Discovery District is known to hold the 4th largest medical community in North America where a uniquely dense cluster of research hospitals are located along University Avenue. The MaRS (Medical and Related Sciences) Center at College and University, occupies a massive 1.3 million square feet with housing units everything from biotech firms to investment firms. Discovery District thus brands the city as an area of R&D Mecca. It has the highest concentration of hospitals and scientific research centers that are mostly biotech firms.

The Discovery District is a subdivision of 3 main ‘park lot’ estates. These are: Macaulay Estate located to the east, the Elmsley Estate to the south and the Powell Estate that is now the University of Toronto. The location of this neighborhood, north of the town meant that as the city outgrew its original boundaries, the land would be in high demand. This area also provided impressive views of the town. In fact, as the City of Toronto grew, Macaulay Estate became the first residential district to the north and attracted many institutions and businesses.

In time, this area became something of an institutional area. Original buildings, now demolished, were the first developments and larger buildings replaced the old ones. Today, most of these lands are now bustling boulevards of towers and institutions that were not part of the original plans. The Discovery District zone has thus been able to consolidate the scientific research in the medical and biotech fields into one area. The district is also home to many construction and maintenance companies that serve the entire Toronto.