Koli Lotus Oy wants to renovate the closed spa and build a hotel next to the spa. However, the city of Lieksa has terminated the lease agreement for the plot on which the hotel was supposed to be built.
A few kilometers away from the familiar national landscape, a peculiar dispute is brewing in Koli. The company that owns the spa, which has been closed for about five years, has filed a lawsuit against the city of Lieksa.
Koli Lotus Oy would like to renovate the cold spa and build hotel accommodation on the adjacent plot. The city of Lieksa, on the other hand, has lost faith in the entrepreneur, and the city has terminated the lease agreement for the plot. The dispute will be resolved in court.
Running a spa requires hotel accommodation around it
The construction of the spa began in Kolin Purnuniemi in 2011. The construction was delayed, but the spa was finally completed in 2015. It managed to operate for about one and a half years, but the operation was loss-making the entire time. Now the spa has been closed for about five years.
Jaruta presents 3D images of the plans the company has for the development of the Kolin Purnuniemi spa area. The managing director assures that the financing is also in order. The construction would take place mainly with Latvian forces. The largest owner in Koli Lotus Oy is the Latvian SIA \”A-trading\” with a 75 percent share. A Russian private individual owns 20 percent of the company, and Jaruta himself owns five percent.
Lieksa’s confidence is shaken
However, Lieksa’s trust in the company is wavering, and the city has terminated the lease of the plot next to the spa. As a result, Koli Lotus has filed a lawsuit against the city of Lieksa.
– We assess the risks for companies and try to minimize them with contractual content and take care of the interests of the townspeople. In this case, the rental agreement has been terminated due to issues related to the contract contents.
– So the lawsuit has been filed, and we will go according to the usual procedure of the district court. The first processing will be in the near future, says Määttänen.
CEO Georg Jaruta is upset.
– Initially, we had a 25-year lease on the plot. The condition was that construction must start three years after signing the contract. In October of last year, we were fully ready to start construction, but the city of Lieksa did not give permission and terminated the lease.
– Koli Lotus has done extensive preparatory work to expand the spa building and build a hotel. When it comes to million-dollar projects, quite a lot of resources have gone into the planning work as well.
Koli Lotus Oy plans to renovate the spa and build 20 hotel rooms next to it. The cost estimate for the spa expansion is around 7–8 million euros. The company owns the spa and its grounds.
On the other side of the road, on a disputed leased plot, the company would build a hotel with 60 rooms and an area of approximately 2,800 square meters. The hotel would also sink 7–8 million euros.