Aare Invest acquired the Veska Shopping Center in Pirkkala in 2015. At the time of the acquisition, the shopping center had 21,000 square meters of leasable space and its occupancy rate was 52%.
Renovation and expansion
Aare started Veska´s phased renovation and expansion measures in 2018. A geothermal system was built for the property, ventilation and electrical system was renovated and cooling machines were added. After the expansion, leasable space rose to over 24,000 square meters.
In planning, Aare took into account the wishes received from tenants and collected feedback from customers and measured their movement in the shopping center. In connection with the improvements, Aare also made the floor plans more efficient by changing the hallway and public space to leasable space. There were also development concepts made for common areas, such as leasable meeting room and saunas, to make the facilities serve customers and tenants as well as possible.
Aare invests in long-lasting solutions and use modern, energy-efficient technology and highly insulating structures in construction. In energy efficiency Veska is aiming to reach sustainability certification Bream Gold.
Tenant strategy
In sales, Aare focused on targeted tenant acquisition, which paid off. Couple of Veska´s most well-known tenants are Verkkokauppa.com, Jysk, Scandinavian Outdoor, Iittala and Isku. In addition of great retail brands, Aare wanted to build a vast variety of services to the shopping center: six restaurants, two gyms and a indoor hockey center for player coaching. In 2020, Veska's occupancy rate rose to 100%. It´s fixed costs have decreased and turnover has nearly tripled.
