SkyscraperCity Forum banner

MaRS Discovery District Phase II (661 University Ave / 101 College St) | Complete | 23 st | 113 m | Discovery District

27820 Views 202 Replies 58 Participants Last post by  Elkhanan1
According to todays Globe (page A11) "next week directors of the non-profit MaRS discovery district are scheduled to announce a private-sector investment of more than $300 million to complete the second phase..."

"The new building will more than double the laboratory and office space available in the complex, making it bigger than any single office tower in the financial district...." It will grow to 1.6 million square feet by 2010. And the best part, "the potential market for research-oriented office in that district, five minutes from the hospitals in one direction, five minutes from the university in the other, is as much as 10 million square feet according to city economic-development officer Kyle Benham.
See less See more
21 - 40 of 203 Posts
I'm not up to date on the subject, but I was under the impression that Toronto was doing extremely well in that area... has something changed?

My understanding is that Canada as a whole is good at research but is not very good at turning research into patents (something the USA is very good at). MaRS is intended to correct this problem.
See less See more
I'm so friggin glad I took biotech science for my post secondary education lol. Finding jobs in research has been pretty easy for me. I've applied to MaRS and they've offered me a job but I had to reject the offer, took McMaster instead (closer to home). But as I gain more experience I intend to apply to MaRS again.
My mom works occasionally on projects at MaRS. I once thought of doing what she did (chemical engineering) but then decided I'm not the type.. I'm more of a sleazy businessman.
See less See more
^ Assuming you got that from your father's side? lol Manager of Sam.
^ Assuming you got that from your father's side? lol Manager of Sam.
:D

I don't have the scientific personality. I loved sciences in school - I did amazing in Chemistry and Physics, but I decided that I'm just not interested in having a life that revolved around them. So, I noticed I'm way more a linguistics type, I love talking, convincing people - I love math and business courses. So, I decided business was the best bet for me - maybe one day I'll do something I like, like working in a major international financial corporation. I'd love to work in Royal Bank's London offices for example.
See less See more
Or you could be a Program Manger of a research lab! lol

This is the lab that I work at: www.fhs.mcmaster.ca/SCCRI
I'm so friggin glad I took biotech science for my post secondary education lol. Finding jobs in research has been pretty easy for me. I've applied to MaRS and they've offered me a job but I had to reject the offer, took McMaster instead (closer to home). But as I gain more experience I intend to apply to MaRS again.
Amazing! I graduate next year in biochem/biotech and i'm working with nanotech too. Hopefully the building will be as exciting as the research!
See less See more
I never had any luck finding a job in the biotech industry unfortunately :( Stupid degree.
There is NO better thing to become a leader in. Beats call centres any day.
Um, that's New Brunswick, not Toronto.
For stem cell research, I work at a stel cell research lab. California and Ontario will work together in funding new stem cell research. I work at McMaster which is building Innovation Park which is pretty much a carbon copy of MaRS.

Government support for R&D from the province is good but the problem is with the Conservatives at Ottawa. Their extremely picky at what can and can't be funded for R&D such as stem cell research.

...kinda like Diefenbaker and the Avro - if it doesn't involve farming (and now Nascar) the Conservatives just won't get it.

Conservatives are allergic to the modern world. Think - most of the Conservative MP's are from hillbilly country anyway's!

Since R&D doesn't translate into "Lower Taxes" - they don't get it.

With our dollar on par - our businesses need to get their shit together and begin to get competitive.
See less See more
Yes, phase two is at the corner of College and University. I hope they chose a more daring design now - to cement that intersection a bit further.
Thanks Filip ... I thought so ... meant College.
Go to the link below and watch a recent news clip about embryonic stem cells (ES cells) research and how the Conservatives are slowly trying to dismantle ES cell research in Canada. Mick Bhatia in the video clip is my boss.

http://www.cbc.ca/clips/rm-hi/mackinnon-stemcells-070212.rm

Basically summed up in that video clip is that currently a new ES cell research committee is being set up, they will regulate what can and can't be approved for ES cell research. So far every single committee member that Harper has appointed is against ES cell research. So take a wild guess what's going to happen eventually.....soon these committee members will start to deny new ES cell research in Canada.
See less See more
Um, that's New Brunswick, not Toronto.
Got it in one! :cheers:
Hey Guys, don't knock call centres. Many of my peers went on to work at one of the numerous ones here in London after getting there Master's. Of course, aside from some manufacturing and a few insurance companies, not entirely sure what else there is to do here. And the city wonders why graduates don't hang around.
See less See more
Hey Guys, don't knock call centres. Many of my peers went on to work at one of the numerous ones here in London after getting there Master's. Of course, aside from some manufacturing and a few insurance companies, not entirely sure what else there is to do here. And the city wonders why graduates don't hang around.


That is my point, entirely.. call centres provide "jobs", just like fast food places do.. but it is better for a city to go after R&D than more call centres. Pharmaceuticals is another good field to try and attract.
See less See more
Personally, I think the world needs more political analysts. Eventually, I’ll run out of degrees to do, and no call centre will want to higher me.

Despite both Ottawa and Kitchener-Waterloo’s claim to be “silicon valley north,” the area including north-east Toronto, Richmond Hill, and Markham has the highest concentration of high-tech computer related industry I believe. We seem to do well in that department, but, aside from AMD (formerly ATI), I’m not sure how much R&D goes on up there (Nortel in Brampton, I guess … but not the greatest success story anymore).

Toronto could be a hot bed for R&D if we pushed kids into technology related education, rather than having so many graduate from the social sciences and humanities. The one thing KW has going for it, is so many computer graduates (York and Toronto's programs suck by comparison).

As an aside, I wonder if BCE can move its headquarters to T.O. after it sells or merges itself with another company.
See less See more
Since R&D doesn't translate into "Lower Taxes" - they don't get it.
Well, R&D does translate into lowe taxes........for me. I get an R&D tax credit on my stock options.

It is an incentive that the those conservatives implemented to retain R&D workers.

Son of a gun.
See less See more
Personally, I think the world needs more political analysts. Eventually, I’ll run out of degrees to do, and no call centre will want to higher me.

Despite both Ottawa and Kitchener-Waterloo’s claim to be “silicon valley north,” the area including north-east Toronto, Richmond Hill, and Markham has the highest concentration of high-tech computer related industry I believe. We seem to do well in that department, but, aside from AMD (formerly ATI), I’m not sure how much R&D goes on up there (Nortel in Brampton, I guess … but not the greatest success story anymore).

Toronto could be a hot bed for R&D if we pushed kids into technology related education, rather than having so many graduate from the social sciences and humanities. The one thing KW has going for it, is so many computer graduates (York and Toronto's programs suck by comparison).

As an aside, I wonder if BCE can move its headquarters to T.O. after it sells or merges itself with another company.
You are absolutely correct. Canada's Silicone Valley has been and still is in Richmond Hill and Markham. Ottawa made quite a bit of hay for itself by claiming the title, but everyone in the industry quietly knew it was here.
See less See more
You are absolutely correct. Canada's Silicone Valley has been and still is in Richmond Hill and Markham. Ottawa made quite a bit of hay for itself by claiming the title, but everyone in the industry quietly knew it was here.
Let's not confuse Silicon with High Tech. It is a subset. There is lots of semiconductor work happening in Ottawa. Not so much in the GTA.
See less See more
There's a lot of pharmaceutical companies in Mississauga like GSK, Biovail and AstraZeneca.
There's a lot of pharmaceutical companies in Mississauga like GSK, Biovail and AstraZeneca.
Montreal very wisely has cultivated the pharmaceutical companies over the decades. Toronto has played catch-up by being strong in the generic ones.
21 - 40 of 203 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top