HELSINKI, Feb 09, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Citycon Oyj  - Press release - 9 February 2017

Citycon's extensive (re)development of Lippulaiva located in Espoonlahti, in the Helsinki area, will make a benchmark for the modern, urban shopping centre catering to the everyday needs of local residents. 

Citycon's plan is to demolish the present Lippulaiva and build a completely new shopping centre in its place. The project will double the gross leasable area to around 40,000 square metres and Citycon estimates the investment to be approximately EUR 200 million.

The new metro station of the Länsimetro extension and a feeder line bus terminal will be directly connected to the new Lippulaiva. Over the coming decade, the Espoonlahti area will see the fastest growth and densification in the capital area. By 2030 the population is expected to grow by more than 25 percent. A total of 550 new apartments are planned in connection with Lippulaiva alone.

"The exceptionally strong demand for retail premises is a proof of Lippulaiva's great location and the attractiveness of its commercial concept. The new shopping centre will open in 2020 and already 60 percent of the spaces have been leased", says Heikki Alén, Project Director at Citycon. 

Lippulaiva will have a strong focus on groceries, with one of the largest concentrations of grocery stores in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. There will be a total of 14,000 square metres of grocery retail space, which is over a third of the total leasable area. This includes three full-service grocery stores: K-supermarket, Prisma, and Lidl. There will also be a smaller express K-market and an Alko liquor store. Other daily services will include a pharmacy, the discount store Tokmanni, and a store from the hardware chain Clas Ohlson. 

A second area of emphasis in Lippulaiva will be a broad food and beverage offering, which will account for over ten percent of the gross leasable area. The ground floor will provide convenient and quick options, while the restaurants on the second floor will have a wide range of possibilities for socialising in a pleasant atmosphere.

"A diverse range of restaurants is an increasingly important part of the shopping centre offering. Our goal is to increase the proportion of food and beverage in our shopping centres from the current seven percent to over ten percent. This will be fulfilled in Lippulaiva due to the extremely strong demand from restaurant operators," says Jurn Hoeksema, Chief Operating Officer at Citycon. 

The third focus area in Lippulaiva will be on services, both private and public. Lippulaiva will have a private kindergarten Pilke, health services, and a gym. Lippulaiva is also planned to contain public services provided by the City of Espoo. 

Finland's first pop-up shopping centre 

While the new Lippulaiva is being built, Citycon will construct a temporary pop-up shopping centre, Pikkulaiva. Pikkulaiva will open in the vicinity of Lippulaiva in July-August. Pikkulaiva will have a gross leasable area of 8,500 square metres, and is already completely leased.

"Pikkulaiva will ensure that local residents have access to services for the duration of the construction project. We also want to hold onto our valued tenants and offer them a good place to continue operating while Lippulaiva is being built. Pikkulaiva will be constructed from recyclable elements that can be moved by truck, so it will be easy to relocate once the temporary facilities are no longer needed. This solution executes Citycon's view of sustainable business," Heikki Alén says.

Citycon expects that the contracts regarding the project will be signed by early spring. Demolition of the existing shopping centre will begin in late summer, and construction of the new Lippulaiva will begin late this year.

CITYCON OYJ

Further information:

Heikki Alén, Project Director
Tel. +358 (0)40 567 6619
heikki.alen@citycon.com

Jurn Hoeksema, Chief Operating Officer
Tel. +46 70 385 1059
jurn.hoeksema@citycon.com

Citycon Oyj (Nasdaq Helsinki: CTY1S) is a leading owner, developer and manager of urban grocery-anchored shopping centres in the Nordic and Baltic regions. The company manages a property portfolio that totals approximately EUR 5 billion and its shares have a market value of approximately EUR 2 billion. For more information about us, please visit www.citycon.com

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http://news.cision.com/citycon-oyj/r/over-60-percent-preleased-in-the-new-lippulaiva-shopping-centre,c2183565

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SOURCE Citycon Oyj