Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2019 | Page 34

Revitalizing Communities
Senate spearheads urban development
in key locations across Finland
Senate Properties is known as the real estate asset manager of the Finnish Government. With as many as 9,000
buildings around the country (the hefty property portfolio totaling €4.4 billion), the company provides its clients with
work environments which help to improve performance, while reducing the cost of the premises for the government.
P
resently, the most high-profile project
of Senate Properties is the remaking
of Central Pasila, the transportation
hub located just north of Helsinki down-
town. The recent Helsinki High Rise design-
build competition put out a call for compa-
nies to plan and raise ambitious high-rise
architecture in the area, and in October 2018
it was announced that YIT’s proposal – by
the name of Trigoni – has been put forward
as the winner of the contest.
The competition assessment panel’s
proposal concerning the winner of the com-
petition will be processed later this year by
the decision-making bodies of Helsinki and
the Finnish government.
The Helsinki High Rise competition,
organized by the Senate Properties and
the City of Helsinki, sought a high-quality
design to form the basis of the city plan for
the Tower Area, as well as an implementer
for the so-called Start-Up Area, where the
construction of the Tower Area is planned
to begin.
Tower Power
The Tower Area encompasses an area south
of Pasila Bridge, between Pasilankatu and
Ratapihantie, entailing 150,000–200,000
34 Nordicum
floor square metres of residential, office and
shop space. Proposal Trigoni comprises the
design (i.e. the main idea) for nine tower
buildings located to the south side of Pasila
Bridge.
Two of the towers, comprising 51 and
40 stories respectively, are to be located in
the Start-Up Area. The highest floors of
these two towers will consist of apartments,
while the lower floors will house offices
and a hotel. The towers will be encircled
by a 2–3-story base portion and also include
underground facilities under the pedestrian
areas, which will house additional business
premises and a spa, among other facilities.
Mauri Sahi, Director, Real Estate
Development and Sales for Senate, says that
announcement of the competition winner
represents a big step forward in the devel-
opment of the Central Pasila.
“We have great expectations for the
area and believe that there’s something very
special being created here,” says Sahi. living. In fact, by 2040, Pasila will be home
to approximately 30,000 residents and pro-
vide jobs for more than 50,000 people.
“Looking at the situation, say, ten years
ago, you can see that we’ve already come a
long way in the re-development effort – and
still gaining momentum,” Sahi says, add-
ing that the value of the local plots alone is
approximately €500 million.
“When properly constructed, the area
is worth around €3.5 billion,” he says.
Senate Properties CEO Jari Sarjo
commented in October that the impressive
results of the Tower Area competition are
yet another great example of the power of
collaboration between the City, the Finnish
government and the private sector. Accord-
ing to Sarjo, the over-all aim of the devel-
opment of Central Pasila is to improve the
competitiveness of Helsinki and the entire
metropolitan area.
Pasila Reinvented Following the selection of the winner, a con-
tract will be drawn up with YIT concern-
ing the purchase of the Start-Up Area and
the implementation of the proposed building
complex. The Start-Up Area, located south
of Pasila Bridge between Pasilankatu and
The Tower Area will no doubt be a fine
addition to Pasila, which is being built up
into an important traffic hub and a dynamic
center for employment, housing and urban
Start Me Up