Hellinikon Metropolitan Park Plan Open for Public Input

An impression of Hellinikon. Photo Source: https://thehellinikon.com

Plans for the development of a metropolitan park and recreation area at Athens’ former airport in Hellinikon have been opened for public consultation with the environment ministry inviting residents of surrounding suburbs to submit proposals to their municipalities.

The former airport at Hellinikon. Photo Source: Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority

The 2,000,000m2 park, which investors claim will “rival London’s Hyde Park and New York City’s Central Park in size, beauty and functionality”, will extend from the coastal front along Vouliagmenis Avenue, connecting the municipalities of Alimos, Glyfada and Ellinko-Argyroupouli with the waterfront and will include a restored 3.5km car-free coastal zone, a one-kilometer public beach and an aquarium.

According to the master plan as presented by the investors, the park will consist of seven precincts each with a distinct character where specialized activity – ie sports, nature, exhibition, sculpture – will take place. The park will include indoor and outdoor sports facilities, open-air art installations, a multi-storey observation tower and restaurant, and an eco-cultivation park made up of farming plots. A farmers’ market will also operate on the site while the former airport’s air traffic control tower and the eastern airport hangars will be restored and transformed into cultural interest areas.

Investors aim to make the Hellinikon park a key tourist attraction in Attica.

Once the public input period is completed, the relevant municipalities will draw up their formal proposal and present it to the ministry.

The Hellinikon project. Photo Source: https://thehellinikon.com

Interested parties can discuss their proposals at the Elliniko-Argyroupoli city council on September 4.

In relevant news, aiming to conclude one of the country’s biggest privatization projects by the end of the year, the Hellenic Gaming Commission must by August 31 announce an international tender for a casino license in order to select a preferred bidder and move ahead with the highly-delayed 8-billion-euro Hellinikon project.