Technoparc Montréal | |
Foundation: | 1987 |
Location: | Montréal, QC |
Technoparc Montréal is a hightech industrial park in Montréal. The Neomed institute is located in the Technoparc and hosts many small and medium-sized pharmaceutical research companies.
The park was established in 1987 as Technoparc Saint-Laurent, renamed Technoparc Montréal in 2008. It includes the Place Innovation building, an Astra Pharma research laboratory, the Neomed Institute, and the Éco-campus Hubert Reeves. In 2015, Green Cross Biotherapeutics, ABB and 4Degrées all announced plans for real estate projects in the park. REM began infrastructure work for a station in the Éco-campus Hubert Reeves in 2016.
Technoparc Montréal is integrated into an ecological reserve known as the Coulée verte du ruisseau Bertrand.[1] The reserve is a habitat for various native animal species, so development must be carefully planned in order to avoid environmental damage.[2] The Éco-campus Hubert Reeves is the center of these attempts to create usable space for clean technology, nanotechnology and sustainable development companies in an environmentally-friendly manner.[3]
Concerns were raised when REM began construction, as the station that was intended to provide public transport for park workers resulted in the destruction of a green heron nesting site according to TechnoparcOiseaux.[4]
Technoparc Montréal is a non-profit organization funded largely by an annual contribution of $2.6 million from the city of Montréal. As a publicly funded enterprise, it is subject to strict scrutiny by the government. In 2015 questions were raised concerning the governing board and CEO after Montréal's auditor general released a report citing lack of oversight and conflicts of interest.[5] This resulted in the city disbanding the non-profit organization that had run the park and governing it directly.[6]