Government offices will be transferred to more peripheral locations as their leases expire. The move is motivated by the fact that rents are up to a third lower outside the heart of the city.
For instance, the Market Court is housed in one of Helsinki’s most gorgeous old buildings on Erottaja 1.
Chief justice Kimmo Mikkola has a fireplace dating back to the 1890s in his office. But in five years’ time the court will have a new home in Itä-Pasila’s concrete jungle.
“I’ll certainly miss beautiful downtown Helsinki,” he says.
Some disgruntled bureaucrats are protesting the exodus, pointing to longer and more expensive commutes.