According to a ruling by Greece’s highest court, a hotel in the center of Athens has three months to tear down its two top floors that are obstructing the view of the Acropolis.
Coco-Mat Athens BC, located in the Koukaki area at the foot of the Acropolis, has been ordered by the Council of State to conduct pertinent investigations and go through with the destruction of the building’s final two floors within the next three months.
The Tourism Ministry has also revoked the license for the hotel until it carries out the court order.
Ble Kedros, the real estate company that owns the building has announced it will appeal against the court ruling and the Tourism Ministry decision.
Hotel blocked the view of Acropolis
The hotel — whose “breathtaking terrace” had been its selling point — opened its doors in 2019. Citizens enraged about the ten-story establishment blocking their own views of the citadel took the case to the highest court in the land.
Greece has set height restrictions in place for buildings near the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. The specific regulations and restrictions are implemented to preserve the historical and aesthetic significance of the Acropolis and its surrounding area.
The intention is to protect the view of the Acropolis and ensure that modern buildings do not overshadow or detract from its visual prominence.
The hotel was one of two developments that infuriated neighbors in February 2019 after going above the zone’s 24-meter building height restriction by 12.5 meters.
Greece’s highest court, the Council of State, has since adjudicated that in future, structures in the area must be 21 meters or less. The judgment came after the court revoked building permission for an even larger hotel due to go up in the area, with three underground parking lots and a pool garden on top.
Locals also claimed that the structure was situated near the Acropolis’ historic region, a renowned UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The 2019 public outcry spurred the relevant ministries to look into any zoning code loopholes that would permit such actions. “When the Acropolis is harmed, in essence, our civilization is harmed too,” Lina Mendoni, the Greek culture minister said at the time. “The Acropolis is a symbol. It is not simply a monument.”
Since then the City Planning of Athens imposed two fines on Ble Kedros for the hotel. The first amounting to 4.7 million euros concerns the construction of the top floors of the hotel and the second amounting to 2.3 million euros for delays in demolition.
The latter is expected to be reimposed for each year that the illegal constructions are not demolished.
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