University of Waterloo buys five BlackBerry buildings

The University of Waterloo has acquired five buildings and land from BlackBerry in a deal worth $41 million.

The deal, which is set to complete on February 14, 2014, will see the University occupy three of the office buildings on the northeast corner of its main campus while BlackBerry remains tenants of two others for up to five years.

“The University of Waterloo has set a course to become one of the world’s top innovation universities and we must ensure that we have the space to meet that challenge,” said Feridun Hamdullahpur, president and vice-chancellor of Waterloo. “We are growing, and the opportunity to purchase buildings so close to campus allows us to meet current space challenges that will help us better meet the needs of the campus community.”

The buildings – BlackBerry 1, BlackBerry 2, BlackBerry 3, BlackBerry 4, and BlackBerry 16 – add 300,000 square feet of space to the University of Waterloo’s campus footprint and more than 1,000 parking spaces. BlackBerry will lease BlackBerry 2 and BlackBerry 4 for up to five years.

“Space is our biggest constraint, so the opportunity to get space that is essentially on our campus was one that we couldn’t let slip by,” said Tim Jackson, vice-president, university relations. “The purchase of existing buildings on land contiguous with our campus allows us to strategically consider our accommodation footprint to help us meet our strategic goals.”

A map of the north-east corner of the University of Waterloo South Campus

About the University of Waterloo

In just half a century, the University of Waterloo, located at the heart of Canada's technology hub, has become one of Canada's leading comprehensive universities with 35,000 full- and part-time students in undergraduate and graduate programs. Waterloo, as home to the world's largest post-secondary co-operative education program, embraces its connections to the world and encourages enterprising partnerships in learning, research and discovery. In the next decade, the university is committed to building a better future for Canada and the world by championing innovation and collaboration to create solutions relevant to the needs of today and tomorrow. For more information about Waterloo, please visit www.uwaterloo.ca.

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