Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2011 | Page 31

Guarding National
Treasure
Saloniemi says that the organisation takes its responsibility
very seriously – the culturally
invaluable buildings are taken
care of according to the principles of sustainable development.
“We’ve had these houses in our possession for generations and we want to make sure
that the student houses will be
there in the future as well. We
recognise fully the social impact
that they carry.”
Nevertheless, today HYY
Real Estate is doing much more
than simply looking after the national treasures under its wing.
Two years ago, a new education
powerhouse Domus Gaudium
opened its doors just off Kamppi. HYY owns 60 % of the building which is used by Aalto University Executive Education and
Helsinki University student associations and clubs.
Still, the HYY Group is
not solely a service provider
for the academic world – the
Real Estate division also serves
commercial and office customers. The key properties of the
Group are primarily located in
the centre of Helsinki around
the Ylioppilasaukio and Kaivopiha squares. Kaivopiha Ltd is
the name of the company that
manages, rents and maintains
the properties of the Student
Union.

Sing When You’re
Winning
The new millennium has been
good for the HYY Real Estate which has enjoyed recordbreaking customer satisfaction
levels for the past decade. In

2010, it grabbed the top spot in
the KTI customer satisfaction
survey for the 11th consecutive
time. What’s more, the survey
has been organised only eleven
times which means that HYY
has won every single time.
The KTI study focuses on
tenant satisfaction with regards
to the premises themselves, the
landlord and the quality of services. In 2010, there were 13
large property owners (and
1,785 interviews) included in
the survey.
Yrjö Herva, Business Director for the HYY Real Estate, says that organisation has
been able to do well in the race
since it provides instant service
– problems are decisively dealt
with immediately as they surface.
“Also, a contributing factor is the excellent location in
the heart of the city at Kaivopiha square – we’re always right
in the thick of things. And finally, we’ve always had great relationships with the tenant companies and their personnel.”
With such a total service
package, HYY had only slight
trouble filling the premises during the recession. For 2010, the
set target was 95 % occupancy
rate and the organisation was
able to hold onto this goal.

Photo: City of Helsinki / Harald Raebiger

angle limited by the Main Railway Station in the north, Stockmann in the east and Kamppi
Center in the west.
There are, for example,
more restaurants in the area
than anywhere else in the land.
In addition, there are several
metro entrances in the vicinity
that bring a steady flow of people here. According to pedestrian monitoring studies, there
are over 40,000 daily pedestrians in Kaivopiha area (230,000
people/week).

Downtown
Dynamite
Both Saloniemi and Herva feel
that the appeal of the downtown
area has only increased of late.
Department store icon Stockmann just put the finishing touches on its ambitious renovation
project and Sponda is developing the City Center complex –
exciting things are happening
all around the HYY properties.
“We want to be a part of
this development, and do our
share of the upgrades to make
sure that that the downtown success story continues,” Saloniemi comments.
In addition to taking good
care of its crown jewels, HYY
would not mind adding some
solid properties to its portfolio
– when the time is right.
“We’re always interesting
in exploring various options in
the neighbourhood in order to
keep moving forward,” says
Herva. b

HYY Group: Key Real Estate Assets
City Centre Property, Helsinki city centre, leasable floor-area
32,741 m2
Kaivotalo building Kaivokatu 10, Helsinki 10
Citytalo building Mannerheimintie 3, Helsinki 10
Hansatalo building Mannerheimintie 5, Helsinki 10
The New Student House Mannerheimintie 5, Helsinki 10
The Old Student House Mannerheimintie 3, Helsinki 10
Leppäsuo Property, Etu-Töölö, leasable f