Top court ruling tackling hotelization of city center

The Council of State is reversing the way building is done in downtown Athens after ruling that construction within the Commercial Triangle will have to be checked by the Central Archaeological Council, both in terms of height and the creation of new hotels.

In this way, the country’s highest administrative court is for the first time indicating the need to curb the touristification of the center while revisiting the issue of maximum heights. 

The court’s ruling vindicated a citizen who appealed against decisions of the Athens Building Authority and the Culture Ministry’s Directorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities.

The plaintiff owns an apartment in a block on Aeolou Street, and had sought legal assistance when a neighboring office building was converted into a hotel with a roof garden. Thus, not only was his Acropolis view blocked, but he faced the prospect of a bar at the level of his home.