Cosy, colourful Suvela

Suvela covers a wide area with just enough services and plenty of outdoor exercise possibilities. According to Seppo Holste, who has lived in the area for decades, the variety of cultures gives the area a positive distinctiveness. 

Seppo Holste became an Espoo resident in 1975, when he moved to Suvela with his family. The area was suitable for the Holste couple as both of them worked for the City of Espoo.  

“Here, our jobs were close to home, so it felt like a natural place to settle down. We did not really put that much effort in choosing the place, so we came here without knowing much about the area nearly 50 years ago,” Holste explains.  

The Suvela area is large. According to Holste, it extends from the Helsinki–Turku railway line all the way to Suna.  

 

Over the decades, Suvela has grown and developed. Kirstinharju, in particular, has many apartment buildings, but there are also plenty of small residential houses in the area.  

The Holste family has been pleased with the services in Suvela: when it was still necessary, the children’s day care centres, schools and hobbies were all within walking distance. 

“An excellent place to grow up,” Holste summarises. 

“I have not really found anything wrong with the area. No place is perfect, obviously, but our surroundings are clean and peaceful. Of course, I know that people sometimes say otherwise as well.”  

Seppo Holste regularly goes to a gym in Espoontori, and the outdoor exercise possibilities are excellent. Even Espoo Central Park starts practically from their yard. If you cannot get everything you need close by, the Sello and Iso Omena shopping centres are just a short drive away. 

Suvela is known as a multicultural place to live. Approximately 40 per cent of the residents are immigrants, and dozens of languages are spoken in the schools.  

“Our multicultural neighbourhood has never bothered us. We have travelled and seen many kinds of people around the world. The various nationalities give the area colour and uniqueness.” 

(The text continues after the photo.)

• The Suvela neighbourhood, part of the Espoon keskus district, also encompasses Kiltakallio, Suna and Saarniraivio.  
• The first apartment building was completed in Suvela in 1970.   
• In 2019, a property development project increasing Suvela’s attractiveness began in the area. Old apartment buildings were demolished and replaced with colourful residential buildings with 5–12 storeys. The purpose of the project is to make the urban framework denser and the inhabitant structure more diverse.  

Text: Tuija Holttinen

This article has originally been published in the Espoo Magazine 2/2023.

Read other articles in the Espoo Magazine.