The City of Helsinki is preparing to establish a real estate company to manage the Lapinlahti Hospital premises. Preparations for the comprehensive renovation of the buildings is being carried out with more detailed planning regarding the future use of the former hospital premises, in dialogue with the current and potential users of the site.
A model for the Lapinlahti Hospital renovation that has already given rise to public discourse has been outlined. Under this model, the majority of the area’s premises would be rented out for commercial use at market rates. The rest of the space would be leased out to mental health service operators, community organisations, cultural activities and service providers. The park area would remain open to the public, and no additional construction is being planned for the site.
This solution aims to secure the financial prerequisites for the renovation of the Lapinlahti premises. A suitable, long-term anchor tenant would make it possible to renovate the historic buildings in an economically sustainable manner.
Decision-making on the development will begin later this year. The first stage will involve a so-called “decision confirming a need” for the project, which will set out a broad outline of the future use of the premises and of how the renovation will be planned and carried out. The current cost estimate for the renovation stands at approximately EUR 48 million.
The decision will first be considered by the Buildings and Public Areas Sub-committee of the Urban Environment Committee. After this, the matter will proceed to the City Board and the City Council.
The decommissioned Lapinlahti Hospital complex in the southern part of the Helsinki peninsula has been in need of renovation for some time. The main building, completed in 1841, last underwent major repairs about a century ago. The remaining remnants of hospital operations in Lapinlahti were relocated to other premises in 2008. Since then, the premises in the area have been rented out for temporary use, pending a decision on the buildings’ renovation and permanent use. The area is currently being used by operators in the fields of mental health, culture, and wellbeing, among others.