Waterloo Innovation Network - Printable Version +- Waterloo Region Connected (https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com) +-- Forum: Waterloo Region Works (https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=14) +--- Forum: Waterloo Region Economy (https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=26) +--- Thread: Waterloo Innovation Network (/showthread.php?tid=365) Pages:
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Waterloo Innovation Network - rangersfan - 02-10-2015 Halloran lands CEO position January 20, 2015 | James Jackson | Waterloo Chronicle | LINK Quote:Waterloo’s former mayor has landed a new job as the chief executive officer of the Waterloo Innovation Network. RE: Waterloo Innovation Network - rangersfan - 02-10-2015 Wekerle now owns six former BlackBerry buildings in Waterloo February 9, 2015 | Terry Pender | The Record | LINK Quote:WATERLOO — The Waterloo Innovation Network — headed by colourful Bay Street financier Michael Wekerle — now owns a cluster of six former BlackBerry buildings along Columbia and Phillip streets and has an option to buy a seventh. RE: Waterloo Innovation Network - rangersfan - 05-04-2015 High-tech hub? Former BlackBerry buildings almost ready for new tenants May 4, 2015 | CTV Kitchener | LINK http://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/mobile/high-tech-hub-former-blackberry-buildings-almost-ready-for-new-tenants-1.2358125 It’s one of the most prominent intersections in Waterloo’s once-sprawling BlackBerry campus – but for some time now, it’s been far from a hub of high-tech activity. When the smartphone maker began shedding local jobs as it grappled with a declining market share, it also started leaving properties behind. Some of those properties were turned over to the University of Waterloo, while others continued to be occupied by BlackBerry. Another group of buildings, at the corner of Columbia and Phillip streets, eventually found its way into the hands of Michael Wekerle. The celebrity investor pledged to turn them into the centrepiece of his Waterloo Innovation Network (WIN), an envisioned beehive of high-tech activity just steps from Waterloo’s campus. “For so many years, we’ve been waiting for the rebirth of this area,” Brenda Halloran, the former mayor of Waterloo and current CEO of WIN, tells CTV News. That rebirth is finally underway, with buildings like 180 Columbia only weeks away from occupancy. Halloran says she’s still hearing from people that hadn’t realized the buildings were sitting empty, and now might be interested in setting up shop there themselves. “There’s a lot of excitement,” she said. According to real estate broker Ginger Whitney, the six buildings purchased by Wekerle’s firm have managed to fill 78 per cent of their space since December. The new occupants include businesses relocating from places like Guelph as well as startups expanding into larger space – but all fit Wekerle’s vision for the campus. “There’s tech, there’s software, there’s some environmental – there’s a variety,” Whitney said. Elsewhere in the neighbourhood, some former BlackBerry buildings on Phillip are being renovated with space for restaurants, retail operations and larger commercial tenants. RE: Waterloo Innovation Network - rangersfan - 05-04-2015 Can that article be correct that 78% of the 6 buildings purchased are occupied? If so that is incredible. RE: Waterloo Innovation Network - Markster - 05-05-2015 Probably "leased" is more accurate. RIM 7 has a 33% leased sign out front, freshly upgraded from 25%. RIM 6 doesn't seem to be leased yet? RIM 5 is now Magnet The ones up Philip must be doing well. I'm not up there to see. [edit] wow, that article from February actually has a lot of details. Some of the buildings are really taking their time going from leased to occupied. Though, Mambella's was pretty reasonably busy for lunch today, and that's a sign! RE: Waterloo Innovation Network - rangersfan - 07-14-2015 Phillip St and area are being branded as the "Idea Quarter". http://m.therecord.com/news-story/5731926-phillip-street-plan-passes-the-iq-test RE: Waterloo Innovation Network - Spokes - 07-14-2015 We're starting to get multiple names for the same areas it seems RE: Waterloo Innovation Network - Markster - 07-14-2015 (07-14-2015, 05:41 AM)rangersfan Wrote: Phillip St and area are being branded as the "Idea Quarter".And Twitter was having a field day with that: <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">"Idea" as in singular? <a href="https://t.co/gFRgl31RhC">https://t.co/gFRgl31RhC</a></p>— Jason V (@JJVenky) <a href="https://twitter.com/JJVenky/status/620701188628086784">July 13, 2015</a></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/m_druker">@m_druker</a> I don't know, "Research & Technology - Idea Quarter - We're Smart But Also Super Cool & Hip Station" has a certain ring to it.</p>— Mike Boos (@mikeboos) <a href="https://twitter.com/mikeboos/status/620685471694258177">July 13, 2015</a></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Wanted: Pretentious Waterloo Region Place Names map. <a href="https://t.co/1dXPIMZ35X">https://t.co/1dXPIMZ35X</a></p>— Mike Boos (@mikeboos) <a href="https://twitter.com/mikeboos/status/620690570478927872">July 13, 2015</a></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/mikeboos">@mikeboos</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/m_druker">@m_druker</a> Quarters are toats cool guys. But we should upgrade to Quadrants. The Lancaster Good Food Quadrant.</p>— Levi Oakey (@levioakey) <a href="https://twitter.com/levioakey/status/620686515341910016">July 13, 2015</a></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/mikeboos">@mikeboos</a> 'Technology Commons'. 'Grey Heron Estates'. 'Innovation Boardwalk'.</p>— Ryan Flanagan (@flanaganryan) <a href="https://twitter.com/flanaganryan/status/620691460011114496">July 13, 2015</a></blockquote> RE: Waterloo Innovation Network - ookpik - 10-15-2015 How to make the Toronto-Waterloo corridor into a world-leading innovation centre Quote:Despite all our assets, the reality today is less an integrated corridor than a series of inadequately linked silos within the Toronto and Waterloo technology ecosystems. We must supplant these silos with the kind of superconnectivity – among entrepreneurs, investors, skilled talent, university researchers, mentors, governments and markets – that powers the London-Cambridge corridor or the San Francisco-San Jose corridor, and, in turn, the British and U.S. economies. RE: Waterloo Innovation Network - rangersfan - 10-17-2015 Further details for the Idea Quarter: http://m.therecord.com/news-story/5964858-idea-quarter-takes-shape-in-former-blackberry-buildings-in-waterloo RE: Waterloo Innovation Network - Section ThirtyOne - 10-20-2015 (10-17-2015, 01:42 PM)rangersfan Wrote: Further details for the Idea Quarter: The description of 'Factory Square' reminds me much of the former Nortel campus on Dixie Road. If it plays out as described, sounds like it would be a great place to work. RE: Waterloo Innovation Network - tomh009 - 10-20-2015 Quote:Wekerle, a dragon on the CBC television show "Dragons' Den," is aiming for a mixed-use development where tech workers can live, work and play in the same area. I wonder whether he's actually planning to build condo/apartment units, or whether he will be relying on Northdale properties. The area is ripe for intensification, to be sure. Next door to UW and the R&D park, with lots of underutilized buildings and surface parking. And Valley Blades and Raytheon may find at some point that the land values are high enough for them to move further out. RE: Waterloo Innovation Network - nms - 10-26-2015 (10-20-2015, 12:20 PM)tomh009 Wrote: The area is ripe for intensification, to be sure. Next door to UW and the R&D park, with lots of underutilized buildings and surface parking. And Valley Blades and Raytheon may find at some point that the land values are high enough for them to move further out. Move out where? The City is short on industrial land as it is, and it would have to be a pretty hefty price tag to relocate a factory. For instance, factory relocation didn't work out so well for the local Schneiders workforce. As an aside, Clemmer Manufacturing (formerly Waterloo Manufacturing) is also nearby on Albert Street. RE: Waterloo Innovation Network - mpd618 - 10-26-2015 (10-26-2015, 01:54 PM)nms Wrote: Move out where? The City is short on industrial land as it is, and it would have to be a pretty hefty price tag to relocate a factory. For instance, factory relocation didn't work out so well for the local Schneiders workforce. That's quite the extreme, with a 100-year-old factory. As for moving out where, there's a bunch of software companies that are set up in industrial areas of Waterloo and Kitchener - some of which have an interest in moving to the more central areas. They could swap! RE: Waterloo Innovation Network - nms - 11-02-2015 I don't think its extreme. Schneiders/Maple Leaf needed to build a completely new facility and they were won over by Hamilton. Short of dismantling the existing factory and moving it overnight, any local heavy industry would need to build a new facility first before shutting down the old one (not to mention possibly environmental remediation and related decommissioning of the existing site). Why would a new heavy industry rebuild here, where there could be various delays or complications due to tight spaces, when I'm sure there are many other communities in southwestern Ontario that would love to see that industry relocate to their town. That being said, the local cities were founded on heavy industries where employees could walk or take transit to work. Will we see a day in the future where a heavy industry or manufacturing is located relatively close to workers without too many adverse affects (ie noise and air pollution)? |