Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2014 | Page 59

Exit Army, Enter Business?
With regards to urban development, the City
of Lahti may well have another ace up its
sleeve – or, in this case, perhaps a diamond
in the rough. The Finnish armed forces are
shutting down the Hennala garrison, located on the west side of the city, opening, in
effect, the area for redevelopment. The land
and real estate is owned by the State and
administered by Senate Properties who are
testing the waters to see, just how keen are
the construction companies on the Hennala area.
Heikki Laitakari, Division Director,
Business Area Development Premises, from
Senate Properties says that the goal here is to
find a working concept for redevelopment:
“If everything goes well, we could be
looking at a brand new city district with as
many as 10,000 residents,” Laitakari says.
There are already existing buildings with a
volume of about 60,000 floor square metres,
but Laitakari sees that number as only the
starting point:
“The area has potential to add 200,000
or even 300,000 floor square metres of new
construction.”

Deliver the Total Package
Right now, Senate Properties are working
closely with the City of Lahti to find the right
concept that would allow the emergence of
a new city district, complete with both residential and commercial offering.

“Clearly the idea is to have a solution
whic