Finnish listed property company Citycon has announced the start of construction for a Martinlaakso shopping centre in Vantaa, Finland. Located in the vicinity of the railway and bus stations, the new complex will have a leasable space of 7,300 m[sup]2[/sup] and will represent an investment of over EUR 26 mln.

Finnish listed property company Citycon has announced the start of construction for a Martinlaakso shopping centre in Vantaa, Finland. Located in the vicinity of the railway and bus stations, the new complex will have a leasable space of 7,300 m2 and will represent an investment of over EUR 26 mln.

The mall will house two grocery chains, S-market and Lidl as well as a pharmacy, bank services and 475 parking spaces. The centre is scheduled to open its doors in September 2011.

Meanwhile, the company has sold the building rights on 5,000 m2 of apartments which will be built on top of the shopping centre by Skanska's Finnish unit.

Also in Finland, Technopolis said that it has signed an agreement with health and care group Norlandia Care for the construction of a mixed-use complex in the Tampere Life Sciences Campus, which specialises in healthcare technology and life sciences services. The project will include a 7,000 m2 patient hotel, an office complex, and an oculist center. Construction will start this month, with completion scheduled for late 2011. Technopolis Finnmedi will also include parking space for approximately 150 vehicles.

Satu Eskelinen, director of Technopolis Tampere, believes that 'the patient hotel is an exciting new direction for Technopolis'. 'The hotel complements the services of the hospital area as well as creates significant synergies with the other companies operating on the campus', he said. The total investment in the project is expected to amount to EUR 30 mln.