Espoo earmarks the area to the north of the centre of Leppävaara for YIT for planning purposes

Development of the area north of the railway track in the centre of Leppävaara will proceed when the planning reservation is granted and the amendment of the detailed plan that the project will require gets under way. 

The reservation now being granted will cover the actual competition area. However, the examination areas and the Nupukivenpuisto park included in the first phase of the competition are excluded from the reservation. 

"One key objective of the competition was to provide a link between the northern and southern part of the centre of Leppävaara, separated, as they are, by the railway track and the main road, Turuntie. The winner has resolved this by proposing the construction of central blocks over Turuntie," says Olli Isotalo, Deputy Mayor for Urban Environment. 

"The next step is for the organisation receiving the reservation to prepare to apply for an amendment to the detailed plan based on the plan that won the idea competition," he goes on. 

When the planning moves on to the phase for the proposed detailed plan, the City can, where necessary, divide the reservation area into smaller parts and allocate reservations for these to other operators. 

In conjunction with the idea competition, the City sought project implementation organisations for the area 

Espoo organised an international, two-phase idea competition for the area north of the centre of Leppävaara, the aim of which was to was to discover a comprehensive vision for the area north of the railway track, one that promotes high quality in terms of the architecture, urban structure and functionality. It would provide guidance for the area’s detailed plan and project implementation in stages over the following 10–20 years. 

The winner of the competition in April 2024 was the Walk Around proposal, which came from the construction company YIT, ARCO Architecture Company and Ramboll, a planning and consultancy company. 

In conjunction with the idea competition, the City sought project implementation organisations for the area by means of an open, two-phase design reservation application process.  

The City has agreed with YIT, a member of the winning team in the ideas competition, that the area concerned would be reserved for YIT Business Premises Oy, YIT Infra Oy and YITB Housing Oy. 

The City owns the reservation area except for two privately owned properties, Leppävaara fire station and Läkkitori Kiinteistö Oy. The owners of these properties will need to submit a separate plan amendment application for their inclusion in the plan amendment area, and an alternative site will have to be found for the fire station. There are also state-owned areas of railway track and roads in the area.