A significant corporate hub emerging in the quickly growing Tikkurila
Tikkurila is among the fastest growing centres in Vantaa. The travel centre completed in connection with the railway station and the Ring Rail Line have increased the accessibility and attractiveness of this public transport hub in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area in the eyes of residents and businesses alike.
The neighbourhood of Tikkurila in Vantaa is developing at a fast pace. Improved connections to the airport through the Ring Rail Line and travel centre Dixi completed in connection with the railway station have created a virtuous circle for growth in the area that attracts residents, businesses and property investors. Tikkurila railway station is one of the busiest in Finland: in 2015, approximately 28,500 people travelled through the station every weekday.
As of 2012, a total of 52 apartment buildings have been completed or are about to be completed in Tikkurila. In addition, the master plans for 25 new apartment buildings are valid and are waiting for the start of construction. Tikkurila attracts new residents and companies alike.
Alongside apartment production, the construction of business and retail premises is also growing briskly in Tikkurila. When measured in square metres, Tikkurila has been the second most popular location for constructing business and retail premises in Vantaa after Aviapolis since 2012. This means a total of 33,000 square metres of net floor space.
Sponda’s latest investment in the Tikkurila area is the office property Väritehtaankatu 8 to be completed in spring 2018 in connection with the railway station. The premises of the office building with 9,500 square metres of net floor space over six storeys have been quickly rented, which clearly shows the attractiveness of the area. There is also the opportunity of expanding the premises with a second phase of the project, which would increase the premises by 4,000 square metres of net floor space.
A little town of 50,000 people in 2027
When comparing the areas in the Helsinki Metropolitan Region, Tikkurila’s growth rate is remarkable. The number of residents has doubled since the 1980s to the current 42,000 residents. During the next 10 years, another 6,000 more people are expected to move into the area. When we reach the next decade, Tikkurila will be a small town of almost 50,000 people.
“Most apartments in the Helsinki Metropolitan Region have been built in Tikkurila and elsewhere in Vantaa,” says Heikki Virkkunen, Project Director of Land Use, Construction and the Environment at the City of Vantaa.
According to Virkkunen, complementary construction adapts and enlivens the Tikkurila railway station as the hub of rail traffic. The centre of the area has been invigorated by developing the look of the pedestrian street and by moving the marketplace closer to the travel centre.
A briskly growing urban centre is also of interest to companies from many different industries. And no wonder: the location by Kehä III ring road grants visibility and enables quick connections to elsewhere in Finland and abroad. Easy accessibility and proximity to diverse services also increase the comfort of personnel. A growing urban centre naturally also has a continuously growing demand for various services, which again increases companies’ interest in the area.
What is Tikkurila’s brand?
When thinking about Tikkurila, many people probably think of the Finnish Science Centre Heureka, the proximity to the airport and, maybe after that, the paint factory of Tikkurila and the Ring Rail Line. Fewer people know that Tikkurila is home to the largest upper secondary school in the Nordic countries, for instance.
Tikkurila evokes many ideas but what is at the core of Tikkurila’s brand?
Virkkunen doesn’t want to define Tikkurila’s brand in any more detail but the identity of the area has been created by the people moving there at different times as well as people from Tikkurila, born and bred. Virkkunen himself has lived in Tikkurila for 25 years, and now he has seen a great change.
“Nowadays, the centre of Tikkurila is busy and lively. Restaurants in the travel centre are full during the day when people working in the area and travellers have lunch,” he describes.
According to a recent study by Helsinki Region Transport, the Ring Rail Line has significantly strengthened the status of rail traffic as the primary mode of transport especially towards the airport. The Ring Rail Line also adds a touch of internationality to Tikkurila, as travelling from St. Petersburg to the airport on train is smooth and effortless.
According to Virkkunen, the future plans for Tikkurila include further developing the comfort of the area and expanding its urban centre westward from the station.
“For instance, the objective of the construction plan for the Tikkurila riverbank is to turn the Keravanjoki riverbank area into a new area of leisure and spare time that brings the riverbank area closer to the residents,” he says.
There are many and interesting construction projects coming up next year.
“Public spaces and the marketplace area will be constructed in a diverse way,” says Virkkunen.
Read also why construction company Lehto Group chose Tikkurila as the location of their new office.
Published 29.9.2017