New owner revives former rehabilitation centre after decade empty

Yle reports that the former Ylinen rehabilitation centre in Ylöjärvi, Finland, is beginning a new phase after standing empty for 10 years. Its new owner has renovated buildings, attracted businesses and is planning housing and cultural activities on the grounds.

Ylinen served for decades as a home for hundreds of people with intellectual disabilities from the Pirkanmaa region. After those services moved to Pitkäniemi in Nokia, the hospital district and later the wellbeing services county tried several times to sell the centre without success.

The buildings were left to deteriorate, prompting concern among local residents. In April 2025, local agricultural entrepreneur Suvi Rajala bought the property and its buildings from the Pirkanmaa wellbeing services county for slightly more than 400,000 euros.

The former centre resembles the size of a small neighbourhood or village centre. The roughly 18-hectare grounds include about 20 properties, although even Rajala cannot immediately give their exact number.

Near the car park stands a manor dating from the 1920s. Behind it are numerous buildings that have fallen into disrepair. In the future, Rajala hopes apartment blocks could be built on the grounds, alongside space for businesses and culture.

Three buildings are protected: the manor, a former farmhand’s cottage that once housed an occupational health institute and a bank, and a church located in an old grain warehouse. The outer parts of the institutional grounds also contain several occupied apartment buildings and a water tower.

During the first year under the new ownership, almost all the old institutional properties were cleared of equipment left behind by the wellbeing services county, including hospital beds.

Renovation work is under way inside a former ward building. Electricity is being rewired and the premises are being prepared for a future business tenant. The building currently serves mainly as storage for items recovered during the clean-up.

Rajala says Ward Three is the only one of the old institutional buildings that is worth renovating to this extent. Electricity has been restored to some buildings, but most are expected to be demolished. The estimated demolition cost is between 1.5 million and 2 million euros.

The work has also uncovered expensive technical equipment, which Rajala describes as the best money could buy. She is an automation installer by profession and has questioned how such large purchases were made during the recession of the 1990s, only for the equipment to be left to decay for a decade.

Vandalism and theft were common while the buildings stood empty. Since Rajala took over, security has been increased and vandalism has almost completely stopped. The properties have also been cleared of items that could appeal to thieves.