Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2012 | Page 8

THE AGENDA

Helsinki Is Growing Inwards
By Hannu Penttilä
The writer is Deputy Mayor for City Planning and Real Estate of the City of Helsinki

T

his year, Helsinki celebrates her 200
years as the capital of Finland and is
proudly carrying the title of World Design Capital 2012. Cities’ development is
no longer guaranteed by administrative decisions but their success is dictated by their
ability to attract people of this millennium.
Helsinki meets these criteria.
Helsinki has been built as a seaport.
The City’s cargo ports moved to the modern Vuosaari Port a few years back thus vacating three inner city port areas for other
purposes. Furthermore, freight rail transport
was transferred to the eastern district of the
city, and consequently, Pasila rail yard area
right next to the centre became available to
become Helsinki’s high-rise centre. At present, Jätkäsaari in the west is growing into a
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showcase of sustainable urban development,
Kalasatama in the east grows into a lively
cluster of services and culture around the
metro station while Kruunuvuorenranta with
its parks and the seaside turns into an oasis of
premium housing. The construction of Pasila area will start once the bidding competition has been solved. All in all, the construction all these four areas increases our city’s
property stock by millions of floor square
metres during the present decade.
Helsinki’s growing inwards well complies with the new values and principles of
sustainable development. Helsinki is a safe
green seaside city where people like to live.
The city’s public premises and squares are
increasingly important as cradles of diverse
urban culture. The new Music Centre in the

lush Töölölahti park is the latest target of
visitor flow. The new commercial buildings
and the future Central Library to be built in
the same area will give a finishing touch to
this green venue of events.
Cities are natural meeting places and
breeding grounds for innovations. A prospering city links closely with adjacent cities
and with metropolises in other parts of the
world. The speedier train service from Helsinki to St. Petersburg has brought the two
cities at a distance of only 3 hours from each
other thus enabling transactions on a daily
basis. There is also a daily ferry service to
Stockholm, Tallinn and St. Petersburg from
Helsinki. Helsinki airport which the Monocle magazine estimated as Europe’s best
hub for connections has fast strengthened its
role in linking Europe with Asia. The city’s
smooth traffic and public transport system
ranked high in European ratings guarantees
a functional everyday for the 1,4 million inhabitants of Helsinki Metropolitan area.
Helsinki’s real estate market has ensured a steadily growing operation environment in the fast changing situations of the
past few years. The city’s significant role as
landowner and town planner means that the
planned areas respond to the needs of their
present and future users. The vacancy rate
of old commercial premises has not hindered
the markets of new, well-located and energy efficient premises.
Premises vacated from commercial use
have enabled also innovative real estate development. For instance, the old cable factory has turned into a culture cluster. As an
important congress and tourist city Helsinki
suffers from a constant shortage of hotel accommodation. The new commercial services
settle in the junctions of public transport a