Leppävaara city centre gets a new look on the north side of the track

The City Planning Committee approved the starting points and goals of the amendment to detailed plan for the city centre north of the Leppävaara railway at its meeting on 23 April 2025. The aim is to create a high-quality and comfortable urban environment where services, housing, jobs and leisure activities combine with each other and can be accessed smoothly. A key part of the new and modern urban environment is a high-quality, lush and comfortable walking environment, where being physically active is safe.

The planning of the city centre area will be based on the international idea competition for Leppävaara, which aimed to find a vision for the area north of the railway line which is high-quality in terms of function, urban structure and architecture, as well as financially feasible.

Walkable green and urban city centre area

Detailed planning will visibly follow the theme “walk around” of the winning submission to the idea competition. At the moment, there is a relatively large amount of unbuilt and underutilised land in the area. It will find a new purpose for example as a walking route that runs all the way to Gransinmäki by the area dominated by educational institutions and continues all the way to the sports park. The route forms a circular walking route around the entire city centre area, along which there are various functional public outdoor spaces that promote community spirit, commercial premises opening onto the route and squares and city parks that can also be used for organising events of different sizes.

The entire area is designed with a special emphasis on safety, and the new and comfortable walking routes are also accessible. The volume of local recreation opportunities and urban green in the area increases. The green space is primarily planned to be ground-supported, which creates good conditions for vegetation that helps manage stormwater and supports biodiversity.

Services and new housing

Residential construction will bring about 1,500–2,000 new residents to the area. The current tall residential building will remain a landmark in the area, as the new blocks of flats will not rise above it. Buildings to be built will be lower towards Gransinmäki, where a new daycare centre is also planned. The courtyards are designed to be lush, cosy and supportive of community spirit, and the courtyards are naturally connected to the surrounding public outdoor space.

Office and business premises have been planned for both the city centre area and the Turuntie overpass that connects the centres on both sides of the track. Versatile commercial premises are also planned in the brick and mortar premises of the buildings along the pedestrian route. They are intended for cafés, restaurants and other activities. The area will become a public transport hub and can easily be reached by all modes of transport.

The planning and construction of the area will proceed in stages, because the area is large and requires a lot of construction. The area's planning and detailed planning will prepare for the implementation of a tram line between Leppävaara and Matinkylä in the coming decades.

The participation and assessment scheme and the preparatory material of the plan will be available for public review from 12 May to 10 June 2025. A residents’ event on the plan will be held in the Monikko school centre on 2 June 2025, more information is available on the Leppävaaransilta plan web page. In addition to the residents’ event, we will organise participation opportunities for young people, families with children and residents with an immigrant background who live in the area.

The preparation of the plan proposal will begin after the public review of the participation and assessment scheme. According to estimates, the plan proposal be discussed by the City Planning Committee in 2027. The City Planning Committee will decide on making the plan proposal available for public review. The City Planning Department will announce when the plan will be made available with a detailed plan announcement, on the detailed plan website and to nearby neighbours by letter.

Visit the web page for the plan Leppävaaransilta.

More information:
Tiina Piironen, Area Architect, Detailed planning, tel. +358 43 824 6897, tiina.t.piironen@espoo.fi