Merko to begin construction of Estonia’s largest office building in Ülemiste City

Ülemiste City is launching the development of the largest office building in Estonia – a 44,000 square metre twin tower. Under the design and construction contract signed today in the value of EUR 17.4 million, Merko will erect the first building of the twin towers with an area of 22,000 square metres.

The construction work of the twin towers with a total floor area of 44,000 square metres, which Mainor Ülemiste as developer will erect at Valukoja 8 in Tallinn, will begin in early 2015. The new impressive office building will be named the Öpik Building after Ernst Julius Öpik, an internationally recognised academician and one of the founders of the Estonian school of astronomers.

Margus Nõlvak, chairman of the Management Board of Mainor Ülemiste, said that as the twin towers will be the largest office building in Estonia, they wanted to opt for the most experienced local construction company to build the first stage. “To make sure that the Öpik Building will be the most impressive office building in Ülemiste City and to provide excellent conditions for thousands of people who will be working there, we have set very high expectations for the main contractor of the building,” Nõlvak explained, and claimed that alongside office space, the new office building has been designed so it will offer an environment conducive to the development of companies and their employees.

“Merko as a contractor is honoured to further contribute to the development of the Ülemiste City commercial campus. The Öpik Building is an extremely interesting project, both architecturally and technically; it will be both an exciting challenge for us and an impressive addition to our portfolio of references,” said Jaan Mäe, member of the Management Board of AS Merko Ehitus Eesti.

“We have a very clear vision in developing Ülemiste City as a City of Smart Business,” said chairman of the Supervisory Council of Mainor Ülemiste, Ülo Pärnits, who explained that the new development is the company’s next step towards stimulating the Estonian economy and local knowledge-based entrepreneurship and for attracting many more foreign companies to Estonia. Pärnits says a far-reaching goal of the campus is to become a real pull centre for the IT cluster, as it is already home to many successful IT companies and an e-Estonia Showroom.

Floor 13 of the first tower of the Öpik Building, with views over Tallinn Airport, Lake Ülemiste and the Old Town, will accommodate offices with its floor area of over 14,000 square metres. The ground floor of the building will feature a spacious lobby and a café, and the basement will accommodate a bicycle park for employees and more than 400 car parking places that tenants can use free of charge.