The Lapinlahti hospital area is a real treasure for Helsinki. Still, its future is completely open, writes Lari Malmberg, head of the city's editorial department.
Rare a gem is decaying right next to the center of Helsinki. This is what is happening to the hospital area of Lapinlahti, which has a handsome and important history.
HS told on Thursday, that the real estate investment company Nrep, which was touted as the face lifter of Lapinlahti, is withdrawing from its plans related to the renovation of the area. The latest information about the worse-than-anticipated condition of the buildings changed the company's perception of the project's financial viability.
At worst, Nrep's withdrawal may mean that the scramble to save the Engel-designed hospital building and its surroundings, which has lasted for at least two decades, will start – once again – from the beginning.
That would be a bad thing for Helsinki. Although the fate of Lapinlahti involves intersecting political passions, everyone agrees on one thing. The value of the area in terms of both mental health work and culture is so great that there are practically no alternatives to saving the buildings.
No is not the only entity that has worked on development plans for the area. Current players in the area also offer their own concept.
Among other things, the Lapinlahti Foundation, founded by mental health organizations and the software company Dream Broker, has said that it will submit an updated version of its plans to the city of Helsinki in March.
However, according to HS's information, both city officials and political decision-makers have doubts about the plan.
The foundation aims for a situation where it would develop Lapinlahti according to its own concept but in cooperation with the city of Helsinki. In practice, the foundation would probably own a part of the real estate limited company to be established, which would be responsible for renovating, owning and renting the facilities in Lapinlahti.
At least at this stage, the decision-making bodies are concerned about the realism of the foundation's plan. Building repair costs rise to tens of millions of euros, so the business plan should also include considerable income. The decision-makers fear that the foundation's money and know-how are not enough to support the finances of the difficult repair project.
Business people in addition to doubts, friction is also caused by the fact that the reliability of the current operators has suffered a blow in the eyes of many politicians.
The city rents the area to the current operators at a considerably affordable price, because in the eyes of the city, it was planned as a temporary operation from the beginning. There are now mental health and cultural organizations working in the area, but there are also quite ordinary offices.
During the last few years, the current actors have engaged in a skilful and aggressive communication battle for the opinions of the townspeople. The goal is to get a continuation of the current activity and to prove that the competitor, Nrep, which also sought the area, would not be good for the people of Helsinki.
At high speed, even the truth has sometimes been hit hard. Even at this moment, the publicity of those attracted behind the project persons collected on the face address, which claims the city is planning to sell the site to a private entity. This, in turn, is said to threaten mental health and cultural work.
In fact, the Helsinki City Government is specific decided, that the area should remain open in the future. Non-governmental organization and mental health activities are also wanted to continue in the area. Before Nrep's withdrawal, the city considered the possibility of forming a joint real estate company with the company.
Lapland the beauty and the location are so exceptional that in the right hands the area could become a much larger Helsinki attraction than it is today.
If it were to happen that the plans of the current operators also turn out to be unfeasible, the solution to the fate of Lapinlahti will already be in a real hurry. The years have shown that repair costs keep rising as the deterioration progresses.
For two decades, the city has been trying to find a solution for Lapinlahti where someone else would bear the repair costs. At some point, this road has come to an end.
Digging into your own wallet is now more expensive than ten years ago. Ten years later, however, the price tag for repairs has increased even more.
The clock is ticking.
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