New development funding for Ylva’s hotel and residential building in the Lyyra city block

Ylva has signed a development financing agreement for the hotel and residential building of the Lyyra city block in Helsinki. The financing is provided by the fourth Velo Capital fund - Velo Mezzanine Credit Fund (VMC).

The hotel and residential building located between Siltasaarenkatu, Kolmas linja and Porthaninkatu is scheduled to be completed in early 2024. The financing for the project is being provided by the latest Velo Capital fund, focused on green financing.

”Lyyra is the first and so far only new build in the rapidly developing Hakaniemi area. When completed, Lyyra will bring life and services to the area around the clock. The financing signed today ensures that we will complete the block with high quality and a rigorous focus on sustainability," says Ylva’s Real Estate Director Ville Vaarala.

Sustainability has been a key focus of the project. Once completed, Lyyra will be operationally carbon-neutral while ambitious targets have been set for reducing the carbon footprint of the construction phase. A LEED Platinum certification – the highest level of certification available in the internationally recognised system – will be sought for Lyyra. In addition, the facilities are aiming for energy class A, the Finnish Ministry of the Environment’s highest energy-efficiency classification.

"Lyyra is a high quality project with leading sustainability credentials which makes it a natural fit with our investment strategy and ambition to provide new sources of capital to support the urban transition. We are very pleased to partner with the very experienced Lyyra team to bring this project to fruition.” Lesley Lanefelt, Head of Nordics at Velo Capital.

Velo Capital is the real estate credit arm of Urban Partners. The platform also encompasses the Pan-European real estate investor Nrep, venture capital investor 2150, and private equity investor Luma Equity. In July 2023, Urban Partners announced a €136 million first closing for its fourth Velo Capital fund, Velo Mezzanine Credit (VMC) which focuses on green financing.

During the process, Ylva was advised by JLL, and Avance acted as legal counsel.