How WATCOM transformed computing
By: Robin Morden Waterloo’s first software spinoff introduced faster, more efficient software that changed the business and gaming world At…
A Legacy of Innovation
Since its founding in 1957, the University of Waterloo has continued to focus on co-operative education and applied sciences.
World-changing innovation is in our DNA.
OUR HERITAGE
Before R+T Park
The David Johnston Research + Technology Park is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land promised to the Six Nations that includes ten kilometres on each side of the Grand River. We are privileged to live and work on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabe, and Haudenosaunee peoples.
In the early 1850s, the land was settled by the Brubacher family. The land was farmed until 1965 when the property was purchased by the University.
Today it is home to the world’s leading innovators, all of whom bring the collaborative, barn-raising spirit of those who came before. (Photo courtesy of the Ellis Little Local History Room, Waterloo Public Library)
BUILDING THE FUTURE
A Series of Firsts
R+T Park opened in 2004 with Sybase (now SAP) as the first tenant. Businesses including OpenText, BlackBerry, NavBlue, and AGFA soon followed.
The Accelerator Centre, ranked among the top five incubators in the world, opened in 2006 as the first incubator of its kind in Waterloo Region. With its award-winning Accelerator Program, the “AC” has supported Canada’s most notable startups, including Miovision, Axonify, Clearpath, ApplyBoardt, and Textnow.
In 2006, OpenText, a spinout from the University, opened its global headquarters in R+T Park. OpenText is Canada’s largest software with over 14,000 employees worldwide.
A LIVING LAB FOR CLEAN TECH
Welcome to the Sustainable Future
Today, R+T Park is home to over 100 companies in over one million square feet of world-class office space. evolv1, R+T Park’s most recent building, is Canada’s first zero-carbon, net-positive office building and home to TextNow and EY.
R+T Park is committed to creating world-class spaces that drive sustainability. We’re excited to partner with developers, tenants, and community members who believe we can take real climate action and build the next generation of world-changing green buildings—right here in Canada.
