Konepaja Train Factory Project, Helsinki, Finland

 

The Konepaja Train Factory project (https://trainfactory.fi/en/) – a project under development by SG Real Estate Services OY, member of Sawyer Group, and its partners in the center of Helsinki.

 The Konepaja Train Factory, known in Finnish as Pasilan Konepaja, is a complex of three industrial buildings, two of which are listed historical buildings, located in the central part of Helsinki. Established in 1903, the Train Factory built the passenger and cargo cars for the Finnish National Railways (VR) until well into the 1990’s. The Train Factory played a key role in meeting post war reparations  and in the heady days of industrialization after the war.

As an industrial estate, Train Factory is a uniquely beautiful expression of its era and a Helsinki landmark — one of the most famous industrial buildings in Finland.

The Factory consists of three buildings: 

The Assembly Hall (13,154m2 gross external);

– The Paint Shop (6,208m2 gross external); and

– The Electric Train Hall (6,892m2 gross external).

The two historic buildings, the Assembly Hall and Paint Shop, built in 1903, are beautiful examples of early 20th century industrial architecture. They are constructed of structural red brick on brick and stone piers and wooden piles.

 

The area is recognized as an increasingly important business hub with a good range of residential accommodation. World Headquarter campuses have already been completed for Nordea Bank and OP Trust, with media companies now starting to cluster in the neighborhood. The MTV Group is currently moving in to the Konepaja area with many other companies considering a move once suitable accommodation is available. An array of high-quality apartment buildings have been built around the site as has the innovative boutique Folks Hotel.

In 2016 the industrial district and its buildings were discovered by the former US Ambassador to Finland, Mr. Bruce Oreck & his business partners. Driven by a deep respect for the area’s past, the partners embarked on a mission of developing the district into a new and exciting urban cultural oasis.

The aim of the project is to redevelop the Assembly Hall and the Paint Shop into a forward-looking creative retail and office/craftsmanship/light industrial center, street food market, and events platform with a mix of uses which reinforce each other to make the factory into an intense center of creative and community life with footfall of several million annually. The Train Factory will become a place that brings people together in an atmosphere of creativity and fun. A place that combines workspaces with sports, theatre, music, unique events, inspiring food and drink, a place that is bubbling with ideas and life in the day and at night.

Leasable area of the buildings will be increased using new created mezzanine space.

The developers also aim to obtain planning permissions to allow the construction of a high rise hotel and office buildings on the nearly one hectare site of the Electric Train Hall. The Electric Train Hall site will also include a parking sufficient to provide required and desirable parking capacity for the entire complex. New buildings constructed in place of the Electric Train Hall will be in character with the rest of the complex and will reinforce and enhance its character and image.

Design work by the general designer of the project AHR Global is in progress, reconstruction works in parts of the buildings leased to tenants started in March 2020.

The renovation of the 1st phase is nearing completion with the National Theatre functioning, the Bille Beino Padel Courts open and operating well, with a best in class Lidl supermarket opened in November 2022, with events being put on by No Fear and food and beverage being operated by the Corona Bar and Train Factory Food and Libations. One can also get his hair cut at The Container Barbers.

Working closely with the City and the Finnish Heritage Agency, all windows and the 2.5 hectare roof are sensitively being replaced whilst all the roads and the adjacent park are close to final restoration.

The extensive, external courtyard between the former Paint Shop and Assembly Hall will increasingly be used for gatherings and events in the summer months.

It is expected that the historic buildings will be fully renovated by December 2023.

Train Factory and the whole district will develop strongly even after the current building phases are completed, beyond 2022.

The long-term plan includes a new high-class hotel and a modern office tower, both of which will complement the historic buildings and are much sought after by forward-thinking operators.

 

November, 3, 2022. The project team celebrates the opening of another anchor tenant – the international supermarket Lidl. The shop area is 1900 m2, rent for 10 years. Lidl is one of the largest supermarket companies in Europe, being established in 32 countires all over the world.

Lidl is a part of Schwarz-Group – a wholesale grocery supplier, founded in 1930 in Germany. Lidl persistently advocates for social and environmental values and is the first carbon-neutral grocery store in Finland.

SG Real Estate Services  (https://sgrealestate.eu) considered a need for a supermarket on the project area already at the stage of the redevelopment concept drafting. The analysis, conducted by the company employees, confirmed the effectiveness of the project location at the centre of the Finnish capital with a high car and pedestrian traffic, which, combined with a spectacular historic architecture, forms up a high demand on grocery store operators and different forms of fast food and leisure. The talks with Lidl lasted around a year together with approval of all technical requirements of the company. It demanded precise and accurate actions considering the cultural heritage status of the buildings. Thanks to SG Real Estate Services’ 30 years experience of development all over the world and high proficiency of its employees and Finnish partners, all works are done within the timelines required by tenant and according to the Finnish cultural heritage code.

There were already long queues at the first day of Lidl’s opening. We are more than glad to welcome our new partner on the project and wish the Lidl’s team the best of luck in all its future endeavours!

After completing the redevelopment of the main sections of the Konepaja Train Factory, the second stage will be the construction of a high-class hotel and a modern office high-rise building.

Zones operating as part of the complex

 

Sports Area

The Finnish National Theatre

The Golf Club

Corona Bar

Parking Area