Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2015 | Page 28

Photo: Cederqvist &
Jäntti architects

line: Finnoo. This station is a special case
since there were plans to go ahead and realise it even if the “bonus stretch” plan fell
through. But hearing Louko and Leivo
speak very enthusiastically about this seaside neighbourhood, it is very easy to see
why Finnoo is such a key piece in the City’s
plans for the future.
“From our point of view, Finnoo is the
last remaining significant seaside area that
is open for development. We are committed to making this ‘last shore’ truly great,”
Louko says.

Smart & Sustainable
Kimmo Leivo is in charge of a very important community which could, ultimately,
accommodate as many as 17,000 residents.
Presently, the area is a bit of a “diamond in
the rough”: there are old industrial zones in
Finnoo and a lot of vacant areas that are used
for no specific purpose. The City, however,
has turned this to a distinct advantage: at
Finnoo, things will be conducted very sustainably from day one and the City is confident
that it can be very efficient in the execution.
26 Nordicum

For instance, Espoo Mayor Jukka
Mäkelä has promised that the new Finnoo
will become a “sustainable, green maritime
city of international standards” for all Espoo
inhabitants. The City is also most eager to
promote pedestrian and bicycle traffic, as
well as energy efficiency and carbon neutral practices. According to Leivo, the City
is also looking into a LEED or BREEAM
certification for the area to make sure that
no stone is left unturned in this quest for a
green city.
The Finnoo station is located in the
area of the current water treatment plant.
The future main street network and land
use plans of the centre have been taken into
account in the planning work. The actual
location of the station and its entrances will
be defined later as the land use plans will
be specified.

High Times
According to the preliminary plans, the
northern part of Finnoo will be largely
defined by the coming metro station and its
surroundings. There are plans which allow

high-rise construction by the metro station:
the highest of these towers could reach 30
storeys.
“Finnoo could feature as many as
10,000 apartments by 2040,” Leivo says,
adding that most of the residential buildings would be ready by 2030.
The new-and-improved Finnoo is also
looking to fully explore its access to the sea
in the south. Presently, there is already an
active boat harbour – accommodating 1,100
boats, it is the largest of its kind in the metropolitan area – and the harbour concept will
be fine-tuned, as well.

Under the Boardwalk
The City is zoning a marina-type housing arrangement here, which means a
high-quality, vibrant area, with a flybridge cruise through channel surrounded
by boardwalks with restaurants and cafés.
There will even be an artificial island with
condominiums.
“We really want to make the Marina
area into something which hasn’t been seen
in Finland ever before.” The actual boat har-