Athens prepares to kickstart long-awaited Double Regeneration project

Through the initiative, two massive supra-local metropolitan areas for relaxation, culture and sport will be created in the Greek capital

Following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation between the Greek Minister of Development and Investment Adonis Georgiadism, the Mayor of Athens Kostas Bakoyannis and several other interested parties, work is finally ready to begin on the capital’s long-awaited Double Regeneration project.

In essence, the project is a large spatial and urban intervention that will lead to the creation of two supra-local - metropolitan areas of recreation, sports and culture at Alexandras Avenue and the Botanical Garden of the Municipality of Athens.

Massive investments in the future of the city

As the name would suggest, the project is comprised of two separate actions. The first will be carried out at Alexandras Avenue, where today one can find the Panathinaikos stadium. At this spot free green and recreational area of ​​18 acres will be created, alongside a sports museum, a locker room, a recreation and dining area and an underground parking lot for up to 700 parking spaces.

Meanwhile, at the second location at the Athens Botanical Garden, a 40,000-seat soccer field will be erected alongside numerous sports facilities, an Olympic size swimming pool, 80 acres of green areas and several different environmental projects that will protect the area from natural disasters. Work on the sites is expected to start by the end of 2021 with a timetable for completion of around 36 months.

Upon the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding, the mayor of Greece, Kostas Bakoyannis, stated that "Athens, step by step, is closing the accounts of the past. Breathing and development projects for the city, which have remained on the back burner for decades, are entering a trajectory of creation and completion. It was our strategic decision to make the Double Regeneration project a reality.

We have committed, studied, collaborated, consulted and today we are giving the start signal for a series of projects that create new data for the capital. The Double Regeneration has been waiting for many years and has been anticipated by all Athenians. They heard words, they heard promises and many theories. The big bet of this municipal authority, however, is for the whole city to go from theory to practice.”