Several Kopli residents spoke about the region, its development and future on Vikerraadio's end-of-year show "Löpp hea, kvik hea".

Local historian Jaak Juske said several virtues of city life come together in Kopli. "Joking around a little and pretending to be a real estate agent, Kopli is like an Estonian dream neighborhood — a seaside green area slightly removed from the city center, yet still in the heart of the capital," he told the program.

Changes are taking place every day, he said: "For many, Kopli has had a somewhat negative image, but those rough times are definitely in the past now, and today it is perfectly safe here."

The historian said that looking back in time, the toughest times in Kopli were when the Russian Empire collapsed as the crime rate spiked.

However, much of the district's architectural heritage has been preserved, renovated and given a new lease of life. New residential projects are aslo being developed.

"For many, Põhjala Quarter (Põhjala kvartal), a historic rubber boot factory, has become a symbol of Kopli's revival. It is another example of how a closed industrial site has reopened and found a new beginning," he said.

"At the same time, the redevelopment of Kopli liinid, which began exactly nine years ago, has played a significant role. The remaining workers' houses from the late Tsarist era were beautifully restored, some were rebuilt as replicas, and completely new residential spaces were created alongside them. This development has brought a completely new and somewhat more affluent population to the area," Juske said. "Today, we can talk about the renaissance of Kopli."

The historian said it is important that new residents also understand the area's history and want to preserve its heritage. He said people who attend his tours are interested.

A quarter of Kopli peninsula is still not accessible to the public.

"It is particularly interesting to see what the future holds for the currently closed industrial area. Since real estate prices in Kopli as a whole are rising, it might not be the most reasonable option to maintain a large industrial zone in the middle of the city. The development of Kopli will certainly continue," Juske believes.

Opening a bakery in Kopli

Since 2019, the bakery Karjase Sai has operated at Põhjala tehas. Co-founder Kenneth Karjane said the first time he went to see the premises, wind blew through the building.

"Since we did not have a lot of money, we thought it might be smarter to do it here," he explained, when asked how the idea to open a bakery in Kopli arose.

"We understood that we are in Kopli — maybe there is not a daily foot traffic of 10,000 people here, but the area is developing, and reportedly more people are coming through. Five years later, we see that more people do come by. But we thought the Kopli area seemed cool!"

Kopli has significantly changed over the last five years, Karjane said.

"Bakers' days start early. When I was driving here at three or four in the morning, there were a few more ambulances and police cars on the road — every morning, really. It definitely woke me up when there were two police vans on the street tending to someone," he said. "But over time, that became less frequent. Now, I have not seen anything like that at all."

Over time, people have also become less resistant to traveling outside of Kesklinn. It takes approximately half an hour to get to the Põhjala tehas by public transport.

"Especially when we first opened, people kept telling us, 'You're so far away, it is hard to get there,'" Karjane recalled. "This is definitely not a shopping mall with 10,000 people passing through daily — you have to make a special trip to come here. But we are okay with that. It probably filters people a bit as well. Those who really want to come here, come for a reason."

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