Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2016 | Page 34

Building on Success

square metres reserved for all types of restaurants.

Get It Right the First Time

Capitalising on metro access,
Citycon pulls all the stops to expand
Iso Omena shopping centre

A

s the western metroline gets going in
August 2016, there will be something
good waiting at the end-of-the-line.
The shopping centre Iso Omena – the commercial anchor of the surrounding Matinkylä community and beyond – is undergoing huge development, adding as much as
37,000 square metres of new retail space.
“After the expansion is complete, Iso
Omena will feature over 100,000 square
metres of space,” confirms Risto Seppo,
Property Development Director for Citycon.
Upon completion, the shopping centre will
almost double the present number of 115
shops, while providing immediate access to
a customer base with twice the average Finnish income level.

Hit the Big One
The other local numbers are impressive, as
well: there are 780,000 customers living
within a 15 kilometer radius of Iso Omena
and the purchasing power in the catchment
area is staggering 4 billion euros. Commercial Director Sanna Yliniemi says that Iso
Omena is “building on a hit formula” here,
since the shopping centre already has nine
million patrons annually.
“We are targeting 14.5 million customers and € 375 million annual sales, once the
expansion is done,” she says.

32 Nordicum

Actually, the expansion won’t be
entirely complete by the end of summer:
the first phase of expansion encompasses
25,000 square metres, with a follow-up of
some 12,000 sqm in the spring of 2017. As
the metro kicks off, so will the ultra-modern bus terminal; being the end-of-the-line
metro station, handling commuters is a top
priority here.

That’s not to say that putting all this together
has been easy. Yliniemi admits that when
you’re adding a considerable expansion to
existing real estate, there’s so many things
that can go wrong.
“This is why we really did our homework well and focused on issues such as the
right customer flow and balanced service
offering,” she says.
According to Risto Seppo, finding tenants for the expansion part hasn’t been particularly hard, even with the recession winds
blowing.
“Iso Omena´s occupancy rate is now in
January 2016 over 80 % and negotiations are
on-going,” he says, adding that prospective
tenants tend to appreciate the fact that Iso
Omena is no “mystery card” – the shopping
centre has a proven track record.

The Total Package
To this effect, there will be some 6,000
sq.metres of public services such as newand-improved library and healthcare station here. “From the point of view of the
citizens, it is noteworthy that you can find
all the services under one roof,” comments
Risto Seppo.
It appears that the bigger, better Iso
Omena can certainly deliver on that promise.
In addition to its fashion, home décor, leisure, and well-being providers, Iso Omena
will serve as a go-to source for everyday
goods and groceries.
“As Citycon is known for groceryanchored shopping centres, we’re proud
to say that here we have succeeded in getting all the relevant players involved,”
Sanna Yliniemi says. The other significant
upgrade is the strength and diversity of the
food and beverage area, with about 6,000

Core Impact
Iso Omena is also very much in tune with
Citycon’s strategy which calls for shopping
centres to be located in urban cross-points
close to where customers live and work, and
with a direct connection to public transport,
healthcare and municipal services.
At the end of 2015 Citycon owned 54
shopping centres in the Nordic and Baltic
countries. O