Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2010 | Page 34

REAL ESTATE SPECIAL REPORT

will probably be bought or rented by the local companies.”

Raising Profile
Olavi Louko, the Technical Deputy Mayor of Espoo, comments
that such apartments have been
missing from Espoo, and is
happy to see the situation rectified.
“The four towers will upgrade the skyline which already features a set of impressive buildings,” he says.
Matti Kokkinen, Managing Director of the western
32 Nordicum

metroline company Länsimetro
Oy, agrees with Louko, saying
that the towers are a welcome asset to the neighbourhood.
“The over-all balance of
the Keilaniemi area will be improved, as there will be both corporate and residential buildings
there.”
Tuomo Poutiainen acknowledges that the big
corporate players in the neighbourhood are already excited about the prospect of being
able to house their visiting professionals so close to the headquarters.

Missing Link
The plan also includes a deck
that would span over Ring I,
connecting the residential site
to Tapiola and thereby adding to
its supply of high quality housing. Since Tapiola is known as
the “Garden City”, also the deck
will be transformed into a green,
garden-like environment. Furthermore, the deck will provide
the Tapiola residents convenient
access to the shoreline, allowing
both pedestrians and bicyclists
to get to the sea.
According to Poutiainen,

the deck will also reduce noise
and help transform the area in
many regards. For example,
during the evenings there should
be much more action in the
area.
“We’re looking to instil
some metropolitan spirit in
here.”
The four towers will improve the situation considerably,
since the bottom floors of the
buildings have been reserved for
services – the master plan calls
for cafés, restaurants and the
like to help energise the neighbourhood.