Comment: The last nail in the student city’s coffin: Constant appeals are compromising funding, which will never be recovered

The media has recently reported on deputy city councillor Nico Kamppinen’s appeal, which continues the stream of complaints by Vaasan rakennusperintöyhdistys (an association handling architectural inheritance in Vaasa) to halt the Ahvenranta construction project, which has been in preparation for fourteen years. Additionally, the association has once again submitted a proposal to protect the dilapidated rowhouses. From a student perspective, the situation is extremely frustrating and worrying.

The idea that Kamppinen and the heritage association have about the current situation is distorted and harmful to both students and the City of Vaasa. The proposals to renovate the old, dilapidated wooden houses and to move new construction elsewhere do not solve the acute housing shortage in Vaasa. The VOAS project has been prepared for years, and it has taken significant resources.

The Centre for State-Subsidised Housing Construction has granted the project funding, but it is valid only until November. It is misleading to claim that the project could be transferred elsewhere: the funding is tied to this specific site and plan. If the project in Ahvenranta is cancelled, the funding does not transfer to another location: it is lost completely. Can Vaasa afford losing a 20-million-euro investment to its area? 

Similar funding will likely not be available in the future, as the authority of the Centre for State-Subsidised Housing Construction to grant funding will diminish. Additionally, the current buildings are beyond repair, and students should not have to live in apartments that have been in poor condition for a long time.

Currently the worry is that the old buildings must be demolished, but new ones will not be built. This would mean that the number of student apartments in Vaasa would decrease even further. The housing shortage directly impacts Vaasa’s ability to attract and retain students. If Vaasa wants to continue attracting future talent, the basic living conditions must be up to date. Retaining students is the key to keep talents and taxpayers committed to Vaasa. This project alone will not solve the problems impacting student housing, but it is a step in the right direction.

Solving the housing shortage seems hopeless amidst the constant complaints. It feels almost impossible to imagine any future student housing project seeing daylight, when complaints have delayed this one as far as they have. The Student Union of the University of Vaasa demands that Vaasan rakennusperintöyhdistys withdraw its demand and that political and official instances handle this matter promptly. The future of Vaasa is in your hands!