Athens’ ‘backyard’ prepares to undergo mass redevelopment

The unnatural emptiness of the Eleonas metro station, the 1 with the lowest regular rider traffic successful the full web of Athens, is an representation that whitethorn σύντομα beryllium a happening of the past. 

Climbing up the stairs to the street level, astatine the intersection of Iera Odos and Agia Annis, your regard sweeps implicit the harbingers of change: the sporadic “we are moving” signs connected the dimmed windows of each kinds of small shops and transport companies, the surreal remnants of Sunday’s Scavengers’ Flea Market, whose days are astir apt numbered, but, supra all, the silhouettes of the bulldozers successful the distance, where the caller stadium of Panathinaikos soccer nine is being built.

All eyes whitethorn beryllium connected that task for the clip being, but the authorities is working retired the cardinal points of a dynamic, visionary and analyzable program for the “next day” of the wider area. “It’s amended to program everything present than to find ourselves facing aged problems,” an authoritative astatine the premier minister’s bureau told Kathimerini. 

In immoderate case, the historical territory of Eleonas, lone three kilometers from the halfway of Athens, has been referred to from clip to clip arsenic a valuable biology reserve for the Greek superior by a multitude of enlightened architects and municipality planners. But present we are talking astir something wholly different.

The district’s post-war diminution (olive mills, soap factories and ceramic factories coexisted for decades with tanneries, metallurgical plants and different much oregon little dense concern uses) whitethorn person taken it disconnected the representation of the metropolis but it besides saved it from the unbridled operation and the “antiparochi” – a Greek system of exchanging onshore for apartments, which flourished aft the Second World War.

A woman’s coat, a remnant from Sunday’s Scavengers’ Flea Market connected Agias Annis Street, the main roadworthy of the area. In the inheritance rises the skeleton of the stands of the aboriginal stadium of Panathinaikos soccer club. [Aggelos Barai]

Today, the main productive enactment of the country is carried retired by 390 transport companies which, with their 4,000 regular truck routes, load not lone the small streets of Eleonas but chiefly the bottlenecked Kifissos Avenue, which is simply a fewer 100 meters away.

The authorities sees an accidental down the planned so-called treble redevelopment (the instauration of a caller Panathinaikos stadium successful Votanikos and the conversion of the team’s historical stadium connected Alexandras Avenue into a parkland with underground parking). By revising the 1995 statesmanlike decree – which regulates leases of concern oregon commercialized premises – it will institutionalize caller uses of onshore for housing, education, civilization and healthcare successful the wider country of Eleonas. The caller statesmanlike decree will springiness the greenish airy to the rezoning of a vast country astir the caller stadium, with the main extremity of promoting κοινωνικά and affordable lodging successful the coming years. 

The thought is supported by the accessibility of the country to transport, chiefly done the Eleonas metro station, which today easy maintains the title of the slightest fashionable station successful the network, with a regular mean of 2,446 passengers.

The coordinator of the inaugural is Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis, who explained to Kathimerini the unprecedented dimensions of the project. “We are talking astir an country of much than 2,200 acres when the corresponding country of the aged airdrome successful Elliniko – where the largest municipality operation task successful Europe is taking spot – is estimated astatine 1,500 acres. We are breaking these 2,200 acres of Eleonas into three concentric circles. The first, with an country of 54 acres, concerns the sports infrastructure of Panathinaikos FC, Erasitechnis [the amateur club], the Municipality of Athens and the greenish space. The second, covering an country of 346 acres, is chiefly where the transport companies that we want to relocate to an organized country successful Fyli presently operate, while the third and last ringing concerns the remaining area.”

It is evident that successful the archetypal phase, accent will beryllium placed connected the 2nd ellipse (the archetypal is proceeding independently with a completion skyline of 2027), with the main nonsubjective being to code Greece’s lodging crisis.

Not conscionable residences

This does not needfully translate into successive blocks of flat buildings successful the caller blocks that will look from the rezoning of the area. As the authorities has said, captious variables of the existent statesmanlike decree such arsenic the gathering coefficient, the permitted tallness of buildings and, much importantly, the proviso for communal greenish areas covering 30% of the onshore – which today hardly reaches 3% – will stay intact. At the aforesaid time, the maestro program that will travel the redevelopment program for Votanikos will besides supply for other, complementary uses with innovative, nonpolluting features. 

However, the astir important step is the drafting and signing of the caller statesmanlike decree, the organization ground that will pave the way for the caller epoch of Eleonas and will accelerate important projects successful the wider region. The astir decisive is the instauration of the Fyli Business Park, a task that aims to relocate the transport companies of Votanikos to an organized determination encompassing 107 acres astatine the Spilies country of the Municipality of Fyli. This portion of the task will besides assistance relieve congestion connected Kifissos Avenue. A bid for the concession of the task has attracted 4 campaigner investors, and €21 cardinal has been earmarked from the EU Recovery Fund to supply incentives.

“Only if the transport companies permission and the trucks stop moving up and down the country will superior players from the existent property assemblage beryllium convinced to put successful Eleonas,” says an experienced existent property cause who is progressive successful the country and is already signaling a notable emergence successful prices successful the Votanikos district, successful view of the completion of the caller stadium successful 2027.

Another important infrastructure task that has been plagued by interminable delays – it was archetypal included successful a statesmanlike decree arsenic aboriginal arsenic 2005 – is the operation of the Central Intercity Bus Station (KSYL) connected an Attiko Metro plot, adjacent to the Eleonas metro station. It is intended to regenerate the decrepit Liosion and Kifissos intercity autobus stations and run arsenic a ample transport terminal. The studies of the KSYL person been completed and approved by the related ministries and what is present required is for the authorities to find the project’s implementation body, done a concession.

A small elevation has been created successful Votanikos by the earthworks for the operation of the caller stadium for Panathinaikos soccer club. The unique view of the Acropolis Hill and the Parthenon has been incorporated into its design. [Aggelos Barai]

Battle with time

The biggest situation for the authorities plans – beyond the bureaucracy and the analyzable tangle of responsibilities betwixt municipalities, organizations, institutions and individuals – is for the cognition of the Panathinaikos stadium to motorboat a sustained economical improvement of the area. 

On the ιστοσελίδα of the erstwhile Athenian Paper Mill – very adjacent to the caller stadium – a concern enactment hub, Votanikos Office Park, is already being developed with ultra-modern bureau buildings and greenish spaces extending implicit a total country of 78,200 square meters and a fund of €152 million. The work is expected to beryllium completed successful astir 18 months, meaning astatine the extremity of 2027 oregon aboriginal 2028, when the concern parkland will beryllium afloat operational, it will big astir 4,000 employees.

Progress has besides been made regarding the aboriginal of the unfinished buying halfway of the once-powerful Babis Vovos International Construction group. The immense operation ιστοσελίδα that lies a abbreviated region from the stadium work has been acquired by Piraeus Bank and Alpha Bank, with the astir apt script being its improvement arsenic an bureau analyzable with commercialized uses connected the crushed floors, covering a total country of 50,000 square meters.

As things stand, the premier minister’s bureau prioritizes the signing of the caller statesmanlike decree for Votanikos to unafraid the redevelopment of the country within the existent governing term. The champion script would beryllium for the maestro program of the 2nd “circle” of 346 acres to beryllium prepared earlier the 2027 elections. Hatzidakis often emphasizes the agelong timeline of the project, for which operation will apt start successful the adjacent decade. This is due to the fact that it will necessitate large infrastructure projects – from roads to rainwater and sewage networks – but besides a multitude of environmental, geological, and street readying studies that person not adjacent begun to beryllium commissioned astatine this time.

However, further actions person been enactment connected the table that will familiarize Athenians with the upcoming redevelopment. One of these is the pedestrianization of a vertical roadworthy (Polykarpou Street) that will link residential and recreational areas successful Gazi with the halfway of Eleonas. The authorities is besides discussing the removal of the nationalist transport relation OASA’s depot from Votanikos, while important benefits will originate for the wider country if the operation of the Archaeological Museum of the City of Athens successful the territory of Akadimia Platonos yet proceeds. In immoderate case, to guarantee the effectiveness of such a demanding and analyzable project, special spatial plans will beryllium inevitable, while a stable nationalist administrative structure will beryllium needed to show the redevelopment.

‘The DNA of Athens’

Despite the wholly other content that an unsuspecting visitor has today, the Greek state’s attempts to enforce rules connected the uncontrolled enactment successful Eleonas – the “backyard of Athens,” arsenic it was called – consisting of heavy polluting industries that were marginally legal, spell backmost galore decades. 

From 1954 to 1995, studies, laws and decrees succeeded each different without immoderate substantial result. Everything was prohibited and everything was permitted astatine the aforesaid time. For example, the Regulatory (or Strategic) Plan of Athens, enacted successful 1985, provided for 70% concern and manufacturing uses of mean and mild nuisance, while the remaining 30% was allocated for wide lodging (18%) and special uses. Of course, nary of this was implemented. The effect was that Eleonas became established successful the consciousness of galore radical arsenic an municipality “black hole,” characterized by utmost biology degradation, and emerging arsenic a tract of informal economical sectors, conscionable a fewer kilometers from Omonia Square and the Ministry of Finance. The lone happening that changed during Greece’s authorities indebtedness situation was that the declining people of concern and manufacturing accumulation intensified, while the sectors of transport and storage (logistics) expanded.

A deliveryman connected a motorcycle stops successful beforehand of the abandoned carcass of the buying halfway that existent property developer Babis Vovos began constructing successful 2008. About 390 transport companies are presently operating successful Eleonas. [Aggelos Barai]

Andreas Kourkoulas, designer and prof emeritus of the National Technical University of Athens, points retired the request for the state to play a decisive relation successful the aboriginal of Eleonas to debar failures that Athens has so acold avoided but different European megacities paid dearly for.

“Athens was developed based connected the exemplary of the small metropolis block, a logic that saved it from phenomena such arsenic κοινωνικά isolation, loneliness and accrued delinquency observed successful different European cities where the principles of modern municipality readying were applied, with the ubiquitous detached buildings, ample residential complexes and assembly estates,” helium tells Kathimerini. “The Athenian acquisition favors accidental encounters, κοινωνικά mixing and liveliness.” 

Kourkoulas has nary objection to the municipality improvement of Eleonas, “as agelong arsenic we don’t marque the mistakes we made successful the caller past and unluckily proceed to make,” helium says. He cites arsenic much typical examples the Olympic Village successful Thrakomakedones, the informal concern parkland connected the circular interchange of Kifissias Avenue, and the improvement exemplary emerging successful the large improvement program successful Elliniko. “If you study each three of these cases, you will spot that they person thing to bash with the DNA of Athens, which is the metropolis block. And successful Eleonas there is simply a hazard of being dragged into old-fashioned designs with closed-off areas, strictly demarcated areas and layouts that will beryllium much reminiscent of an American metropolis than Athens.”

So what is the well-known designer recommending? To physique a territory similar Kypseli successful the street-lined Eleonas, I ask. “To physique a territory similar Kypseli with the bully things of Kypseli and debar the problems of Kypseli,” helium replies. As an example, helium refers us to the municipality readying exemplary “Athens by 4” that helium had projected to erstwhile situation curate Tina Birbili successful 2010-2011, which provided for the unification of 4 metropolis blocks where cars would lone beryllium allowed astir the perimeter, and the resulting escaped spaces would beryllium formed into pedestrian paths, motorcycle paths, playgrounds and communal greenish spaces. “Eleonas gives us a large accidental to optimize our ain exemplary of municipality acquisition that others are presently studying, recognizing and copying, and it would beryllium a shame to miss such a uncommon opportunity,” helium says.