Urban Planning | Helsinki wants to boost construction in small house areas – Paloheinän Kerrostalot is just one of the projects

Helsinki wants to increase additional construction on private lots in small house areas. For example, the first apartment buildings are being built in the Paloheinä residential area. The initiative for additional construction came from the plot owners.

Helsinki's director of land use Rikhard Manninen according to the report, other high-rise projects on private lots are underway in several small-house areas in different parts of Helsinki.

The planning includes at least the sites near Puistola station and in the industrial area next to Tapanila station.

The planning principles drawn up for the development of Paloheinä's neighbor Länsi-Pakila also include more efficient, i.e. taller, construction along the area's main street, or Pakilantie. According to Mannen, about 20 plot owners interested in additional construction have already been found in Länsi-Pakila.

The Helsinki general plan drawn up in 2016 makes it possible to increase the efficiency of construction in small house areas.

According to Manninen, the goal of the general plan is to make land use more efficient, especially in rail traffic areas, along main streets and in nearby centers, if there are no special cultural-historical values ​​in the area.

“Kerrostalots are not suitable for protected small-house neighborhoods like Käpylä or Kumpula, for example. The aim is always to adapt new construction to the area's milieu.”

Manny emphasizes that the city will not force any private plot owner to build additional buildings. The residents have been contacted and told about the possibility of getting income through additional construction. The city helps plot owners in the site plan change process.

“The project starts from the plot owners' desire to make land use more efficient and benefit from it financially.”

However, the city encourages additional construction in areas where additional construction is justified.

According to Manninen, such places are plots where land use is inefficient, the building stock is in poor condition and will require major renovation in the near future, and which are good for their location. In addition to Paloheinä and Länsi-Pakila, such areas can be found in Lauttasaari, among others.

Helsingin Sanomat wrote on the subject as early as 2021. At that time, it was reported about aggressive grinders who hunt plots of old detached houses in Länsi-Pakila, even threatening the residents.

According to Manninen, communication with plot owners will be developed in the future.

“We have thought about how to activate additional construction. In the future, it is possible to use, for example, consultants who would hold discussions with the plot owners.”

In fireweed The apartment buildings planned along Kuusmiehentie are viewed with disdain. Helsingin Sanomat according to the residents of the area consider the future change in the cityscape to be radical.

The Paloheinä project will move forward after consideration by the city environment committee to approval by the city government in spring 2024.

According to Manninen, construction could start at the end of spring at the earliest, if there are no complaints about the decisions.

Complaints are still possible, however, because according to Manninen, the feedback from the residents has been critical. The residents' fear is that the area will turn into an apartment building area.

Could a 12-story apartment building be built on a private plot in the middle of a small house area in Paloheinä or elsewhere in Helsinki if the plot owner so desired?

“In theory, it is possible if it were only one house. The height of the building is determined in the site plan and is calculated based on the block efficiency figure.”

According to Manninen, Paloheinä's block efficiency figure is 0.4-1.2, but it can be higher in places.

However, Manninen considers the situation “extremely unlikely”.

“That would be bad urban planning. We always try to find a suitable structure and a functional solution for the district.”

In Paloheina, the taller houses will be located along Kuusiniementi, which is the main thoroughfare of the area.

“We want to support denser construction where there are better public transport connections and services, further away in the residential area the block efficiency decreases. Most of Paloheinä will probably be an area of ​​small houses in the future as well.”