U of T celebrates official opening of the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus
May 16, 2024
The stunning, light-filled tower in the heart of downtown Toronto is turbocharging the next wave of Canadian innovation and creating unparalleled opportunities for research, partnerships, idea-sharing and brilliant new enterprises in AI and technology.
Philanthropists and business leaders Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman joined University of Toronto President Meric Gertler, U of T Governing Council Chair Anna Kennedy, and university and community leaders today to officially open Schwartz Reisman West, the first phase of the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus.
The new building rises above one of Toronto’s most prominent crossroads – College Street and Queen’s Park – and was made possible with a historic $100-million investment from Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman in 2019.
“On behalf of the entire University of Toronto, I would like to express our deepest gratitude to Heather Reisman and Gerald Schwartz for their visionary leadership and generosity,” said U of T President Meric Gertler. “The Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus further advances U of T as a global leader in innovation and entrepreneurship by creating a hub for student entrepreneurs, faculty and founders to bring their big ideas and startups to life. And it is driving our efforts to build human-centred technologies that will truly make the world a better place.”
The Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus further advances U of T as a global leader in innovation and entrepreneurship by creating a hub for student entrepreneurs, faculty and founders to bring their big ideas and startups to life.
U of T ranks among the top five university-managed business incubators in the world and is the top university in the country for research-based startup ventures, with affiliated startups raising $3 billion in investment over the past decade.
The Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus further advances U of T as a global leader in innovation and entrepreneurship by creating a hub for student entrepreneurs, faculty and founders to bring their big ideas and startups to life.
The Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus is building on these institutional strengths by providing a dedicated hub for innovation, entrepreneurial activity and technological advancement.
“Today is an exhilarating day, as we celebrate the opening of a building that will serve as a vanguard for Ontario’s innovation economy,” said Reisman and Schwartz. “As philanthropists and entrepreneurs, it’s an honour for us to play a pivotal role in making the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus a reality and extending the success and impact of U of T’s world-leading entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem to the next level.”
Inside Schwartz Reisman West
The 13-storey Schwartz Reisman West is the first of two buildings that will eventually comprise the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus. Designed by Weiss/Manfredi, one of North America’s leading architectural firms, the striking west tower features more than 250,000 square feet of inspiring, collaborative spaces to foster world-changing ideas.
Schwartz Reisman West boasts a spectacular two-storey lobby and vertical winter gardens that provide space for intellectual exchange among the entrepreneurs, founders and researchers based in the new building.
Today is an exhilarating day, as we celebrate the opening of a building that will serve as a vanguard for Ontario’s innovation economy.
“It’s a testament to the strength of our partnerships and our teams that we are opening phase one of the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus as planned,” said Scott Mabury, vice-president, operations and real estate partnerships. “We are thrilled to see scaleups and startups working in this space already, making the building a key global destination for AI and tech companies eager to base themselves close to U of T.”
Today is an exhilarating day, as we celebrate the opening of a building that will serve as a vanguard for Ontario’s innovation economy.
The Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus is now also home to the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society, an interdisciplinary academic research and public policy institute investigating the impact of technology on people’s lives and working to ensure powerful technologies like artificial intelligence serve the public good while protecting citizens and societies from harm. The institute was enabled by the generous benefaction from Schwartz and Reisman.
The U of T Entrepreneurship team, which supports entrepreneurship activities across the university’s 12 accelerators and three campuses, and ONRamp, a crucial collaboration space for students, entrepreneurs and startups across all sectors and stages, are now operating from the new building, continuing to foster key connections between innovators, investors and student and alumni entrepreneurs. The tower also houses the Vector Institute, a machine learning and deep learning research institute that advances responsible adoption of AI in industry and health care, further supporting intellectual exchange in this unique hub.
“We have an impressive cohort of stakeholders in the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus,” said Leah Cowen, vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives. “Student entrepreneurs, startups and industry partners are key to advancing this dynamic entrepreneurship community.”
Underlying their benefaction is a belief in the incredible potential of current and aspiring innovators at U of T to enrich our world and improve society – a bold vision that is now anchored in the buzzing ecosystem of the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus.
The building’s welcoming, light-infused layout is intentionally oriented towards public participation, inviting members of the community to take part in events and interact with scholars and entrepreneurs. Meanwhile, soaring windows offer breathtaking views of the downtown, including Canada’s leading hospitals and the Legislative Assembly of Ontario—underscoring the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus’ ideal location at the heart of one of the world’s leading commercialization districts and fastest-growing innovation ecosystems.
Underlying their benefaction is a belief in the incredible potential of current and aspiring innovators at U of T to enrich our world and improve society – a bold vision that is now anchored in the buzzing ecosystem of the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus.
Looking ahead to phase two
Schwartz Reisman East will focus on biomedical and bioengineering research, providing highly sought-after wet-lab space and facilities for life science accelerators, startups, scaleups and researchers in related disciplines.
Once both towers are completed, the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus will represent the country’s highest concentration of student- and faculty-led startups. This hub will be a critical part of the Toronto-Waterloo corridor, which has the highest concentration of startups anywhere on the planet outside Silicon Valley.
“Gerry and Heather’s spectacular support for this nexus of innovation is truly in a league of its own,” says David Palmer, vice-president, advancement. “Underlying their benefaction is a belief in the incredible potential of current and aspiring innovators at U of T to enrich our world and improve society – a bold vision that is now anchored in the buzzing ecosystem of the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus.”
