Jyväskylä seeks partners for offices and a hotel over rail yard

Jyväskylä plans to seek partners next year for a deck over its railway yard, where the city hopes to build offices, shops and at least one hotel in the 2030s, Yle reports. The project is part of a new vision for expanding and reshaping the city centre.

The vision would make Asemakatu a second main street alongside Kauppakatu and create a pedestrian route from Harju to Lutakko. The city wants Asemakatu, between the Lyseo school building and a new market square, to become a greener place for people to spend time.

Work on the new market square at Asema-aukio began in May. The city is also preparing to renovate the pedestrian street. The work would replace its ageing snow-melting system and renew water and district-heating pipes.

The renovation is estimated to cost 10 million euros, with just over six million paid by the city and the rest by energy company Alva. Planning is due to start next year, and construction could begin in 2028. The street would be renovated in stages over two years. The plans currently include three new trees, while existing bird cherries, described by the city as an invasive species, would be replaced gradually.

For the railway-yard deck, the city’s share of the cost has been roughly estimated at 60 million euros. Project manager Ora Nuutinen said the city would seek construction companies, financiers, infrastructure builders and other partners through a tender process starting next year. A university or other educational campus is also a longer-term ambition for the deck.

The city council is also expected to decide this autumn on plans for a cultural quarter around the old Lyseo building and on the future of the main library, which needs renovation. In late September, councillors approved a renovation cost ceiling of 17.5 million euros for Lyseo. They will consider three options for the wider plans at a seminar in late October.