The protected Härmän sairaala, a former tuberculosis sanatorium built in 1933 in Kauhava, is in very bad condition because of vandalism. Windows have been smashed, fixtures broken and objects thrown out through the windows, Yle reported.
The South Ostrobothnia hospital district put the building up for sale in 2020. It was sold years ago to a company that has not carried out any activity in it, and even the city of Kauhava has not managed to reach the owner. The building is currently owned by Päijät-Hämeen senioripalvelut oy, whose owner is a Helsinki company, BDR-Kamppi oy, which keeps a postal address in Nilsiä.
Yle called a number for BDR-Kamppi found in a register of Suomen asiakastieto oy, and Mikko Nivamo answered. Nivamo said plans for the hospital building exist but that he cannot comment on them because he has been told not to speak. He did not say who told him.
Asked who could describe the plans, Nivamo said no such party exists.
Kauhava mayor Vesa Rantala said the city's means of pressure on the owner are fairly small. "Through building supervision we can issue action demands and similar, but if the owner does not go ahead and carry them out, the city's means remain quite limited at that point," Rantala said. The city's former technical director tried to reach the owner several years ago by phone and email without success.
Kauhava property and construction manager Maria Annala described the state of the site. "The situation is hopeless. This was once a fine building and in a short time it went to ruin. The copper and all the valuable metal has gone, by the owner, and the rest of the buildings have been left for vandals to destroy," Annala said.
The city has no information on what purpose Päijät-Hämeen senioripalvelut bought the property for.
The Härmän sairaala area is marked in the South Ostrobothnia regional plan as a built cultural environment, and the buildings are protected on their exteriors. Seinäjoki museum building researcher Susanna Hietamäki said the buildings could still be restored. "The museum just has no means to intervene. We can only appeal that the owners would respect this shared building heritage, to which many locals have important memories," she said.
Kauhava technical director Sami Tuomisto knew the hospital about twenty years ago, when a relative was treated there, and said its current state came as a surprise. "I have not followed the hospital's situation since. It does stop you when you look at this facade. From the point of view of the urban environment, this is a sad site that should not exist in the city's area," Tuomisto said.
He estimated that repair costs would be quite high because the building has old technology and asbestos was apparently used in its construction.
A few years ago the hotel Mäntylinna also operated in the Härmän sairaala area. The hotel was closed and the building has since suffered the same fate, with windows broken and some items inside thrown out.