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Urban transformation of former airport in Athens advances with billion-dollar project that includes high-end housing, iconic tower, and integrated tourist complex on the Athenian Riviera.
The area of the former International Airport of Ellinikon in Athens is advancing to become a new urban and residential hub on the Athenian Riviera.
Within this broader project, the Promenade Heights complex is expected to be completed in the first half of 2027, with 79 residences distributed across nine buildings with circular and elliptical shapes, according to official information from the development.
The neighborhood is part of the megaproject The Ellinikon, described by the developer as the largest ongoing urban regeneration in Europe.
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Promenade Heights project in Athens takes shape
The site, which hosted international flights from the Greek capital for decades, ceased operations in 2001, when Athens transferred its air operations to the new Eleftherios Venizelos airport.
Since then, the old infrastructure has been associated with years of abandonment and temporary uses, until it was definitively included in the urban renewal plan for the coastal strip south of the city.
The proposal now combines housing, hospitality, leisure, commerce, and large urban facilities in an area of 6.2 million square meters.
Circular architecture and luxury residential proposal
In the residential area known as Little Athens, Promenade Heights was designed by 314 Architecture Studio and features five-story buildings, aimed at low-rise occupancy in contrast to other vertical landmarks of the complex.
The units range from one to four bedrooms, and the official communication of the project highlights private gardens on the ground floor, penthouses with terraces and jacuzzis, as well as common areas integrated into the landscaping and a green promenade that connects residents to the central park of the development.
The developer describes the complex as a composition of nine “circular and elliptical” blocks surrounded by nature, with views of the sea, the park, and the mountains.
The architecture firm states that the design seeks to combine natural light, continuity between indoor and outdoor spaces, and a more organic reading of the Mediterranean landscape.
Instead of repeating the logic of isolated towers, the project bets on lower and curved volumes, with continuous facades and outdoor areas distributed among the apartments.
From abandoned airport to new neighborhood in Athens
The change goes beyond a high-end condominium.
The Ellinikon was conceived to occupy the area of the former airport with housing, offices, shopping destinations, sports facilities, hotels, and public spaces, within a concept of a compact and connected city.
In the institutional material, the development is presented as a new centrality of Greater Athens, aimed at both residents and visitors, with strong integration between the waterfront, metropolitan park, and everyday services.
On the coastline of the project, the developer plans new beachfront hotels, in addition to an internationally branded hotel already announced for the region.
In 2023, the group announced that the Mandarin Oriental, Athens is expected to open in the summer of 2027, featuring a five-star hotel and associated luxury residences.
In parallel, the area also hosts plans for an integrated resort with a hotel, conventions, entertainment, and a casino, reinforcing the tourist and high-end profile of the intervention.
Riviera Tower will be a vertical landmark of the project
Another highlight is the Riviera Tower, a residential building of 200 meters and 50 floors that has become the main visual reference of the new district.
The tower is presented on the official website as the first “green” residential skyscraper in Greece and one of the central elements of the coastal front of The Ellinikon.
The institutional material states that construction is ongoing, while the commercial page of the development presents different numbers for the number of residences, indicating that updates are still in progress on official channels.
This difference in data does not alter the scale of the project but shows how the transformation of the former airport area is still under development and subject to communication adjustments.
In a scenario of simultaneous construction, The Ellinikon brings together low-rise housing, like Promenade Heights, and iconic structures aimed at the international luxury market, premium commerce, and tourism.
The proposal is to reposition the Athenian Riviera as an urban and economic showcase of the Greek capital, with a direct impact on housing, services, and waterfront occupancy.
Complex with hotels, casino, and entertainment
In the leisure and hospitality axis, the integrated resort associated with Hard Rock and GEK TERNA is officially described as a € 1.5 billion investment, featuring a five-star hotel, international casino, convention center, and entertainment areas.
This branch of the project helps explain why the former airport area is being treated not just as a real estate operation but as an urban reconfiguration with regional ambition.
The promise is to bring together housing, tourism, consumption, and events in a single territory, supported by new infrastructures and the enhancement of Athens’ waterfront.
At the same time, the official discourse insists on creating open spaces and connecting with the park and the coast.
The region will have access to green areas, sports facilities, pedestrian routes, and commercial enterprises, in an attempt to balance the appeal of the luxury real estate market with broader uses of urban space.
In practice, Promenade Heights appears as one of the residential pieces of this larger puzzle, erected where runways, hangars, and terminals of the airport that marked Athenian aviation for more than six decades once operated.
Within this context, the official forecast for Promenade Heights remains focused on the first half of 2027, while other deliveries of The Ellinikon progress on their own timelines.
The case summarizes a rare urban turnaround: a decommissioned airport in the early 2000s ceases to be a symbol of abandonment to become the foundation of a new neighborhood, surrounded by high-end residences, a monumental residential tower, hotels, commercial areas, and a complex with a casino on the coast of Athens.
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