History

MaRS was created in 2000 by a group of thirteen visionary individuals, organizations and companies concerned about Canada’s performance in the global innovation economy. By fortunate coincidence, the site of the old Toronto General Hospital was for sale by the University Health Network as part of their redevelopment plan. The MaRS College of Founders took initiative and secured the land to build a convergence centre. This became the physical anchor for the MaRS vision. It took two more years of galvanizing key stakeholders and raising capital from generous public and private sector donors— including the federal and provincial governments, the University of Toronto, the Ontario Innovation Trust and the City of Toronto—before the development of the site could commence.

MaRS was officially incorporated as a not-for-profit organization on May 31, 2000. Since then, significant milestones have been achieved which include the following:

• The Founders and the MaRS team have raised almost $100 million from all three levels of government and both institutional and individual private sector donors. An additional $130 million of debt and credit lease instruments were secured to support the development of the MaRS Centre.

• The Phase I facility of the MaRS Centre was designed and MaRS has overseen the construction of two new buildings and the renovation of a heritage building.

Phase II of the MaRS Centre is currently in pre-development, with a target completion date sometime in 2010. When it opens, MaRS will more than double its footprint in the heart of Toronto’s Discovery District.
 

MaRS Historical Timeline [396 KB]

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The MaRS Centre, the physical anchor for the MaRS vision, incorporates the site of the historic College Wing of Toronto General Hospital.

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