Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2020 | Page 28

Core Competence
Oulu is revitalizing downtown with plans to add 10,000
residents and 5,000 jobs over the next 20 years
Oulu, known as the powerhouse of the North, is ready to take growth to another level entirely.
Heralded as the “Capital of the Northern Scandinavia,” Oulu features the best demographic
structure in the Nordic countries, offering a solid mix of young and old.
Wanted: Dynamic Downtown
One crucial concern is the reinvention of the
railway station quarter, since its excellent
location in the city core provides plenty of
opportunities for redevelopment. The main
land owners, Senate and VR Group, are
working with the City of Oulu to create a
modern, exciting travel hub.
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KOY OULUN YDINKESKUSTA 2-VAIHE
“We expect big things from the railway
station quarter,” Ala-Mursula says.
Oulu is also exploring its vertical
reach: city’s highest tower hotel is under
construction right by the market square.
Reaching over 60 meters, the building goes
by the name Terwa Tower and it could be
open for business, conceivably, by 2023.
“Tower construction is a good fit for the
downtown area, adding diversity to the city
center,” Ala-Mursula comments, pointing out
that hotels are in high demand as hotel occu-
pancy rate in the city is around 75%.
NÄKYMÄ NUMMIKADUN KULMASTA
21.03.2018
“W
e have the healthiest demo-
graphic structure in the Nor-
dics, with the population
growing by 2,000 – 3,000 residents every
year,” says Director Juha Ala-Mursula
from the economic development company
BusinessOulu.
To accelerate future growth, Oulu is
active on multiple fronts, boosting the pre-
requisites for success of companies and cit-
izens alike. A key objective is making the
Oulu city center more dynamic under the
City Center 2040 vision: already, the down-
town area is being thoroughly revitalized,
with both office and residential development
hitting the city center in a big way.
“The local hi-tech companies are going
strong and the demand is certainly there for
business premises – and certainly the same
goes for the residential side,” Ala-Mursula
says, adding that various hybrid solutions
will be utilized in the downtown area more
and more.
“By 2040, we want to introduce 10,000
new residents and 5,000 new jobs into the
city center,” he lays out the game plan.
Business Campus Excellence
Workspace provider Technopolis has a long
history with Oulu, launching its first busi-
ness campus in 1982. To kick off 2020,
Technopolis will add another building to the
entity, as the Sepänkatu 20 business cam-
pus will get going. The campus will feature
about 8,400 m 2 of leasable space.
“We are practically fully booked now
and waiting for the construction to be com-
pleted in early 2020, so that the first compa-
nies can start moving in in April,” explains
Director Marko Lind from Technopolis.