The spa hotel planned for the side of Hietaranta is moving forward, but some of the residents of Tölö mourn the change of the familiar recreation area. Some are looking forward to saunas, terraces and an illuminated beach route.
To the sea the sprawling Taivalsaari cape has become the subject of controversy in Helsinki. Some of the area's residents are saddened by the fact that a familiar local nature site is being transformed into a new one and a hotel is being built into it.
On the other hand, some of the people of Tölö are hoping for a new park, restaurant and terrace, as well as lighting in the area.
The place is also important to people other than Töölö residents because the most popular swimming spot in Helsinki starts south of Taivalsaari: Hietaniemi beach, Hietaranta, Hietsu.
When on a weekday frosty day, walking along the snowy route along the shore of Taivalsaari, the wind blowing from Seurasaarenselka feels warm to the bones and core. Sculptor Ulla Leppävuori is dressed warmly, because he has promised to introduce a local nature destination that he is very familiar with.
The row of birch trees along the coastal path on the northeast side of Taivalsaari is quite long. The beach is rocky and reedy in places.
On the beach on the beach side, a lone dog walker is walking near the beach. The Hietaranta swimming beach, visible in the upper left corner, is to be expanded to this beach area.
We walk along the coastal path on the north-east side of the cape under the birches that reach above us. Rantamatala is covered in places by a narrow reed zone.
Recipients are few and far between: some joggers and dog walkers. Peace is rare in Etu-Töölö in the middle of the day.
The coastal route goes around the entire cape. In the grayness of the end of November, the views are wintry. On the Hietsu side of the cape, ice floes float in the icy water and waterfowl dive in the icy water.
There is a fenced area in the middle of the promontory. It used to store boats, but now it's empty because Sigurd Frosterus Park will replace it.
The central part of the Taivalsaari cape is fenced off as a storage place for boats. No more boats are stored in the area, because the Sigurd Frosterus park is coming to the place.
Taivalsaari's trees are dominated by hardwoods. In the eyes of one, it is a small piece of wasteland, but for another, it is a beloved nearby nature and recreation area, which is threatened by the construction of a hotel.
For a basic Helsinki resident Taivalsaari must be a bit of a strange destination when it is left aside from more familiar areas. To many, Taivalsaari seems like a wasteland.
For Leppävuori, it is instead a familiar and beloved outdoor recreation and nature area for decades. He is a native of Helsinki and lives nearby, in the stone town of Etu-Töölö.
“It's a short time to get here from Töölö's cul-de-sac.”
In Taivalsaari, Leppävuori sneaks into nature. Water, sand, birds, the bark of trees and the movement of ice bring nature close, he says. He mourns the fact that a hotel is coming to the area.
Leppävuori has prepared an address against the hotel. More than 2,800 signatures have been collected. The signatories demand that the area be developed as a green area and no hotel be built.
In the address Taivalsaari is seen as a valuable recreation, relaxation and leisure area for city dwellers.
There is a jetty at the tip of Taivalsaari. Opposite forested beaches create a natural landscape, even though we are actually in the heart of congested Finland.
The neighborhood association Töölön Kaupunginosat – Töölö ry, founded in 2013, is also critical of the hotel's arrival in Taivalsaari. “The place is not suitable for a hotel like the one planned. It would cover the coastal landscape”, says the president of the association Markku Koivusalo.
The interpretation of the Töölön Kaupunginosat association by the number of swimming pools and other water elements connected to the spa hotel is also so small that the building should be called an apartment hotel instead of a spa hotel.
Koivusalo says that the association would be ready to accept smaller-scale construction if it serves city residents. In general, however, the association is against the construction of Helsinki's beaches.
Its on the other hand, in the traditional neighborhood association Töölö-Seura, founded in 1958, the attitude towards the hotel is positive.
“It's good that the hotel brings terrace and restaurant services to the pleasure of the townspeople,” says the chairman Matti Niiranen. He is also a long-time Helsinki municipal politician (kok).
According to his understanding, the silent majority is satisfied with the increased services and the fact that the area is cleaned and the beach route is lit, which increases the feeling of safety in the area.
“Nowadays, many do not dare to go to the area in the evening.”
“It is important to us that the company Soulmade, which is taking on the project, assures that the hotel's sauna and spa services are also open to city residents,” says Niiranen.
Hotel project run by the German company Soulmade Finland. Its CEO Hani Omar says by email that the company is currently waiting for a deviation permit and a building permit from the city.
The deviation permit was already approved once in the summer. However, due to an error discovered afterwards, Soulmade Finland had to submit a new application, says the architect Tommi Suvanto From the city
of Helsinki.
Soulmade Finland's goal is to open the hotel as early as 2026, but the completion of course depends on how the permit process progresses.
The plan allows for a three-story building.
The renovation of Hiekarrantanti, which runs in front of the future spa hotel, was completed this fall. The water supply and other infrastructure works carried out during the project enable the hotel to be built.
A few trees were cut down in the area and 17 pine trees were planted. Spoiled soil was also rehabilitated.
The hotel is at the end of Taivalsaari on the Hiekarrantanti side, not close to the beach.
Observation picture of the spa project planned for Taivalsaari between Taivallahti and Hietaniemi beach.
At the tip of the Taivalsaari promontory will be the Sigurd Frosterus park, which will be completed in stages so that it should be ready in 2028. There will be benches, a playground, a barbecue area and a fitness center for the citizens to use freely.
Hietaniemi's beach will be expanded to the west shore of Taivalsaari and there will be a viewing platform at the tip of the promontory.
The plans are to start building the park next year, but we still need a water permit for work in the sea area, among other things.
Taivalsaari and the wreath crusher that was located there, photographed from the north in the early 1960s.
Sky Island was still an island at the beginning of the 20th century. In the 1930s, it became a cape of roughly the current size, because the water area was filled with soil. The current shoreline is therefore a legacy of bringing fill soil to the area.
In December 2004, a two-story building that served as the base of the Finnish Sports Agency was demolished in the area. It was built in the 1930s and previously served as a car repair shop. The area has also operated, for example, a laundry and a cement mill.
There has been a place for a spa hotel in the plan of the Taivalsaari area since 2009. However, the construction has been delayed.
In the picture taken from Hietaniemi beach in the 1930s, you can see a swimming beach and in the background, on the left, a pile of earth that was located in Taivalsaari.
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