Howard Sokolowski,OOnt is a property developer, philanthropist and sport business owner fromToronto.[1] He is the husband ofLinda Frum and was the former co-owner of theToronto Argonauts withDavid Cynamon from 2003 to 2010.[2] His parents, Henry and Eva Sokolowski, wereHolocaust survivors fromPoland.[3][4]
Sokolowski was born to aJewish family[5] and raised inToronto and attendedYork University. Upon graduation he went into property development, eventually co-foundingTribute Communities. Over the next 25 years, the company went on to develop more than 25,000 homes. Later, Sokolowski founded another property development company,Metropia.[6] At the moment, Howard Sokolowski serves as chairman and chief executive officer at Metropia, where he has developed over 10,000 homes.[7]
He is a benefactor of Mount Sinai Hospital, the UJA Federation, Yad Vashem, theBishop Strachan School, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Gardiner Museum, York University among other institutions. Sokolowski has received awards from J.D. Powers and Associates, the Ontario Home Builders Association, and the Greater Toronto Home Builders Association (BILD) including Project of the Year, Community of the Year and Builder of the Year.[8]
He is married to the HonourableLinda Frum, a writer and formerConservative member of theSenate of Canada.[9][10] In 2011, Sokolowski was appointed to theOrder of Ontario for 'his contributions to the arts, healthcare and education'.[1]
On 5 November 2003, Sokolowski andDavid Cynamon purchased the Toronto Argonauts from theCanadian Football League.[11] Immediately, on assuming control of the club, they sought moving the team into a smaller stadium.[2] TheRogers Centre (formerly called the SkyDome until 2005) has a capacity of over 50,000 and although attendance at games increased during their ownership, it rarely was over 25,000. This made the stadium cavernous and unappealing to supporters. Discussions were made to play games at eitherUniversity of Toronto,York University orBMO Field but all of them fell through.[12]
On the field, the team won the92nd Grey Cup in 2004 under the head coachMichael 'Pinball' Clemons, the first black coach to ever win theGrey Cup.
Nevertheless, despite on field success and increased ticket attendance, without a purpose-built stadium, the team lost money over the six years of Sokolowski's and Cynamon's ownership. It was eventually sold toDavid Braley on 9 February 2010.