Espoontori plan amendment will enable a hypermarket, new flats and a public transport terminal in Espoon keskus
The amendment to detailed plan aims to strengthen the vitality of Espoon keskus by creating the conditions for the implementation of a hypermarket and a residential tower block as well as for the development of the station area as a public transport hub. The City Board will discuss the approval of the Espoontori plan amendment at its meeting on 5 May. The matter will then be discussed by the City Council.
The plan amendment will improve the area’s service offering, as it enables extending the Espoontori shopping centre with a hypermarket. In addition to the hypermarket, the extension of the shopping centre will include parking spaces.
The extension area is approximately 7,000 square metres and it is located in the direction of Asemakuja on a plot that currently has parking spaces and an empty office building that will be demolished to make way for the extension.
Business, office and service premises will also be located on the street level along Siltakatu, Siltatori and the new connection Lindholminkäytävä. Siltatori in the southern part of the block area will remain a square.
The plan amendment also enables the construction of a 15-storey residential tower block at the corner of Siltakatu and Asemakuja. In addition, the amendment will enable the construction of a public transport terminal in the area between the Espoontori shopping centre and the railway.
A new pedestrian connection, Lindholminkäytävä, is planned to run between the current Espoontori shopping centre and the new extension. It will serve as a direct connection between Siltatori and the public transport terminal. On the bridge level, there will be a pedestrian connection through the shopping centre, which will be open during the shopping centre’s opening hours.
Switching between train and bus will be easier
Once the Espoo City Railway is complete, commuter train traffic will move entirely to the south which makes changing from train to bus easier. The waiting area for bus and train users is inside the terminal.
The existing overpass, Espoonsilta, between Espoontori and the station will remain.
The planning area is bordered in the north by railway tracks and the Espoo station, in the south by Siltakatu and the Entresse shopping centre, in the west by the parking space block area, and in the east by Asemakuja and the adjacent residential block.
The planning area is owned by Kesko.