Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2011 | Page 65

contact person is designated for
companies so that they can navigate successfully through the
administrative machine.

Hit the Ground
Running
Over 1,200 companies have
heard the call of Kerava and
more are coming. Kauranen
says that the City has really
placed an emphasis on attracting new businesses into the area – and making sure that they
get a good start here.
Recently, the talk of the
town has been logistics. As the
new Vuosaari Harbour started
operations two years ago, there
has been growing demand for
state-of-the-art logistics centres. A key logistics hub in all
of Southern Finland is presently being developed in Kerava,
as the newcomer Kerca is expected to grab a sizeable slice
of the goods traffic in the future.
Kerca boasts excellent location along the E75 motorway,
at the junction between the main
railway line and the Vuosaari
Harbour line. In addition, the
Helsinki-Vantaa International
Airport is near as well.
“Kerca is Kerava’s most
important industrial area and
we are really investing on its
future,” Kauranen says, adding
that during 2011 the sale of land
plots should kick off in earnest.

Tuusula Rolls Out
the Red Carpet
Kerava’s western neighbour,
Tuusula, has also enjoyed very

favourable development of late.
Placing right at the heels of
Kerava in the EK pro-business
study, Tuusula has a proportionally large number of companies in contrast to the population and there are plenty of vibrant small and medium enterprises in the mix. The study also credited Tuusula for its strong
showing on many different sectors ranging from construction
to healthcare.
Development
Director
Hannu Haukkasalo comments
that the municipality authorities are willing to go the extra
mile for the entrepreneurs.
“We want to be flexible and try to customise business locations according to the
needs of the enterprises as well
as we can.”
Another important thing
from the perspective of the companies is that the municipality
seeks to provide total service
from the get-go. If an entrepreneur wishes to present a promising venture to the municipality,
it is more than likely that he/she
will be met by a real welcome
wagon – from Mayor to the zoning manager – to discuss the issue in depth. Companies have
been astonished by this sort of
lavish attention, since in many
places the local authorities are
not that keen on taking the time
to talk with the entrepreneurs.

Focus on Focus
Here, also, a hot sector of the
area has been logistics – especially the food & beverage de-

partment. In addition, wholesale has developed strongly as
well. A new industrial area in the
making is Focus, just off the airport. The zoning plan proposal
for the area will become public during the spring 2011, says
Haukkasalo.
“Also the plans for Ring
IV are being worked on by the
partner network,” he reveals.
As the businesses are coming to town in force, the municipality is developing attractive
new residential neighbourhoods
for the newcomers.
“For instance, the new
Rykmentinpuisto (Regiment
Park) community in Hyrylä
will accommodate as many as
16,000 residents.”

Järvenpää
Gets Personal
Järvenpää offers additional
proof of the dynamic growth
orientation in the region. Located along the Helsinki-Lahti motorway and the main railway line to the north, Järvenpää
has a population of 38,000 and
is home to many internationally successful companie ̸)ɝՅ