Protected Jyväskylä houses remain empty as sale stalls
Thursday 1st October 2026 on 05:45 in
Finland
Two protected wooden houses in central Jyväskylä have stood empty for nearly three years as planning appeals and a delayed sale hold up their future, Yle reports.
The city-owned buildings, Mäkitorppa and Mäkitupa, are in the Mäki-Matti district. One dates to the 1890s. The city says the prolonged planning and sales process has cost it more than 65,500 euros.
A property investment company, T&J Partners, has reserved the half-hectare plot at Pitkäkatu 25, but has not completed the purchase. The reservation runs until the end of February. The plot, including the buildings, is priced at about 560,000 euros, with most of its value in the right to build.
The city changed the zoning plan to allow seven new wooden residential buildings alongside the two protected houses. Appeals delayed the sale; an administrative court upheld the plan in December, and the Supreme Administrative Court did not grant permission for a further appeal.
T&J Partners says it intends to renovate Mäkitorppa and Mäkitupa for communal use by residents of the new housing development. The company has postponed the purchase because of weak conditions in the housing market and unsold new homes in Jyväskylä. It says it does not want to give up the plot because of its location.
The city has kept the buildings at a basic temperature and says their condition has not deteriorated while they have been empty. As protected buildings, they must be maintained. The company’s plans require extensive renovation of the houses.
Some former tenants and local residents oppose the sale and additional construction. They want the wooden-house setting preserved and say renovation should be made a condition of the sale. They also want the buildings to serve as community and cultural spaces.
The houses have previously been used as an infectious disease hospital, a military hospital, a harmonium factory, a daycare centre and, most recently, studios for artists and cultural groups. The city has arranged replacement premises for some former tenants.
The city will decide by the end of February whether to extend T&J Partners’ reservation or consider other options. It has not planned to keep the plot and buildings itself.