The Hamptons of Toronto: Cottage-Condo Suburbanization and Implications for Public Space

Abstract

Growth and development pressures in the City of Toronto and the surrounding region have led to
the approval of a novel “cottage condo” development called Friday Harbour Resort. Marketed as the
“Hamptons of Toronto,” the resort’s approval was contingent on a tenureship clause that restricts
owners from occupying units for more than 300 days per year. As a public resort, the development
introduces a signifi cant amount of publicly accessible space to the town of Innisfil, where it is located.
Through qualitative research, this article examines publicly accessible spaces at Friday Harbour Resort
and contributes to the empirical research on public space in peripheries, highlighting potential social
and spatial implications of this new “cottage-condo” trend in second home suburbanization.