Greece's 8-billion-euro redevelopment of the former Hellinikon airport is transitioning from Europe's largest construction site into a functioning city, with the first residential handovers scheduled ahead of Easter 2027, developer Lamda Development announced.
Approximately 500 residential units will be occupied by the end of 2027, establishing an initial community of more than 1,500 permanent residents. Real estate and plot sales have already surpassed 1.7 billion euros, with 87 percent of the first 670 market-released units sold.
The first residents will settle along the coastal front and within the "Little Athens" neighbourhood. On the coastline, the Riviera Tower — Greece's first residential skyscraper — has reached its final height, with concrete structural work completed through the 50th floor under French engineering firm Bouygues. The adjacent Cove Residences and coastal villas are also slated for 2027 completion, alongside 200 units in Little Athens.
"Our goal is to ensure the earliest residents do not step into an isolated residential complex, but into a fully operational urban ecosystem supplied with essential services," Lamda management said, noting that sports facilities, public parks and a 450-acre metropolitan lake will open simultaneously.
The wider master plan continues to expand. Lamda is withholding further residential plots to capture future land appreciation, while design work proceeds on a second residential phase of 3,500 additional apartments, expected to launch marketing in 2028 with full build-out by 2032.
Commercial development is advancing alongside investment partners including shipowner George Prokopiou and Achilleas Konstantakopoulos's TEMES. The Bjarke Ingels-designed Riviera Galleria shopping centre is due by early 2028, followed by the Costeas-Geitona School and the University of Nicosia in September 2028, and a centralised medical facility in 2029.