Urban Partners (formerly Nrep) and construction company Lapti have been selected by the City of Turku to deliver a series of new daycare properties. The partnership won the city’s competitive tendering process for a project that includes five daycare centres located along good transport connections close to central Turku. Once completed, the facilities will provide early childhood education places for more than 700 children.
The daycare properties will be delivered under a lease-based model. In this arrangement, Urban Partners acts as the developer and long-term owner of the properties, while Lapti is responsible for the design and construction of the buildings. Arco architecture company has been appointed as the principal and architectural designer, ensuring that the facilities are tailored to the needs of modern early childhood education.
The City of Turku will lease the daycare properties under a long-term lease agreement. This model supports the city’s goal of securing the long-term availability of high-quality early childhood education services, while enabling new, purpose-built premises without the need for the city to own the buildings directly. The new daycares will be built in the districts of Lauste, Kärsämäki, Härkämäki, Pitkämäki and Varissuo, all located within the Turku urban area.
These five daycares form part of Turku’s broader daycare renewal programme. In total, the city is planning and building 22 new daycare centres, which will offer space for nearly 3,000 children. Through this programme, Turku is aiming to modernise its daycare building stock, improve the functionality and quality of learning environments, and respond to growing demand for early childhood education in rapidly developing neighbourhoods.