US President-elect Donald Trump had tried to invest in Greece twice, namely in the former Athens airport at Ellinikon, but both his attempts proved fruitless.
The first time Trump openly expressed interest in investing in the prime seaside property of Ellinikon airport was in 2007.
Trump met with then Greece’s Finance Minister Giorgos Alogoskoufis and deputy Yiannis Papathanasiou in his office in New York to discuss the issue.
However, Trump’s proposal to buy the 6,500-hectare land and invest in the construction of a seaside luxury town with skyscrapers, luxury homes, a hotel, and a casino were rejected since the environment ministry had decided that the area would be transformed into a public metropolitan park.
At the time, Trump was accompanied by well-known Greek-American architect Costas Kondylis, who has been involved in the construction of several Trump buildings in New York, including the Trump World Tower, Trump International Hotel and Tower, Silver Towers, and Riverside South.
Reportedly, Kondylis had already drawn the blueprint for the development in Ellinikon. Kondylis, known for his conventional designs of skyscrapers in Manhattan at a time when developers were either building low-rises or unconventional high-rises, died on August 17, 2018 of complications related to Parkinson’s disease.
Trump returns for a second bid to invest in Greece
Trump returned with his proposal in 2012, with Greece being in the middle of an economic crisis and having recently launched the Hellenic Republic Assets Development Fund (TAIPED) to handle privatizations. The Ellinikon Airport was for sale, and the tender was already in progress.
The President-elect had placed his bid, but Lamda Development of the Latsis group won the auction.
Allegedly, the TAIPED tender favored Lamda Development, thereby rejecting the Trump proposal file as a result of insufficient data. When Trump representatives submitted additional data, the elections of May 6, 2012 “froze” the tender procedures.
Following the elections, opposition parties opposed the privatization of Ellinikon, leading to further and longer delays of the tender procedures. Trump’s interest waned after the indefinite delays. The deal of the transfer of Ellinikon to Lamda Development was finally signed in June 2016.
The Ellinikon, Europe’s largest urban regeneration endeavor, is poised to become a smart and sustainable new city within Athens.
LAMDA Development says that its ambitious vision for revitalizing the former international airport in Elliniko encompasses the creation of an unparalleled coastal park, cutting-edge residential neighborhoods with access to integrated services, premier shopping destinations, diverse dining and entertainment venues, luxury hotels, casinos, business offices, conference centers, educational institutions, sports facilities, and cultural hubs.
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