The Lippulaiva shopping center opens in Helsinki's suburbs

About 100 stores, cafes and restaurants will be housed under one roof, along with a range of public and private services.

The new multifunctional urban shopping mall Lippulaiva, a Citycon project, has opened in Espoo, a suburb of Helsinki. The mall will unite nearly 100 stores, cafes, restaurants, as well as private and public services under one roof, according to the latest market trends. 

Lidl, Prisma and K-Supermarket are among the tenants of Lippulaiva - one of the largest food clusters in the Finnish metropolitan area. The food anchors will account for 44% of the complex's retail area with a total of 44,00 square meters. Food & beverage will feature more than 20 lively concepts - both from local businesses and international chains. Over 90% of the facilities are already occupied. 

In addition to the shopping and entertainment center, Espoonlahti will have a regional library with almost 2,900 square meters, Pilke Playschool English-language kindergarten, Elixia fitness center, and Terveystalo medical center of one of the largest operators in Finland. 

Citycon's commercial director, Mari Laaksonen, describes Lippulaiva as an urban center that offers "a broad range of services and functions, as well as convenient stores, allowing shoppers to meet their daily needs in one location." 

Lippulaiva multifunctional complex will also act as a new transportation hub - the shopping center will be linked to the bus terminal and Espoonlahti metro station. It is estimated that about 8 million people visit the complex each year. The mall will be surrounded by eight residential buildings that will house 560 apartments and condominiums. The first tower is due for completion in late 2022, followed by three others in early 2023. 

Citycon notes that the Lippulaiva project is being designed with long-term planning in mind and is a zero-carbon project with a number of sustainable energy solutions. Lippulaiva's energy consumption will be optimized using intelligent control. A LEED and Smart Building certification assessment will be performed on Lippulaiva as well.

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