Toronto MaRS Centre Phase 2 | 112.77m | 20s | Alexandria | B+H

Well, I think for this building it's beyond the issue of construction. It's about expanding medical technology. If there aren't enough tenants so it's put on hold. That means there's less funding or growth in the medical science sector as well. I just hope at least the first MaRS building won't have issues.

This might signal future funding issues for other research and development sectors as well.
 
The first building, with many smaller tenants ... signed into very long lease periods i.e. 30 years.

In other words it's safe from any of the ups and downs in the economy.

One other thing to consider although I have no details regarding this information. I would bet that the amount of leasing they have currently acquired for the second phase, during a normal time period (i.e. less the economic problems we have today) would be more then enough to secure financing and go on with the project.

In other words it's likely they've leased out say 50% or what not of the building ... but in today's market that's just not good enough.
 
Here's an incredible image of the other side of this intersection by acclaimed Toronto photoblogger, Sam Javanrouh

2762148424_dcb0eaa30f_o.jpg
 
I agree with Interchange. If there is a possibility we might get something better later on I'm all for waiting.
 
Tewder said:
I agree with Interchange. If there is a possibility we might get something better later on I'm all for waiting.
Click to expand...

Ignoring the merits of the Tower for a second...

Why on Earth do you think we'd get something better?

Unless you mean a scaled down version of the project would be more fitting. As that's all I can see changing. All the works has been put in place otherwise.
 
Since this is the scaled up version, perhaps the less ostentatious original - which matches the earlier wing - would be more fitting.
 
Yep I suspected he might be implying that much and that's an interesting idea actually.

Yes clearly this phase of the project towers over the first one < there's a better word to use but I can't think of it.

Moreover in some respects it can be argued it doesn't fit the current scale of the intersection.

Is that bad though? Who knows ... everyone will have an opinion.

I kinda like it as is to be honest but maybe if it were scaled back a bit it would work better.

ps - I really doubt that's what will happen though. They must have considered that at the time. Clearly they decided the better choice was to wait. What that likely implies is that they suspect the demand is there but the current market conditions are making everyone (being potential tenants) including the companies that provide the financing very cautious.

So what will happen?

If the cranes indeed come down I predict it get's put on hold for at least a year ... if they stay then who knows. In either case I suspect we'll see the originally planned building go up though, i.e. the pictures above.
 
There were no details in the article but ebardoun mentioned that the cranes would come down ... he was right about the suspension so I suspect he'll be right about this as well.

It'll be a while for sure.
 
Usually the trolls are wrong. Not this time I guess, sadly. :( But I guess even a broken clock is right twice a day.
 
I will be surprised if this building resumes construction before 2012. If things keep going the way they are we are in for a long recession.
 
Eastside said:
How was that trollish?
Click to expand...

It wasn't, ignore that comment.

Let's just say we've had our fare share of trolls or troll like behavior on this forum so it's easy for some of us to jump the gun.

Thanks for the inside info ... although after walking by the site today I tried to pretend everything was fine like usual :)

Oh well.
 
John Barber of the Globe on MaRS

BIOTECH INDUSTRY
Recession gives pause to innovation centre

JOHN BARBER
November 20, 2008

The global recession touched down in Toronto when construction of a highly anticipated downtown research centre came to a sudden halt this week.

"The world is plunging into what could be a very deep recession so we're taking prudent measures to suspend construction," said John Cunningham of California-based Alexandria Real Estate Equities, which until this week was building a 20-storey building on the southeast corner of College Street and University Avenue as part of the MaRS Discovery District, a non-profit "innovation centre" established to encourage high-tech startups.

A speculative venture that was going ahead without government funding, the MaRS expansion is not the only such victim of the credit crunch. Last week, Alexandria suspended construction of two similar buildings at San Francisco's Mission Bay biotech complex and another at New York's East River Science Park.

"There's no one market that is different from another," Mr. Cunningham said. "It's a global situation."

But the Toronto building will go ahead when conditions improve, Mr. Cunningham insisted. "It's as simple as a temporary suspension in construction," he said. "We're totally committed to MaRS, we have nothing but the strongest feelings for Toronto and think it's a fantastic market."

The suspension is disappointing but not surprising, according to Ilse Treurnicht, MaRS CEO. "MaRS is a magnifying glass of what is going on in the global economy," she said. "We are clearly dealing with an unprecedented and unpredictable set of global circumstances."

As a result, Ms. Treurnicht said, it is impossible to anticipate when construction of the new building might begin again. But in the meantime, she insisted, MaRS continues to thrive.

"Although we're very excited about watching a building go up it doesn't change anything we do," she said. "We're not even taking a breath. We're marching ahead."

MaRS, established originally to foster innovation in the health sciences, currently accommodates 70 tenants in a variety of industries, including 30 in its incubator program. It serves even more companies that are not located in the complex, according to Ms. Treurnicht.

"We have a full building and in fact we're seeing growth in our waiting list, particularly with the smaller companies," she said.

Even so, some established tenants are feeling the crunch. "It's a very cash-dependent sector," said Tony Cruz, CEO of MaRS tenant Transition Therapeutics Inc., a biotech firm that has seen its stock price plummet in recent weeks. "We're dependent on investors and when the cash disappears from the market it really puts a lot of pressure on companies."

Building a business culture that is capable of sustaining a local biotech industry will take much more than new buildings, according to Mr. Cruz. "That takes a lot more focus."

The current "pause" will give MaRS the opportunity to develop a new strategy for implementing its plans, according to Ms. Treurnicht. Without asking for a bailout, she held out hope for future government partnerships.

"If anything, the global situation has made the work of MaRS more important," she said. "Building the next generation of knowledge-based businesses is our opportunity to take control of our future economic destiny. The work of MaRS is absolutely critical in terms of reinventing not only Toronto but Ontario's economy."
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Myself, I would tend to put this into the category "never built". If re-imagined, we are quite a few years away from that. None of the victims of the last recession (Gibson Square, 4800 Yonge, CN Royal Trust complex, Brookfield Place Phase III, Bramalea East York Development, Bay-Adelaide Centre or 300 Bloor East, among probable forgotten others) were built as originally imagined. I think something will happen on this site, especially since construction has begun and so there is a scar on the landscape that will encourage development, but it is many years away and when it comes, will almost certainly be in a completely new form.
 
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