Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2024 i Toronto Life

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“My $20-million concept car is the world’s most expensive business card”—Flavio Volpe, p. 18 The ruin pictured here, suspended in a state of demolition, is the former Lever Brothers soap factory, built in 1890. Soon, the 38-acre property it occupies will be the site of East Harbour, a gigantic transit hub and currently the largest commercial project in Canada by square footage. It will link the Ontario Line, GO trains and streetcars, becoming Union Station’s crosstown sibling for the nearly 60,000 people living or working nearby. The east end used to be the land of hippies, dog walkers, beachgoers, sleepy commerce and non-existent nightlife—but those days are over. Its future is dotted with crystalline office towers, Danish-style condos, fancy bridges over the waterways and a new park by Claude Cormier.…

$75 New fine, up from $30 last year, for illegally parking on municipal and private property. In 2022, the city issued more than 100,000 parking tickets, an almost 10 per cent spike from 2021. $2,000 Monthly double occupancy rate at the Don Valley Hotel, which is advertising its rooms as an alternative to the overheated rental market. That’s roughly $500 less than the average one-bedroom apartment in the city—and itincludes parking, internet, housekeeping and utilities. $33,000 Price paid by the city to label its drug-use kits (which include crack and crystal meth pipes distributed at safe consumption sites) with stickers. $1,800,000 Estimated street value of 14 kilos of cocaine found in a commercial plane arriving at Pearson from the Caribbean. The Canada Border Services Agency says the illicit drugs were…

JELLY BEAN BOWL Handcrafted from a slab of marble, this dish from Toronto design studio Montana Labelle can be used to hold keys or jewellery. “You can never have too many catch-all trays,” says Waters. “I’m always throwing things everywhere.” CHIC BOOK HOLDER This brushed-brass tablet and cookbook stand is made by Japanese home goods brand Puebco. “I’m getting into cooking, but I hate using my phone or computer to read recipes. I love that this stand looks vintage—I’d be happy to leave it out on the countertop.” EREWHON ART Australian photographer James Needham creates digitally collaged urban landscapes. This image is part of a series from a California road trip the artist took. “My fiancé, Jeremy, and I lived in LA for a bit last year. I think this piece is…

Every month, TL Insiders enjoy terrific experiences and events across the city. More than 1,000 Torontonians have already signed up, and you can too! Members get front-of-the-line access to cultural events and private dining experiences plus exclusive invitations to Toronto Life’s salon-like discussion series. Membership is only $75 a year—so sign up today and rediscover the city as a member. Live Nation Lake House Experience at Budweiser Stage: For a pre–Smashing Pumpkins performance at the Budweiser Stage, TL Insiders gathered at Lake House, the members-only resto-club patio backstage. The experience—part of a series of shows brought together by Live Nation—included food and drink and concluded with a fabulous performance. Insider First Look at Ristorante Sociale: Roman flavours meet Tuscan influences on the menu at Ristorante Sociale, sister restaurant to the Michelin Bib…

When Work Just Isn’t Working Let’s begin with an awkward truth: millennial and Gen-Z workers are less industrious than the boomers who raised them. Here’s another: their careers aren’t a defining part of their identities; they’re a means to finance their lifestyles. We could argue about the outliers—those hardworking 20- or 30-somethings you know—but studies confirm the stereotype. Before you reach for the pitchfork, here’s a third truth: these young workers may be on to something. Sometime in the last 10 years, a silent revolution occurred in Canada: millennials overtook boomers as the largest cohort in the workforce. No one really noticed at the time, but the change ought to have been blasted over loudspeakers. Why? One group was raised on Leave It to Beaver; the other grew up watching…

What compelled you to design Canada’s first zero-emissions car? This started, funnily enough, with Donald Trump and his attempt to reopen NAFTA when he took office. I’m president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturer’s Association, an advocacy group, so Ottawa tapped me to take part in negotiations. We got a deal that was very favourable to Canadian parts makers. Because of that, I was invited to attend the prime minister’s 2019 throne speech, where he challenged everyone to make their respective industries netzero. I went back to the office and came up with the concept for the Arrow. Which is what, exactly? The Arrow is Canada’s first lightweight zero-emissions self-driving vehicle. It is, as people have said, “the world’s most expensive business card”—a platform for Canadian parts makers to show off…

IN the spring of 2017, I moved into a grubby basement apartment in the Beaches. When I went to view it, I could already tell that it would be perpetually damp—it smelled faintly of turned earth and musty sock. It was depressingly dark. There was no place for my desk, and I would have to store my cat’s litter box in the shower. Yet I was desperate to move out of the apartment I shared with my soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend, and I couldn’t afford much else on my freelancer income. Besides, the space did have a few things going for it. I liked the industrial-boho aesthetic of its exposed-brick wall and concrete floors, and there was a washer and dryer squeezed into the bathroom. Plus, the location: I could leave my cave…

THE BUYERS: Ben Ho Lung, 25, a marketing coordinator, and Naomi Nguyen, 26, a pharmacist. THE STORY: Last summer, Ben was living with his mother in Aurora, Naomi was renting an apartment in Danforth Village and neither of them had a car, so seeing each other meant braving two hours of public transit. With about $120,000 in combined savings, the couple thought they finally had a shot at breaking into the market. So, in September, they set a $650,000 budget and began looking for a condo close to Naomi’s work downtown. Also on their wish list: a big kitchen for Ben—an avid cook—as well as a den he could use as an office. ROLLING MILLS ROAD near Front and Cherry Listed at $693,000 Sold for $673,000 The first place Ben and…

Ultra Restaurant & Supper Club 12 St. Clair Ave. E., ultra-toronto.com THE CROWD Deep-pocketed 30-plus types from nearby Rosedale and Forest Hill THE DRESS CODE High-fashion but funky to match the decor, which is inspired by the work of British designer Alexander McQueen THE FOOD Pan-Asian dishes with an emphasis on seafood THE SOUNDTRACK A DJ-driven blend of old school and new THE ENTERTAINMENT Roving dancers with over-the-top outfits that are equal parts haute couture and Halloween THE SPLURGE The Snake River Wagyu striploin with charred kimchi for $142 Areinvention of the Queen West nightclub of the same name, which closed in 2012, Ultra has matured with its clientele and is now giving affluent midtowners a place to party. The velvet-draped restaurant’s gilded details, woven throughout its design in both…

Work hard, live hard is officially over. For anyone under 40, the so called soft life is where it’s at: more time spent with friends and family, increased devotion to hobbies and developing new interests, fewer professional responsibilities, and a lot less stress. Gen-Z and millennial employees are not—contrary to popular memes and hashtags like quiet quitting, lazy-girl jobs, bare-minimum Mondays and weekend Wednesdays—actually feckless. They’re anti-burnout. They’re willing to work, and do it well, but they’re uninterested in handing over the bulk of their waking hours to bosses or subordinates. Ultimately, they’re prioritizing pleasure over profit. The 20- and 30-something workers featured in the following pages want to dismantle long-held beliefs and vaunted attitudes about ambition, money and what constitutes a productive life. In short, they are committed…

FOR WIM HOF WANNABES Cold Camp What: Cold therapy in a resort-like setting Where: Kawartha Price: Starting at $1,098 for a weekend Nick McNaught, the co-founder of experiential lifestyle brand Unbounded, used to hate the cold. Now, he can’t wait for winter. Three years ago, when he first plunged into the icy lake at his family’s cottage in the Thousand Islands, McNaught had no idea that ice baths could boost norepinephrine (a neurotransmitter that affects mood, attention and alertness). What he did know was that cold plunging helped him feel better. It was the fall of 2020—peak pandemic—and the only thing that brought McNaught any comfort was pushing himself into discomfort. Launching Cold Camp the next year allowed McNaught and Lisa Kricfalusi, his partner in business and life, to share…

ABSTAINING IS EASIER than ever thanks to craft sodas, tasty syrups and genuinely good zero-proof spirits. The Drake’s corporate beverage manager, Gord Hannah, showed us how to stock the perfect home bar for a sober happy hour. MORE OF GORD HANNAH’S TIPS AND TRICKS 1. Use a vegetable peeler to remove large twists of rind from grapefruits, lemons or limes. Point the twist at the drink rind-side-down and bend it in half—bartenders call this “expressing the citrus.” The oils will elevate any drink to new heights. 2. A great drink doesn’t need to be complicated. Even just soda or tonic water with orange bitters and a big grapefruit twist has surprising depth of flavour. 3. For soda on the rocks, add a sprig of mint. Soak it in ice water…