YIT and Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Company have signed a contract on the renovation and expansion of the property located at Mikonkatu 7 in the centre of Helsinki, Finland. The renovation project will bring modern and adaptable head office level office premises and new business premises to the city centre.
The contract comprises the complete renovation of the building. The construction will begin in November 2019 and will be completed in October 2021. The parties have agreed that the contract value will not be published.
The six-storey building on the corner of Mikonkatu and Yliopistonkatu will be renovated into a modern office building by demolishing and replacing a large proportion of the old indoor structures, such as all partition walls and some lifts and stairwells. The roofs will be replaced, and a new four-storey atrium with a glazed roof will be built in the courtyard. The street-side corner will be renovated and used to make a new entrance to the offices. There will be new business premises on the first floor, and their facades will be renovated.
The property will have nearly 6,000 square metres of leasable office premises, and the ground and basement floors will have 2,000 square metres of business premises.
The property at Mikonkatu 7 was originally completed in 1910 and had three floors at that time. Over the years, the building has been altered and raised multiple times. The building is listed and the project plans are drawn up in cooperation with various authorities.
The waste management facilities located in the basement of the property are shared by three different properties, and therefore the facilities must be available throughout the renovation. The central location requires that the project must be implemented without disturbing surrounding operators, such as the adjacent hotel or the traffic passing the site.
“At construction sites such as Mikonkatu 7, especially logistics must follow a very precise timetable,” says Kalevi Stenman, Vice President, YIT Business Premises Renovation.
YIT has previously carried out several successful projects for Ilmarinen, including the renovation of the property at Mikonkatu 9, which was completed in November 2018.
“Our experiences of previous projects with YIT have proven that they have the necessary competence for demanding renovation projects,” says Construction Manager Hannu Keinänen from Ilmarinen.