Tallinn to buy out Kalamaja Basic School building from Sõõrumaa for €5 million
Tallinn city government has made the fundamental decision to buy out the Kalamaja Basic School building from its private partner, the Urmas Sõõrumaa-owned Vivatex Holding. Valued at €5.15 million, the deal will make it possible to move ahead with building an addition onto the Põhja-Tallinn school building.
"The decision took more time because the negotiations took more time," explained Tallinn Mayor Jevgeni Ossinovski (SDE). "They were led by Tallinn's finance director and city secretary, thanks to whom the price was more favorable than the initial offer."
According to Ossinovski, the city government made the decision on Monday, "Which will also give us the opportunity to begin the addition process for Kalamaja Basic School, a step awaited by the community."
Deputy Mayor for Education Aleksei Jašin (Eesti 200) recalled that the Kalamaja school's expansion saga has been ongoing for 12 years.
"The city government has promised to address the shortage of space," Jašin confirmed. "Following the city government's decision, we will begin drawing up the bill, and once the [city] council has made its decision, we can discuss other matters related to the school's expansion, such as its detailed plan and architectural competition."
The execution of the transaction is awaiting approval by Tallinn City Council, and funds for the purchase are slated to be allocated in the city's second supplementary budget for 2024.
Located in Põhja-Tallinn, at Vabriku 18, Kalamaja Basic School has been awaiting an addition for more than a decade. Until now, this addition has been held up by a public-private partnership (PPP) contract concluded with businessman Urmas Sõõrumaa's company Vivatex Holding that will run through 2036. According to the deputy mayor for education.
In 2006, the City of Tallinn signed 30-year management agreements for ten schools with two private firms. These private firms invested in the schools' renovations, manage the buildings and rent them back to the city in turn.
OÜ Vivatex Holding manages five schools in Tallinn: Kristiine High School, Tallinn High School No. 32, Laagna Kindergarten-Elementary School, Pelgulinna High School and Kalamaja Basic School.
Contracted out to BCA Center were Nõmme High School, Sikupilli High School (now on the balance sheet of Kadriorg German High School), Tallinn Joint High School, Haabersti Russian High School as well as Karjamaa High School.
Earlier expert assessments of the contracts in question have revealed that it would be cheaper for the city to buy the contracts out and manage the schools itself.
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Editor: Mari Peegel, Aili Vahtla
