Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2015 | Page 48

Subway Smarts
With compact urban structure in mind, SRV is targeting three
metro stations for ambitious development
In making the smart & sustainable communities of the future, there are a range of issues to consider – but from
the point of view of the developer/constructor, there’s a couple of things that top the list.

“F

rom our perspective, we want to participate in projects which solidify
the city structure. The other issue
is mixed-use: we believe that bringing both
residential and commercial development
into an area will yield the best result,” says
Jouko Pöyhönen, Director, Project Development for SRV.
Pöyhönen points out that apartments
should never be too far from where the jobs
are; in an ideal situation, you can walk to the
office, or be conveniently whisked away by
public transportation.
In recent years, exploring the possibilities of public transportation has shaped
SRV’s business strategies quite a bit. As
the decision was made to build the western metroline to Espoo, SRV was immediately interested – along the metro tracks
there are plenty of intriguing development
opportunities.
46 Nordicum

Kalasatama Leads the Way
But the biggest news is to be found in east,
in connection to the existing metroline, in
Kalasatama, Helsinki: namely, SRV’s largest development ever – REDI. As local port
operations exited the area a few years ago,
the neighbourhood is being developed into
a vibrant seaside district. Markus Laine,
Director, Real Estate Transactions and
Investors for SRV, believes that REDI will
emerge as the new, powerful centre for the
Helsinki core area in the east – and become
a true pearl for citizens and visitors alike.
“REDI, opening in 2018, will be the
core of the Kalasatama District. The area
will develop substantially during the years
to come and the end result will be spectacular,” he says.
REDI will be the beating heart of the
local community, business and services –

with over 60,000 square metres of retail
space, it promises to be almost double the
size of the shopping centre Kamppi, SRV’s
previous success story in the field. With
REDI, SRV is looking to upgrade the concept of a modern shopping centre – and has
spent years in preparation to take on this
challenge. As a consequence, SRV’s top
design teams have been planning, from day
one, to make REDI a great place to meet
other people, to hang out and have a good
time.

Destination: REDI
According to SRV’s plans, REDI will be
a “dynamic destination experience” offering retail and leisure, unique merchandising
mixes, and entertainment attractions. Introducing a whole new city district to the Helsinki city core is something that doesn’t hap-