Hotel Lappe’s tower would require a plan change. The extra layers in the company’s table drawer have been in preparation for years.
Etelä-Karjala Osuuskauppa and the city of Lappeenranta went public on Monday with their plan to zone a new 9-story addition to the hotel in Lappee. The cooperative plans to renovate the current hotel and build a tower in the middle of it that offers more accommodation.
– Part of this building right was used when Ison-Kristiina and Lappe merged. Now we are applying for more building rights for this block.
The city is happy with the project
– The core center is not an administrative area, but a place where people live, live and go to work. It is important that the services take shape in this core area.
A major host in the Lappeenranta region is the Indian-owned Holiday Club Saimaa, part of Holiday Club Resorts Oy. However, the hotel, which offers accommodation and meeting facilities, is more than half an hour’s drive from the center of Lappeenranta.
Pimi considers it important that Lappeenranta’s growth, which has gained momentum, is built from the center.
– This project strengthens the accommodation capacity of the city center and opens doors for conferences and other events, for example. I have a positive attitude towards it.
The formula change can be ready already in a year
Next, the expansion project will proceed to apply for a plan change. Eekoo submits an application to the city for a site plan change that enables additional construction.
The city prepares the reports necessary for the plan change, based on which different alternatives can be started to be planned.
According to city architect Maarit Pimiä, in the case of hotel Lappe, it might be necessary to find out, for example, the effects on the cityscape.
– Here, we are building on the roof of an already existing building, so, for example, a nature report or a building history report is not needed in my opinion.
According to him, the goal of the partial general plan of the city has been from the beginning to build the city upwards.
– The city’s goal is to consolidate and consolidate the city center. The aim is to increase the height, but increasing tower blocks in itself is not the city’s goal, says Pimiä.
The tower is big in terms of cityscape and an element that often divides opinions. Pimiä reminds that the formula will be visible twice, first as a draft and then as a proposal. He encourages residents to comment and give feedback on the plans.
The plan change will be completed within a year, but the construction project itself is estimated to be completed by 2026.
Hotel Lappee is open to customers throughout the renovation.