Barry Sherman made a lot of different friends. He welcomed nearly all walks of life into his, relatively rare social real estate for a pharmaceutical executive who couldn’t guess his net worth within millions or tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. That is a remarkable and perhaps important detail to reflect on when trying to put this case together. It certainly adds to the intrigue into Sherman if it doesn’t turn out to be directly relevant to the crime in the way many suspect it could be.
Much has been made of Sherman’s close friendship with Frank D’Angelo. I’ll have more to say on that later but Sherman had other business partners in Toronto who have received far less attention. One partner was builder Sam Mizrahi. Sherman had invested in Mizrahi’s vision for The One - Toronto’s up and coming and new record smashing supertall skyscraper.
It’s a unique piece of the story and while I could summarize, Mizrahi does it justice below. Cool stuff, even if you’re not really about the luxurious.
I think there is probably a reason as to why this has popped so closely into view for me now. We’re past that weird part of the year - early September - where it’s still warm and sunny, with leaves hurrying to turn color and fall down. At this time of year the clouds aren’t restricted to the airspace of the skies, either.
On that front, if you will, it is the weather that makes the anniversary of 9/11 all the more weird. The reliance on transition and the importance in understanding symbolism are easily summoned in September. I wrote in long-form about 9/11’s impacts last year, and I end that with a reflection on the weird nature of anniversaries for those interested.
Anyway, Mizrahi’s description and rationale around the scale of the project, and the commentary on the development being a collaboration with the city is quite compelling as a story itself.
Sherman’s reported involvement, given his gravitation towards and investment in Toronto, is of little surprise.
There is something symbolic about the breadth and degree of a great city’s skyline. Perhaps this is more prominent with changes to the skyline, in either of two vertical directions.
And architecture and vision are just such cools form of art when they do what they are supposed to.
Enjoy.