Urban planning dispute erupts over PPC HQ project in Athens

The issue has developed into a broader urban planning and environmental dispute, with local residents having filed an appeal before the Council of State seeking the cancellation of the project’s building permit. At the same time, the Athens Municipal Council has unanimously decided to support the residents’ demands.

The residents’ position is also backed by SADAS–Attica, the regional branch of the Panhellenic Association of Architects, which is calling for the preservation of the site as open space and urban green area and for its integration into the wider area designated for the Gouda Metropolitan Park.

19-acre site and 68,000 sq.m. building complex

According to SADAS–Attica, the former Plessas military camp covers an area of approximately 19,000 square metres and has been designated as “open space – urban green” under the General Urban Plan of the Municipality of Athens, based on Government Gazette 57/AAΠ/2014.

The association argues that the site is one of the few remaining areas in the Attica basin that could be developed into a large-scale green park, directly connected spatially with the area intended to form the Gouda Metropolitan Park.

By contrast, PPC has proceeded with plans for a new central administrative building after leasing the site from the National Defence Fund. According to information cited by SADAS–Attica, the proposed development includes a five-storey building with three underground levels, capacity for approximately 1,800 employees and 608 parking spaces.

The total built area is estimated at approximately 68,000 sq.m., of which around 30,500 sq.m. are included in the building coefficient calculation, while approximately 37,500 sq.m. are excluded.

The building programme includes executive offices and open-plan workspaces, an auditorium and media room, meeting rooms, archive facilities, a medical centre, cafeterias, a post office, parking areas and support facilities. A separate building is also planned for PPC’s commercial activities.

Urban planning dispute over land uses

The central point of disagreement concerns whether the proposed development is compatible with the designated land uses in the area.

The building permit was issued based on a Presidential Decree dated 15 July 1998, which amended the approved urban plan of the Municipality of Athens and was published in Government Gazette D’498. The decree provides for “general residential use” as well as specific building conditions and restrictions.

SADAS–Attica argues that the scale and intensity of the proposed uses raise questions regarding the compatibility of the complex with the character of the surrounding area.

According to the association’s position, the applicable Regulatory Plan stipulates that particular care must be taken in general residential areas to prevent their character from being altered through excessive development of major central functions, which should instead be located in organised urban centres.

SADAS estimates that locating metropolitan or city-wide administrative functions along major road corridors could place additional pressure on both urban planning and traffic conditions in the area.

Concerns over traffic and environmental impact

Opposition has also focused on the potential effects of operating a large administrative facility within a densely built urban district.

Residents and SADAS have expressed concerns over increased traffic congestion and environmental pressures resulting from employee commuting and the operation of hundreds of parking spaces.

The area also includes schools and hospitals, which, according to opponents of the project, makes the management of traffic and environmental impacts even more critical.

Second site also under scrutiny

At the same time, SADAS has highlighted a second, smaller plot of approximately 1,160 sq.m. located at the intersection of Kampourglou, Embrar and Xenopoulou streets, which belongs to the Bank of Greece.

The site was expropriated for public green space as early as 1981, while the expropriation was reimposed in 2006. According to the association, the expropriation has not been implemented and the plot now faces the risk of being developed.

SADAS argues that the previous municipal administration, rather than proceeding with compulsory expropriation, had proposed purchasing the site from the Bank of Greece and, if no agreement was reached, converting the property into a buildable plot.

Call for integration into Gouda Metropolitan Park

As part of the public debate over the future of these sites, SADAS–Attica is calling for their designation as “Open Spaces – Urban Green Areas” to be maintained in the forthcoming Local Urban Plan of the Municipality of Athens.

The association is also requesting that both the former Plessas military camp and the plot at Kampourglou–Embrar–Xenopoulou streets be incorporated into the wider Gouda Metropolitan Park area, arguing that they represent a natural spatial continuation of the park.

The association has further raised the broader issue of how inactive military properties within Attica’s densely built urban fabric should be used, calling for such sites to be prioritised for green spaces and socially beneficial uses.

The future of the former Plessas military camp is now expected to be determined both through judicial proceedings, following the appeal before the Council of State, and through Athens’ wider urban planning process.

At the heart of the debate is a broader question regarding the capital’s development model: whether the limited number of large urban sites should be used to create new administrative and business infrastructure required by a modern metropolis, or whether they should be preserved as open and green spaces in a city characterised by high building density and limited public areas.