Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2013 | Page 42

Reinventing Tikkurila
YIT is building an urban power hub in the heart of Vantaa

The future of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area is built upon tracks of steel.
In addition to the metro expansion to Espoo, there is another high-profile
project in the works. Ring Rail Line will reach north from Helsinki, ultimately
connecting the downtown with the Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport.

A

long the way one finds Tikkurila, the
main urban centre for the City of Vantaa. As it stands, Tikkurila Station is
already the third busiest railway station in
Finland, right after Pasila and Helsinki. But
as the new Ring Rail Line is completed in
2014 – and Tikkurila becomes the primary connection point between long-distance
trains and the Airport – Tikkurila is likely
to take the runner-up position.
With change, comes business opportunity. The City of Vantaa had been looking to
upgrade the Tikkurila Centre for quite some
time, as some functions of the logistics hub
leave a lot to be desired. At the same time, YIT
was expressing an interest towards developing the Tikkurila centre, looking at especially the possibilities inherent in the station area.
Finally, YIT came forth with its plans and the
City got excited about the project.
40 Nordicum

Building on Tradition
Director Tapio Salo from YIT says that the
company has a long history in Tikkurila –
having been involved in developing the area since 1980’s – and was eager to take on
the challenge again. Around five years ago,
YIT set out to design a new type of office
and retail centre.
“The message from the City was that
the profile of the Tikkurila centre needed to
be revamped and we started planning for solutions,” Salo looks back.
The project was not without its share
of challenges, as the site in question is a
narrow strip of land located on the northern side of the station. However, building
only a few metres away from the tracks is
nothing new to YIT – in fact, the company’s
headquarters in Käpylä, Helsinki, are similarly located. As YIT was committed to the

all-round development of the area, the right
planning solutions could be found for this
particular case, too.
Finally, in August 2012 it was announced that YIT will begin the work on
the construction of a new office and retail
centre adjacent to the Tikkurila railway station – as well as a complex of three residential buildings to the railway station area. The
total value of the station project is more than
EUR 150 million.

Two Towers
Tikkurila Commercial Centre brings together a lively shopping centre and five office
blocks, which contain almost 15,000 m²
shopping space and over 19,000 m² of unique
office space. In total, there will be 12-floored
complex with a separate parking lounge.