The historic school building on Tavastvägen in Helsinki was completed in 1902. Both the school building and the wing that was added in 1935 need refurbishment. During the spring, the Helsinki City Council will decide on selling the property. When the decision is made, a lease agreement will be signed. Hemsö will then start a major re-development of the school to adapt the premises to today’s needs. The schoolyard will also be upgraded.

– We are pleased to continue our good collaboration with the City of Helsinki, which has a significant need to modernize its school infrastructure. Through this project, we will have three school projects with the City of Helsinki as a tenant, where we create more than 1,000 new school places. The next step is to start planning the project based on the site plans that the City has developed, says Simo Karjalainen, Head of Project Development at Hemsö in Finland.

Vallila is the City of Helsinki’s first lease agreement for a re-development project. The City has previously chosen lease procurements for new development of schools, for example, the Körsbärsdalen preschool in the Herttoniemi district that Hemsö is currently developing.

– We will now gain valuable insights on how the rental model works in the re-development project. Leasing Vallila Elementary School is economically advantageous for us and, moreover, we spread the risks in our property portfolio. Hemsö is a reliable and professional player specialized in projects like this, says Jarmo Raveala, Unit Manager Urban Development Sector, at the City of Helsinki.

The project is scheduled to commence at the beginning of 2025, with occupancy planned for the autumn term 2026.

Hemsö owns approximately 150,000 square meters of educational property in Finland.