Optometry clinic has moved

The University of Waterloo School of Optometry & Vision Science’s public optometry clinic has moved to 419 Phillip St., Unit C, Waterloo, while a major renovation and expansion project goes on for the Waterloo Eye Institute. The interim location is approximately a three-minute drive or 10-minute walk away and will be open six days a week, with some evening appointments available. Patient parking is available onsite at no charge – use the driveway on the north side of the building. 

“We’re thrilled to have found such a wonderful space so close to the School,” says Dr. Andre Stanberry, the clinic director. “It enables us to provide our patients all our usual high-quality services, from comprehensive eye exams to specialty services, all in a quiet, comfortable environment.” 

All the clinic’s personnel and state-of-the-art equipment have moved to the interim location. This includes the optical dispensary, which means patients can choose frames onsite while the lab can make lenses and perform spectacle repairs in-house. 

The interim location will continue to offer specialty services including myopia control, ocular disease care, eye care for young children and patients with special needs, vision rehabilitation following brain injury, rehabilitative services for people with low vision, treatment for patients with conditions such as ‘lazy eye’ or binocular vision dysfunction, and more. 

“Not only can we serve all our current patients, we’d love to welcome new patients, both at our interim location and back at our regular location once the Waterloo Eye Institute opens in fall 2026,” says Stanberry. “We also have a downtown Kitchener location where we’re happy to see new and existing patients.” 

The Health Sciences Optometry Clinic in Kitchener, located at 10B Victoria St. S., will remain unaffected by the construction and continues to offer comprehensive eye exams and optical dispensing services five days a week. 

“If you already have an appointment, you don’t have to do anything – just show up at the time indicated,” says Stanberry. “If your appointment is in Waterloo, go to our interim location. If your appointment is in Kitchener, go to the usual location.” 

To make a new appointment, call 519-888-4062 for the Waterloo location or 519-888-4455 for the Kitchener location. You can also book online or call a specialty service directly. 

The Waterloo Eye institute is a once-in-a-generation, $53 million project to build Canada’s premier optometric care centre. When complete, the Institute located at 200 Columbia St. W., will have 68,000 square feet of new and renovated space, making it one of the largest optometric centres of excellence in Canada.  

All face-to-face patient care will be on the ground floor, making it easier for patients to navigate multiple services. The optical dispensary will be expanded and full of natural light to help patients find the look that’sright for them. 

The second floor will feature dedicated space for teleoptometry – technology-enabled virtual care for patients in remote and rural communities – and new space for clinical research, biomedical science and advanced vision imaging research.  

Overall, there will be more space for clinical education, which will allow the School to expand its enrolment and thus train more optometrists to meet the increased vision care needs of a growing and aging population. 

To learn more about the construction and interim location, see the Patient FAQ.