Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2013 | Page 51

cording to the barometer, 76 % of the shopping centre directors report that their total
sales have grown from previous year. The
most positive signals are coming from Cafés
and Restaurants segment, while Decoration
and Home Supplies offered the poorest outlook.

Green Streak Going Strong
According to the barometer, environmental responsibility was perceived to be the
most important megatrend in the business
today – so one can expect shopping centres
to keep going green in the future. One example of this trend is shopping centre Veturi in
Kouvola, the seventh biggest shopping oasis in the land. Launched in September, Veturi takes pride in its green genes.
First of all, the environmental impacts
of the shopping centre are assessed using
the BREEAM method. A ground heating
system was adopted for Veturi already at
the construction stage. Half of the cooling
and heating power of the shopping centre
is derived from the ground, and condensation heat derived from the cooling of chest
freezers is used in the heating of the shopping centre. The carbon dioxide system of
refrigeration equipment also helps save energy. The shopping centre even features recharge points for electric cars – and nearly
200 spaces for bicycles.

In addition to championing the environment, shopping centres are very important to their surrounding communities.
The number of shopping centres in Finland
presently stands at 80 and they are important concentrations of employment: a total
of 34,000 service professionals have jobs in
the 3,500 outlets located in these shopping
centres. Furthermore, 96 percent of Finnish
shopping centres are located in city centres
or built-up areas.

Spice Up Downtown
With such figures, it is clear that investments
in shopping centres have the power to be
a serious driver in, for example, the redevelopment of provincial city centres. During the past few years many towns, including Jyväskylä, Vaasa, Lahti, Joensuu, Seinäjoki, Salo and Rovaniemi, have benefited
from the re-energising impact of the shopping centres.
New shopping centres, such as Mikkeli’s Stella and Akseli shopping centres
have brought about a broad-based renewal
of the city centre, with underground parking beneath the market square. Also, the expansion of Stella was successful enough to
land “Shopping Centre of the Year 2012”
honours.
In Hämeenlinna, on the other hand,
there is a shopping centre under construc-

tion over a motorway, linking the formerly
divided city centre together. The innovative
deck construction will, in all likelihood, be
used elsewhere as well.

Active Year
In addition to Veturi, 2012 saw the completion of two new shopping centres, Matkus
(Kuopio) and Will