Why Invest in the Region of Waterloo?
Diversity = Stability
The Region of Waterloo is a fantastic place to invest in real estate.
Our diversity offers protection from the many different effects of recession and drops in housing prices.
Our Region has strong migration and immigration.
The diversity in employment including, insurance, manufacturing, education, and technology, assures us of continuous growth.
For the full Rental Market Report for Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo, click here
Moving the City Forward
Over the next 20 years, the Province of Ontario expects 200,000 new residents to move to our community.
Once complete there will be 22 stops along a 36 km transit corridor, connecting the three major urban centres of the Cities of Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge.
Transit ridership has more than doubled since GRT was created in 2000. Annual ridership is now at 22 million rides per year, and continues to grow.
The Region of Waterloo’s first ION light rail transit vehicle has been shipped from Bombardier’s Thunder Bay plant and arrived in the city in February 2017.
Innovation and Technology Hub of Canada
Among one of the top start-up cities in the world and a tech hub for all of Canada, Waterloo is an incredibly innovative city to live in. New companies, and established, are moving in and growing, taking the Region with it. Waterloo is the fastest growing tech market in Canada and employs 10,409 (2015) with a 74.4% increase in new tech jobs in a 2016 report. Waterloo region is a viable alternative to Toronto because of it’s lower downtown building costs and higher office vacancy.
Since first arriving in 2005, Google has grown from employing 4 to 400 employees. Opening their new headquarters in January 2017, they employ 350 engineers. Approximately 60% of employees at this Google facility are University of Waterloo graduates.
This 185,000 sqft space has the capacity for 1000 employees showing that they are investing in the region and are planning for future growth. Google revitalized and redeveloped the Breithaupt Block, which once was used as a rubber factory. This building is now in the process of being Leed V4 Certified for its sustainability.
Shopify Plus
In April 2016, Canadian e-commerce company Shopify moved it’s 160 employees to a 40,000 sq ft space in the Seagram Distillery Museum, allowing for an additional 240 new hires. Unlike other tech companies in the Seagram's building, they focus on recruiting top sales talent, as well as programmers.
The “Internet of Things” will be leasing the 473,000sqft warehouse that was once home to Uniroyal Goodrich tire plant. $55 million dollars is budgeted for redevelopment. The goal is to compete with HAX, a well know hardware accelerator in Shenzhen, China.
Catalyst 137
A massive innovation complex is in the works at 137 Glasgow St, right next to the Iron Horse Trail and the LRT. Opening in the Summer of 2017, Catalyst 137 tech accelerator will be home to at least 20 companies including:
- Miovision
- SigmaPoint
- Alert Labs
- FoxNet Solutions
- MyShow Markerspace
- Snap Pea Design
- Spin
- Swift Lab
