Espoo reserves Niittykumpu Fire Station for Olari Brewery – plans for brewery, restaurant and small hotel in the facility
A decision on the reservation of the fire station property and preliminary agreement on the sale of the buildings will be made by the Business and Competitiveness Subcommittee of Espoo City Board in its meeting on Monday 3 June. Olari Brewery is planning to use the property as production facilities, a restaurant, bar, brewery shop, small-scale hotel business and rental sauna.
The old fire station would make an excellent brewery says Olari Brewery’s CEO Tommi Koistinen.
“A brewery floor has to be solid as a fermenter contains thousands of litres of beer. The fire station’s floor drain is also important since the equipment needs to be washed and something may even spill on the floor. High enough ceilings are also required as the fermenters are several metres tall,” he lists.
“We also have to make sure that the customers enjoy themselves and the fact that this place is already unique to begin with helps with that. You can also find brewery hotels elsewhere but I doubt there are others operating in old fire station facilities. Our goal is to attract both Finnish and international customers.”
Koistinen also praises the location and transport connections to the fire station.
“Good public transport connections are important for us. The metro station is about 400 metres away and there is a bus stop just outside.”
Grand opening could take place in late 2026
Olari Brewery is an award-winning craft brewery in Espoo which was founded in 2015. It all started in an Olari-based garage and nowadays the company operates in Otaniemi.
The company will leave Otaniemi by late July or early August by latest as construction will begin in the Kivimies area and the company’s current premises will be demolished.
“Finding facilities in Niittykumpu was a big relief for us. It is extremely important for us to be able to stay in Espoo.”
The project requires a town plan amendment, building permit and basic renovations to the fire station which is under building protection. If everything goes to plan, basic renovations and repurposing could begin in autumn 2025.
“It could be that we will celebrate the grand opening in autumn 2026.”
This means that the company needs temporary facilities for some time. A taproom and terrace, if not more, will open at Vallilan Konepaja in Helsinki when the company leaves Otaniemi.
Espoo sought a planning reservation recipient to realise the town plan amendment at the fire station property through a two-phase application process open for all. Fire services at the property will end as the operations of Niittykumpu Fire Station will be transferred to a new fire station in Matinkylä.
In recent years, a lot of new apartments have been built in Niittykumpu and the arrival of new residents has increased the number of local services. The goal is to increase and diversify local service offering even further and repurposing the fire station contributes to this.
There is also an outbuilding on the plot in addition to the actual fire station building. If the Business and Competitiveness Subcommittee approves the preliminary sale agreement, the sale price of the buildings will be €561,000.