Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2018 | Page 42

More Than
Just Hi-Tech
Oulu has ambitious plans for urban development, healthcare,
education, tourism and logistics – and that’s just for starters
O
ulu is the “hi-tech heaven of the
North”, but the City is eager to take
it to the next level. In April 2017,
the City Council approved the new ‘City
Centre Vision 2040’ which will guide the
development onwards over the coming years
and decades.
“Boosting the vitality of the community
is the big goal here,” says City Master Plan
Manager Paula Paajanen. She adds that it is
especially positive about the Vision that it
lists actual actions.
“We move straight on to making them
reality,” she says.
One such project is the revitalisation of
the railway station quarter. Director Mauri
Sahi from the state-owned Senate Properties
says that the area in question holds a lot of
potential:
“The excellent location in the city
core provides plenty of opportunities to
boost the appeal and vitality of the city,”
he believes. Senate and VR Group are the
main landowners in the area and committed
to building something great.
“We’re proceeding with the winning
entry from the recent planning contest to see
how to develop the area in the best possible
way,” Sahi says, adding that the zoning
process could kick off in spring 2018.
42 Nordicum
Power of Partnerships
Marko Lind, head of Technopolis Oulu, says
that the business climate of the city is in fine
form - and keeps improving. Technopolis
leases premises to companies and has
noticed, to its delight, that the market is
heating up in the North.
Lind explains that as Nokia ramped
down its local operations a few years ago,
the hi-tech professionals formerly employed
by the mobile phone giant hit the ground
running – almost literally – starting their
own companies and forging partnerships.
"Now we can see that via collaboration,
the seeds for all kinds of opportunities were
sown," Lind says. In addition, the planning
for Phase II of Technopolis' Sepänkatu
premises – totalling 9,000 square metre –
is presently underway.
"Demand for office space in the city
centre looks good and several leasing
negotiations are currently going on."       
CEO Heikki Hiltunen from iLOQ says
that out of the company's 100 employees,
the majority works at the Oulu headquarters.
"Our research & development, logistics and
administration are all there," Hiltunen says.
iLOQ is a maker of next-gen smart
locking systems that are very much in
demand right now – and the company is
constantly looking for fresh talent to join its
ranks. "We are getting quality applications,
but we have to work hard at recruiting since
there are other hi-tech companies interested
in these experts, too."
In addition to stellar work force,
Hiltunen praises the local mindset of doing
things together. "iLOQ was founded in
Oulu, and we feel the city has a well-earned
reputation as a hi-tech city where various
forms of cooperation can be explored." 
Hospital of the Future
“The Capital of Northern Scandinavia” has
a lot of top-notch expertise is in healthcare
and life sciences. In 2012, there was a
renewal programme – by the name of
Hospital of the Future 2030 – that kicked
off to upgrade healthcare-related real estate
and their functions for the new century. The
programme will require investments to the
tune of EUR 500 million in the coming
years.
On November 30, 2017, the project
took a significant step as the contract to
build the first part of the programme – a
hospital for women and children as well
as the core hospital itself – was signed by
alliance partners.