The Financial Post reported yesterday that Toronto's MaRS project has been put on hold. The $300-million Medical and Related Sciences complex in Toronto's hospital district had been billed as an innovation centre for early-stage companies in the science and technology sector. MaRS developed Phase I of the project on its own however for the second phase it leased the land to a development company that is responsible for building and renting the space.
Hence the problem - many of the potential tenants for the building are dependent on venture capital funding, a market that has all but dried up as wealthy investors refuse to part with cash on risky investments.
MaRS received $70-million in funding from the Ontario government and another $20-million from the federal government but it has been largely funded by the private sector. The company's board of directors reads like a who's who of Toronto's elite, including Royal Bank chief executive Gord Nixon, First Marathon Inc. founder Lawrence Bloomberg and Roy-L Capital chief executive Joseph Rotman.
MaRS connects the communities of science, business and capital and fosters collaboration among them. This happens physically through location of... [more]
Rob Lewis
Rob is the President of Techvibes Media Inc. and Editor-in-Chief of Techvibes.com.
His diverse background includes stints in International Trade Finance, Web Development, and Enterprise Software and he is a graduate of the University of British Columbia, British Columbia Institute of Technology, and Simon Fraser University.
When not blogging on...[more]
