The Wholesale Market area is located in the eastern part of inner city Helsinki, between Kalasatama and Hermanni. The area houses wholesalers, food production facilities, storage and refrigerated storage facilities and Teurastamo, a centre of urban culture. The area is becoming increasingly accessible due to urban densification, Kalasatama metro station and the new Kalasatama–Pasila tram line.
The City of Helsinki is exploring the possibilities of developing the Wholesale Market area into a more vibrant centre for culture and events, while also preserving the area’s wholesale and food business operations. As one option, the City is looking into whether it would be possible to build a large event arena in the area without disrupting other operations.
Approximately 17 hectares in size, the planning area includes not only the current Wholesale Market and Teurastamo, but also Agroksenmäki and the adjacent residential area, which also includes a daycare centre. The area is demarcated in the south by Työpajankatu, in the west by Sörnäistenkatu, in the north by Hermannin rantatie and in the east by Vanha talvitie.
Read more about the Wholesale Market(Link leads to external service)
Read more about Teurastamo (in Finnish)(Link leads to external service)
Planning principles to be drawn up first
The City will first draw up planning principles for the development of the Wholesale Market and the areas bordering it to steer the subsequent land use and detailed planning.
The aim is to preserve the area’s industrial and rugged atmosphere and existing wholesale and food business operations, while facilitating cultural and event activities. Furthermore, the City will be looking into the possibility of building new housing especially in the northern part of the planning area, which already has some residential blocks nearby and is located next to the new Hermanninranta residential area currently under construction.
The aim is to also clarify and improve the development of the area’s existing green networks and traffic solutions. The current Teurastamo area and the existing residential blocks and daycare centre will be preserved.
The planning principles will be drawn up by utilising the Vision for the Wholesale Market (pdf, in Finnish) prepared in 2023–2024 by Helsinki City Premises Ltd, which manages the area’s facilities. The vision was drawn up by using a futures design approach, which involved inviting the area’s current and future stakeholders to come together and come up with potential futures for the development of the area.
The planning process
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Participation and evaluation plan
The project’s participation and evaluation plan (PEP) will be displayed for the public from 20 May to 7 June 2024. During this time, the participation and evaluation plan and current planning material can be viewed at https://www.hel.fi/suunnitelmat (in Finnish).
During the public display, city residents can submit written comments about the plan to the City of Helsinki Register Office (Pohjoisesplanadi 11–13) by email to helsinki.kirjaamo@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program) or post to City of Helsinki, Register Office, Urban Environment Division, PO Box 10, 00099 City Of Helsinki.
In addition to the PEP, the City has prepared four preliminary scenarios to serve as a basis for the drafting of the planning principles. The scenarios can be viewed in in the Helsinki map service (in Finnish)(Link leads to external service)
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Planning principles proposal
The planning principles proposal is estimated to become available for viewing in autumn 2024, at which point the plan will be showcased to residents, who will also be able to comment on it. Comments about the proposal will also be requested from the authorities.
After the public display, the planning principles may be revised based on received feedback.
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Approval of the planning principles
The party responsible for the approval of the planning principles is the Urban Environment Committee. The Committee is expected to process the proposal in late 2024.
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Land use and detailed planning
Land use and detailed planning will commence once the planning principles are ready.
Frequently asked questions
The planning principles are an approximate level plan outlining the guidelines for planned development. The planning principles specify the objectives of the city plan and precede detailed planning.
According to Helsinki’s city plan (2016), the majority of the Wholesale Market area is reserved for offices, manufacturing, storage, port operations, public services, education and recreational use. Furthermore, the northern and western parts of the area should be developed as a functionally mixed inner city area of housing, commercial and public services, offices, administration, parks, recreational and outdoor services and urban culture.
The planning principles will be based on the premise that the Wholesale Market will also continue to be used for wholesale operations in the future. However, the scope of the operations may change.
The Freezing Plant located in the Wholesale Market was built in 1953 and is owned by the City of Helsinki. The Freezing Plant features various types of freezing, cold and dry storage facilities that Helsinki City Premises Ltd has subleased to food businesses. The lease agreement for the Freezing Plant is due to end on 1 October 2024, at which point the Freezing Plant is to be closed down.
The reasons why the Freezing Plant is to be closed down are its very poor condition and the environmental risks posed by the ammonia used as a refrigerant at the Plant. Investing in a replacement facility has proven to be economically unprofitable for the City.
Following the decision to close down the Freezing Plant, local entrepreneurs have shown interest in facilitating the building of a new freezing plant. The possibility of building a new freezing plant in the area will be explored during the preparation of the planning principles.
One of the things to be explored in the planning principles will be whether it would be possible to build new housing in the planning area without disrupting cultural, event and wholesale operations. Based on Helsinki’s 2016 city plan, housing construction may be possible especially in the northern parts of the area.
Most of the properties in the Wholesale Market and Teurastamo area are owned by the City of Helsinki and managed and leased out by the City-owned Helsinki City Premises Ltd.
The blocks of flats next to Agroksenmäki are privately owned.
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