The valuable Sinebrychoff villa located in Espoo’s Karhusaari is undergoing renovation. As a result, the leases of eight creative professionals were terminated.
Espoo The Sinebrychoff villa in Karhusaari is bubbling again. In 2018, a gigantic children’s theme park was planned for the island, but the project failed.
Now it’s happening again, because last week Espoo Tilapalvelut terminated the lease contracts of the artists and creative professionals who worked on the upper floor of the villa.
Eight entrepreneurs of the Karhusaari Art Center will receive departure passes.
The city of Espoo has decided to renovate the villa, but the dismissals still came as a surprise.
“The purpose of the rooms on the upper floor has not been changed, that is, they are still workspaces after the renovation,” says the entrepreneur who works at the art center. Ulla Kuusimäki.
“Just before the layoffs, we had negotiated with the city and told them that we would withdraw during the renovation. There was no hint of layoffs at the time.”
Painter Tuomas Gustafsson in his studio in 2019.
In the year The Sinebrychoff villa, completed in 1892, is a culturally historically valuable neo-renaissance villa. The upper floor is protected and cannot hold more than 50 people at a time. The space is also not barrier-free.
The city of Espoo bought Karhusaari and its properties in 1980. The city of Espoo has rented out the lower floor for events and parties. The house has been especially popular as a venue for weddings.
According to Ulla Kuusimäki, the art center’s situation is reminiscent of the end of 2018, when it suddenly became clear that a large Children’s World theme park was planned for Karhusaari. The project of tens of millions of euros ended up with cultural and nature studies and the withdrawal of entrepreneurs.
The Children’s World project led to the Pro Karhusaari municipality initiative and the supporting council initiative, which hoped to develop the area with the municipalities, residents’ associations and companies.
Kuusimäki says that he has received information according to which the studios in the villa of the art center will be terminated, because they want to give the villa to one commercial operator.
“The building is far too valuable in terms of cultural history to be managed by a single company, because it is part of Espoo’s unique cultural heritage and identity. Built heritage belongs to everyone,” says Kuusimäki.
Kuusimäki also wants Espoo’s decision-making to be transparent and take into account the city’s own ethical principles.
“I hope that the office holders will not try to use the council again as a rubber stamp like Children’s World. I hope that the council members who participated in the Karhusaari council initiative and unanimously approved it are awake.”
The impressive hall downstairs has been used as a party space.
Espoo chairman of the space and housing division of the city government Henna Partanen (vihr) says that he received information about the evictions last week and that he was surprised.
“Yes, this has come as a complete surprise to both the artists, our representatives, and many of Espoo’s office holders,” says Partanen.
According to Partanen, the Espoo city council has never made a policy according to which the artists would be evicted from Karhusaari. The spirit of the council has been rather the opposite.
“We wanted to make the area more alive together with artists, because they have been the heart of the place. They have organized a lot of events there.”
Partanen suspects that it is some kind of information outage, and the renovation of the villa has led to overly straightforward decision-making. Eviction letters have been distributed instead of an agreement with the artists on temporary departure.
According to Partanen, the situation is not satisfactory.
“I’m going to do everything I can so that this can be resolved sensibly and a negotiation link can be created between the office holders and the artists.”
Espoo Managing Director of Spatial Services Maija Lehtinen says that the artists’ leases have been terminated due to the planned facade repair of the site. Renovation prevents working upstairs.
The leases have been terminated as of February 28, 2023.
According to Lehtinen, the dismissal is not against the line of the Espoo City Council. He cites the 2022 budget, which says with regard to Facility Services:
Facility Services develops the practices of the city’s other operating units (especially with the vitality result area), which results in finding private administrators or buyers for old buildings owned by the city and also for entities such as Karhusaari.
According to Lehtinen, the future use of Karhusaari is being considered with the participation of the municipal residents and users.
“We don’t leave artists in the lurch, but together we look for solutions to a possible workspace problem.”
Read more: The old Karhusaari villa is being renovated in Espoo – The cost of the repairs is 2.8 million
The cool Children’s World project planned for Espoo is still shrouded in mystery: the funding is only one per prom
In the midst of ancient monuments and protected buildings, the Children’s World theme park is being planned in Karhusaari, Espoo – Municipal politicians have a long list of demands
An attraction is being planned along Länsiväylä, which should attract twice as many people as Stockholm’s popular Junibacken – Are the plans for children’s world realistic?
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