Ideapark

Idea Park is a shopping center in the southern Finnish community Lempäälä. With about 200 shops covering an area of about 100,000 square meters, it is one of the largest shopping centers in the Nordic countries. A tour of the building is 1.2 km long. In addition to the original opened in 2006 Ideapark in Lempäälä planned the principal owner, the entrepreneur Toivo Sukari, some more of the same shopping centers in other places. However, this could not be realized.

Ideapark Lempäälä

The shopping center is located on the territory of the municipality Lempäälä in southwestern Finland, on the highway between Helsinki and Tampere. After Tampere it is 15 km to the north and to Helsinki 150 km to the south. The community center Lempääläs located about 6 km southwest of the Ideapark. Because Lempäälä itself is a rather small community, the customers of the shopping center is mainly composed from the motorway next shopping tourists, are available for the 4000 free parking spaces are available.

In our own advertising Ideapark is referred to not as a shopping center, but as a " business city ". The interior of the building is reminiscent of a real city, including " Old Town " and " Central Park". There are about 200 shops, cafes and restaurants, from small boutiques to large department stores. The emphasis is on fashion, leisure and furniture stores, the proportion of grocery stores is at its lowest. The offer includes both local and international brands. In Ideapark are, for example, branches of Marimekko, Pentik, Esprit, H & M, Mango, Marc O'Polo, Tommy Hilfiger, The Body Shop and alcohol. The building is still an amusement park called Fun Park.

The idea for the project came to entrepreneurs Toivo Sukari and Toni Virkkunen in 2003. Sukari took over as a consequence the main role and financed a large part of the project itself, as initially found no other investors. According to an article in the newspaper Suomen Sanomat Southern from the year 2007, the cost was around 120 million euros. The rental income were € 15 million per year, the estimated value of the shopping center lies at 200 million euros.

Originally planned Sukari some extensions to attract even more visitors. The plan was a swimming pool or a spa, an artificial ski tunnel and a 25-storey hotel. The construction of the extensions began in 2009 with the excavation of an underground cave for the swimming pool. In September 2010, however, Sukari gave up the plans, not least because he had trouble finding investors. In the already excavated cave Sukari was then set up an amusement park with a pirate theme. Adjacent to the park is planned an Idea " Retail Park " named Areena.

Planned further Idea parks

After the opening of Ideapark in Lempäälä Sukari made ​​similar plans for several other Finnish cities. However, these plans could not be realized because of financial difficulties and because of resistance in the approval process.

The plan for a Ideapark in eastern Finland Pieksämäki was announced in January 2008. The shopping center should be completed in 2010. The copy would have been largely identical to the Ideapark Lempäälä and would have an estimated 1,000 jobs created. In addition to the shopping center, a new bus station and a new station in Pieksämäki should arise. The plan was also a direct connection by train from Saint Petersburg " Idea Park Station ".

In planning was also a Ideapark in Kiiminki in Oulu in northern Finland. It should, inter alia, a copy of the Titanic to be built in the original size. More Idea parks were planned for Lapua and Vihti.

Controversy

Sukaris expansion plans attracted much attention in the Finnish public and were hotly debated. While the municipalities in whose territory the new shopping centers would be developed, supported the plans because of the jobs and because of the increased tax revenue, the Ideapark concept also strong criticism has been exposed, including by environmental groups and by the then Minister of Housing January Vapaavuori ( National Coalition Party ), who played an important role in the Ideapark approval process. According to the critics is the Ideapark a überproportioniertes and practically accessible only by car mall "on the green meadow ." It serves not primarily to local demand, but should especially motorists from a very wide area attract. This is not compatible with climate protection targets and carry to the company's dying in the actual town centers, which in turn have a negative impact on the entire settlement structure of the affected region.

Furthermore Sukari was alleged to have bribed politicians to vote this benevolent in the approval process. In 2012 he was invited by Helsinki District Court because of " serious corruption " ( törkeä lahjuksen antaminen ) sentenced to a suspended sentence of eight months. Sukari immediately announced that he would appeal.