Sponda - Company Announcement

Construction at City-Center commercial complex proceeds

Sponda Plc		Stock exchange release 	16 December 2009 at 1:00 p.m.

Construction at City-Center commercial complex proceeds

Property investment company Sponda Plc is developing a new style office and
shopping centre in the City-Center commercial complex in the best location in
Helsinki. Construction is progressing in phases, and the work has now moved to
the above-ground floors. 

Construction of the office building in the inner court of the complex is
getting underway, and new retail premises are being built on the first and
second floors of the complex and on the former parking deck on the third floor.
The entire 4,200 square metre office building being erected in the heart of the
complex has been leased to Evli Bank Plc, which will move all its head office
functions to the building. The current construction phase will be completed in
autumn 2011 and its costs are approximately EUR 30 million. The construction
phase will see also the completion of the City-Center service facilities linked
to the city centre service tunnel, and of the light shaft into the complex,
which will allow daylight right down into the station tunnel. 

The property is at present Sponda's most important and most visible property
development site. The total cost of the investment has increased from the
estimation given in the year 2005 to EUR 125 million. This is due to changes in
the plans, adding housing solutions to the plans, a delay in the project
timetable, and a sharper rise in building costs than had been estimated. 

In the following construction phases, the existing service area on the second
basement floor will be converted into retail premises and the facade on
Keskuskatu street will be renovated, which will allow the retail premises to
expand towards Keskuskatu street. The most of the retail premises will be kept
open, and access for pedestrians through the complex is being guaranteed
throughout the time of construction. 

The development project will increase the leasable area of the property from
41,000 to 55,000 square metres. The entire project is expected to be completed
in 2012. The main contractor of the current construction phase is Skanska
Talonrakennus Oy. 

Environmentally benign solutions

Particular attention has been paid in the construction to energy efficiency and
environmentally benign solutions. Low-emission M1-grade building materials are
being used almost everywhere, and over 90 % of the building waste is being
recycled for reuse. Methods to raise energy efficiency include heat recovery
from the ventilation system and thermally efficient glass structures in the
office building. During the current construction phase the property will be
connected to the district cooling system. 

A major focus in the new shopping centre is to make the premises clear and easy
to access. Getting from one level to another is being made easy, and tempting.
Light comes in from the light shaft in the heart of the building, and this
allows daylight right down to the lowest floor. The retail premises in the
shopping centre are on five floors, with two of these below ground level. 

The new shopping centre will considerably alter the Helsinki cityscape. The
area will be significantly revitalized as Keskuskatu street becomes a
pedestrian zone, and the focus of the central business district is expected to
move to the area surrounding Keskuskatu street. The pedestrian zone and covered
routes around the shopping complex will increase the attraction of the new
office and shopping centre. 

Sponda Plc 


Further information: 
Kari Inkinen, President and CEO, tel. +358 400 402 653



Sponda Plc is a real estate investment company specializing in commercial
properties in the largest cities in Finland and in Russia. Sponda's business
concept is to own, lease and develop office, retail and logistics properties
into environments that promote the business success of its clients. The fair
value of Sponda's investment properties is approximately EUR 2.8 billion euros
and the leasable area is around 1.5 million m².