Toronto. Mizrahi is currently the president of a number of corporations, including Mizrahi Developments, Mizrahi Inc. and Mizrahi Enterprises Inc. He is best known for being the developer of The One skyscraper at the intersection of Yonge and Bloor streets in Toronto.[1] In 2015, Toronto Life named him the 45th most influential person in Toronto.[2]

Early life

Mizrahi was born in Tehran in 1971 to Iranian Jewish parents, Shamoil[3][4] and Ziba Mizrahi.[5][6] His father was a business owner who owned and operated shops in the famous market of Tehran.[6] The family immigrated to Canada in 1977, two years before the Iranian Revolution, when Mizrahi was six years old.[7]

Career

In 1992, Mizrahi formed a dry cleaning company known as Dove Cleaners. DoveCorp, as it came to be known in 2004, operated both in retail dry cleaning and commercial linen cleaning. Mizrahi listed the company on the TSX Venture Exchange in 2005 and ran it until 2007, when it filed for restructuring.[8][9]

Mizrahi is the founder and President of Mizrahi Developments, a real estate developer that has developed projects in Toronto that include 133 Hazelton, 181 Davenport, 128 Hazelton and Forest Hill Jewish Centre, and 1451 Wellington in Ottawa. In 2011, Mizrahi started development of his first condominium project, a 9-story building in Toronto known as 133 Hazelton Residences.[10] Three years later, in 2014, he made headlines when he purchased land at the southwest corner of Yonge Street and Bloor Street for development of what he called "The One", the tallest residential building in Canada.[11][12][13][14][15]

The One (Toronto)

Proposed as an 91-story residential skyscraper[16] with multi-level retail at the base, "The One" will be the tallest condominium tower in Canada, according to Mizrahi.[17] Mizrahi paid over $300 million for the land acquisition alone.[18] The total cost for the project is reported to be $1 billion.[19]

Mizrahi hired the London-based Foster and Partners as the design architect, and Core Architects as the local architect.[20] He travelled to London to design the building using an exoskeleton structure. The building's design and height have gone through multiple revisions; most recently, the expensive exoskeleton structure was removed from the tower and limited to the podium of the building.[21]

Set to replace Stollerys as the podium tenant is Toronto's new Apple Store with approxintely 19,000 square feet of ground floor retail space, superseding Apple's current store at Eaton Centre.[22][23] The One's designer Foster and Partners also designed Apple's stores in Chicago, Miami, Hong Kong and Macau.[22] According to photographer Pedro Marques, the store will feature a three-story vaulted ceiling with a cantilevered mezzanine over the main floor, a build which was complicated by Apple's requirements that there be no interior columns, and will be fronted by three-story glass panels.[24] Manufactured in Gersthofen, Germany, each glass panel measures over 2.3 meters wide, 11.5 meters high and 10.9 centimeters thick, with eight sheets of laminated glass.[25][26][27]

Construction of The One was plagued by delays and cost increases. The project was placed in receivership by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in October 2023.[28] The project's total debt was reported at $1.7 billion. On October 18, 2023, it was announced the project received an additional $315 million in funding to go towards ongoing construction and development costs.[29]

In December 2023, The One reached skyscraper status having crossed the 150-metre threshold in its construction. At this height it is over halfway towards its full height. Once complete it will include 647 residential units along with hotel and retail spaces.[30]

Mizrahi's main construction creditor Constantine Enterprises placed The One project in receivership in 2024. Mizrahi was also replaced as The One's project manager. This was attributed to a variety of problems some alleged Mizrahi's management and a contributing factor was the rise in cost and interest rates.[31]

Personal life

Mizrahi is an active supporter of Israel and a member of the UJA, and has managed and participated in the annual Walk With Israel parade in Toronto.[32] He is also on the board of directors of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies.[33]

References

  1. ^ Pagliaro, Jennifer (September 12, 2016). "How Toronto's latest mega tower got the green light". The Star. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  2. ^ Toronto Life editors (November 19, 2015). "Toronto's 50 Most Influential: #45, Sam Mizrahi". Toronto Life. Retrieved February 9, 2021. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  3. ^ "Federal Corporation Information - 235560-4 - Online Filing Centre - Corporations Canada - Corporations - Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada".
  4. ^ "S. MIZRAHI ENTERPRISES INC. - WILLOWDALE ON CANADA". www.companiesofcanada.com.
  5. ^ "Donor Spotlight - Sunnybrook Foundation".
  6. ^ a b "Sam Mizrahi Toronto, Luxury Design Builder". 2011-09-16. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
  7. ^ "The Condo Feud That Erupted Between an Iranian Fugitive and a Toronto Mogul". Bloomberg.com. 17 June 2016.
  8. ^ CBC News (July 12, 2007). "Stock tanks as Toronto dry cleaner seeks court protection". CBC News. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  9. ^ "DoveCorp files for court supervision". Toronto Star. July 12, 2007. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  10. ^ "133 Hazelton". Urban Toronto. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  11. ^ Infantry, Ashante (October 8, 2014). "Mizrahi Developments buys Stollerys at Yonge and Bloor". Toronto Star. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  12. ^ Hill, Michael (December 18, 2014). "Sam Mizrahi-One Bloor Street West, the One-Billion Dollar Building". Dolce. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  13. ^ Strauss, Marina (October 7, 2014). "Mink Mile makeover takes Yonge and Bloor from low-rise to luxe". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  14. ^ The Huffington Post Canada (September 12, 2016). "Canada's Future Tallest Building Gets Even Taller". The Huffington Post. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  15. ^ Rider, David; Lauren Pelly (March 11, 2015). "80-storey tower planned for Stollerys site at Yonge and Bloor". Toronto Star. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  16. ^ https://urbantoronto.ca/news/2023/06/one-heading-91-storeys-and-thats-final.53014
  17. ^ "The One | Urban Toronto". urbantoronto.ca. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  18. ^ "Sam Mizrahi Reveals a Few Details for Bloor and Yonge Development | Urban Toronto". urbantoronto.ca. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  19. ^ "Sam Mizrahi - One Bloor Street West, the One-Billion Dollar Building". Dolce Vita luxury magazine. 2014-12-18. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  20. ^ "Mizrahi Shows Refined 'The One' at Design Review Panel | Urban Toronto". urbantoronto.ca. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  21. ^ "New Images of The One Revealed as Design Development Continues | Urban Toronto". urbantoronto.ca. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  22. ^ a b Mok, Tanya (May 14, 2021). "This is what construction on Toronto's huge Apple flagship store looks like right now". BlogTO. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  23. ^ Kupferman, Steve (March 3, 2016). "Is Toronto getting a new Apple Store? A rumour rundown". Toronto Life. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  24. ^ Marques, Pedro (May 19, 2021). "MetroManTO". Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  25. ^ Landau, Jack (July 6, 2021). "Retail Glazing Appears as First Finishes for Mizrahi's The One". Urban Toronto. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  26. ^ Warwick, Stephen (July 7, 2021). "Flagship Toronto Apple store taking shape with new glass panels". iMore. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  27. ^ Ng, Gary (July 2021). "New Flagship Apple Store in Toronto Starts Installing Huge Glass Panels". iPhone in Canada. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  28. ^ Altstedter, Ari (19 October 2023). "Toronto skyscraper with $1.7 billion of debt has been put in receivership". BNN Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 20 October 2023.
  29. ^ "Alvarez & Marsal Canada Inc - The One - FAQ" (PDF). Alvarez & Marsal Canada Inc. October 18, 2023. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  30. ^ White, Craig (December 6, 2023). "The One Reaches Skyscraper Status as Construction Continues". Urban Toronto. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  31. ^ Pereira, Ana (March 23, 2024). "How The One came undone: Toronto's most talked-about condo project was mismanaged, insiders say — and troubled almost right from the start". The Toronto Star.
  32. ^ "For the Chairs of this year's UJA Walk with Israel, it's a family affair | UJA Federation of Greater Toronto". jewishtoronto.com.
  33. ^ "Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies". Archived from the original on 2011-05-14. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
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