The Board of Directors of the State Employment Service (DYPA) has decided to create a modern shopping center in the facilities of the Olympic Village, which have not been used for almost 20 years and are located in Tracomakedones and accommodate more than 2,200 houses and 10,000 inhabitants. A memorandum of cooperation has already been signed with TAIPED, which will continue to prepare a special economic and technical study in order to announce a tender and select a private person with whom a concession agreement will be signed. This process is expected to last at least 3-4 years until a shopping center is built with stores such as supermarkets, restaurants, clothing and footwear stores, coffee shops, bakeries, banks, telephone shops, as well as tutoring centers, beauty salons, gyms and 5X5 fields, but now all procedures have been initiated with the consent of the majority of the associations of the settlement, as well as the municipality of Acharna. The goal is to restore the functionality of the residential complex, improve the quality of life of the residents and integrate, even with such a long delay, the village into the wider area.

The Olympic village with a total area of ​​1,240,220 m2 was built in “special” conditions, which is a new fact in the country’s urban history, as it is the first time such a large-scale dual-use residential complex. In other words, it was designed to meet the specifications and requirements of two phases of “exploitation” of extended use: the Olympic period, when it hosted athletes, and the post-Olympic period, when the houses were made available to beneficiaries. the former Organization of Workers’ Housing (comrade OEK), in whose possession, after forced expropriation, the entire area passed to (Patima Dimogli). Now there are 28 typical settlements in it, that is, the same number of residential areas, where there are 2292 residential buildings that provide housing for about 10,000 citizens.

The first study, commissioned by Deloitte Business Solutions on behalf of DYPA, identified three use cases for the city centre, i.e. building blocks 3a and 4 (OT 3a and OT 4) with an area of ​​11,097 sqm. and 92,080 sq.m. respectively: the creation of a shopping center, the creation of an entertainment center and the creation of a business center, a community of knowledge and innovation.

The village of Tracomakedones has over 2,200 houses and 10,000 inhabitants.

Based on both the original plan from 20 years ago and the needs of the residents as they were written down at the board meeting. DYPA in March 2023, it was decided to proceed with the implementation of the first scenario, i.e. creation of a shopping center and related sports, educational and cultural facilities. In April, DYPA commander Spyros Protopsaltis signed a memorandum of cooperation with TAIPED for the effective use of Employment Service property, and in May, DYPA sent the document to the Fund to begin the recycling process.

As Mr. Protopsaltis told K, this closes another unresolved issue and opens up the prospect of developing the territory of the Olympic Village, while creating new jobs. “After almost 20 years of inactivity, we are moving forward so that the state can finally fulfill its obligations to residents and strengthen the local economy and society in practice, responding to the just request of authorities and citizens,” he says characteristically.

It should be noted that according to Deloitte’s research, retail and entertainment stores, restaurants, household goods, a supermarket, a hypermarket, a playground, etc. will be established in the mall. And this is due to the fact that a noticeable shortage of retail stores has been found to meet the daily needs of residents, as well as nearby areas. At the same time, of course, a large shopping center will create new jobs. According to the company’s initial calculations, only 550 workers will be required during construction, and at least 1,240 people during operation, mostly with secondary education.

The final plan will now be presented to TAIPED, which has conducted a comprehensive economic and technical study. It will stipulate whether the concession contract will be for 30 or 60 years, and will determine the amount of capital investment required, the amount of rent for DYPA, as well as its general financial situation. Based on a memorandum of cooperation for a period of two years with the possibility of an extension for another 2 years, TAIPED will assist in efforts to use DYPA properties to its advantage and strengthen policies within its purview, such as housing assistance and labor protection.