Athens is undergoing a facelift. From the northern suburbs to the Athenian Riviera, half-a-dozen major projects – parks, office spaces, sports facilities, bicycle paths, cultural venues – are in the pipeline and will dramatically reshape the urban landscape of the Greek capital by the end of the decade.

In the run-down industrial district of Votanikos, the twin development of a massive urban park and new sports stadium, now underway, promises to breathe new life into a neglected area of the city. While in the north, the government is pushing ahead with the long overdue refurbishment of the Olympic sports complex in Maroussi.

In the center of Athens, a series of projects are upgrading the city center. These include the recent refurbishment of the Pedion tou Areos park and the iconic Lycabettus theater and will culminate in the €300 million renovation of the National Archaeological Museum and the opening of the new downtown subway line over the next five to six years.

Coming up is the development of a new government administrative center and urban park on the site of an old munitions factory southeast of the city center on the lower slopes of Mt. Hymettus. Next month, the government’s privatization agency, TAIPED, is expected to launch the first tender for the government park.

The €522 million project is expected to take roughly three years to complete. It envisions redeveloping the 15.4 hectare site into a combined office park and public greenspace. The office park will ultimately house nine government ministries that are now at various locations around Greater Athens.

Also underway, along the Athens Riviera, is the development of a new coastal park in the suburb of Faliron and a new 13.5 km pedestrian and bicycle path along the waterfront. Both public initiatives will complement the €8 billion private redevelopment of the old Athens airport at Hellenikon, which promises to dramatically transform the landscape along the south coast of the city.