Malmin Nova

Malmin Nova (Kauppakeskus Malmin Nova) is a shopping centre located in the Ala-Malmi district of Helsinki, Finland, directly beside Malmi railway station and on the opposite side of the tracks from the Malmintori shopping centre. The two centres are linked by a covered pedestrian bridge over the railway, known locally as the "Malmi tube," which also provides access to the station platforms. The centre's address is Malminkaari 13-19, 00700 Helsinki. The centre opened under the name Malmin Nova in November 2000, owned by Edv. Pajunen Oy. Its roots go back to 1987, when the Pajunen family company Kauppahuone Pajunen built a 2-4 storey shopping centre next to Malmi railway station and opened the food-focused A & P Ostoparatiisi there. The original name Ostoparatiisi ("shopping paradise") had attracted ridicule and became an ironic term for any new shopping centre; when Kesko added a K-prefix and it was popularly nicknamed "Kostoparatiisi," the name was changed to Malmin Nova. Malmin Nova's largest tenant is K-Citymarket. In addition to that, the centre houses around 40 different businesses, including several opticians and hairdressers, Alko, Alepa, Tokmanni, Dressmann, Normal and Jysk. Cafés have included Baguette (bankrupt in 2024) and Coffee House, while restaurants include the Korean Kiva, Burger King and Kotipizza. The centre has a gross floor area of approximately 30,000 m² and leasable area of approximately 24,000 m². It has a 690-space parking hall, with about one hundred street parking spaces nearby and about 300 spaces in the nearby P1 parking hall. Ownership has changed frequently since the early 2000s. In 2006 Capman's fund sold Malmin Nova as part of its real estate portfolio to a buyer group including Icelandic Samson Properties, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ari Salmivuori's investment company Ajanta. In 2011 the owners were Bron-Cap Property Holding and Ruokakesko. In 2018 Malmin Nova passed from a fund managed by Savills Investment Management to the Finnish company eQ. In the early 2020s K-Citymarket was refurbished, but the combined turnover of Malmin Nova's other businesses nearly halved from EUR 85.5 million in 2017 to EUR 46.4 million in 2023, partly because some retail premises had transferred to Kesko's ownership and their figures no longer appear in Malmin Nova's sales. In the mid-2020s many smaller stores closed or moved away, including the café Baguette (37 years on site), Suomalainen Kirjakauppa, the flower shop Taikakukka and the second-hand clothing store UFF. Entrepreneurs complained about declining visitor numbers and simultaneous rent increases. In early spring 2026 the restaurant La Mero opened in Baguette's former premises.

Malmin Nova's history begins in 1987, when the family company of Jussi Pajunen, Kauppahuone Pajunen, built a 2-4 storey shopping centre next to Malmi railway station and opened a new kind of food-focused store there called A & P Ostoparatiisi. The 9,000-square-metre building was designed by the architectural office of Kari Hyvärinen and Jaakko Suihkonen, and the traffic arrangements of the adjacent parking building were designed by Kari Anttila of Viatek. The property also housed other businesses, such as the children's goods store JollyP and the DIY store Teesi, both founded by Pajunen, as well as the restaurants Pizzatime, Canton and Baguette. Initially the Ostoparatiisi also contained a computer store called Chipper, a gift shop, a bookshop, a photography shop, a hairdresser, an insurance company, an ATM, a flower shop and an R-kioski. In 1991 Megalelu replaced JollyP. Pukeva tried a store in Ostoparatiisi for half a year, but afterwards the ground floor was nearly empty for years. Soon the Pajunens sold their Alepa grocery chain to the S Group but continued business in Malmin Ostoparatiisi. In 1990 the shopping centre's grocery store transferred to Kesko. The original late-1980s name Ostoparatiisi, reminiscent of the "consumption celebrations" of the era, had already attracted ridicule and, written in lower case, began to mean ironically any new shopping centre. When the name received a K-prefix from Kesko and became popularly known as "Kostoparatiisi," the new name Malmin Nova was adopted. Under that name the shopping centre opened in November 2000, still owned by Edv. Pajunen Oy. In 2003 Nova's premises doubled with the arrival of a new K-Citymarket. The extension was designed by the architectural office Lahdelma & Mahlamäki. Malmin Nova's ownership has changed frequently since the early 2000s. In 2006 Capman's fund sold Malmin Nova as part of its real estate portfolio to a buyer group that included Icelandic Samson Properties, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ari Salmivuori's investment company Ajanta. In 2011 the owners were Bron-Cap Property Holding and Ruokakesko. In 2018 Malmin Nova passed from a fund managed by Savills Investment Management to the Finnish company eQ. In the early 2020s K-Citymarket was refurbished, but the combined turnover of Malmin Nova's other businesses nearly halved from EUR 85.5 million in 2017 to EUR 46.4 million in 2023. Part of the explanation is that retail premises had transferred to Kesko's ownership and their figures no longer appear in Malmin Nova's sales. In the mid-2020s many smaller stores closed or moved away from Nova. These included the café Baguette, which had operated on site for 37 years, Suomalainen Kirjakauppa, the flower shop Taikakukka and the second-hand clothing store UFF. Entrepreneurs criticised declining visitor numbers and simultaneous rent increases. In early spring 2026 the restaurant La Mero opened in Baguette's former premises.

• 2026

  Restaurant La Mero opens in Baguette's former premises in early spring.

• 2024

  Café Baguette goes bankrupt.

• 2018

  Malmin Nova passes from a fund managed by Savills Investment Management to the Finnish company eQ.

• 2011

  Owners are Bron-Cap Property Holding and Ruokakesko.

• 2006

  Capman's fund sells Malmin Nova as part of its real estate portfolio to a buyer group including Samson Properties, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ajanta.

• 2003

  Nova's premises double with the arrival of a new K-Citymarket; the extension is designed by Lahdelma & Mahlamäki.

• 2000

  The shopping centre opens under the name Malmin Nova in November, owned by Edv. Pajunen Oy.

• 1991

  Megalelu replaces JollyP.

• 1990

  The shopping centre's grocery store transfers to Kesko.

• 1987

  Kauppahuone Pajunen builds a 2-4 storey shopping centre next to Malmi railway station and opens A & P Ostoparatiisi.

A neighbourhood shopping centre in Helsinki's Malmi district offering everyday groceries, fashion, health and wellbeing products and services, with nearly 50 shops and almost 10 cafés and restaurants.

Product categories. Shopping centre retail space · Grocery retail · Fashion retail · Health and wellbeing services · Cafés and restaurants · Gym · Pharmacy · Opticians · Hairdressers · Parking

1. 1Kauppakeskus Malmin Nova - Vaatteet, vapaa-aika, hyvinvointi, ravintolatmalminnova.fi
2. 2Malmin Nova - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Kauppakeskus Malmin Nova - Wikipediafi.wikipedia.org