Athens Plans Massive City Park in Derelict Olympic Footprint

As Jillian Glover writes in This City Life, Athens built the Hellinikon airport and many other adjacent sports stadiums for the 2004 Olympics. Since then, the area has largely fallen into disrepair, with little to no use for the general public. The huge 6.2 million square meter (1,532 acres) site is one of the largest, unused properties in all of Europe.

Given the country's failing economy, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is selling the land for development. According to Glover, with the aid of private financiers, "the Hellenikon Metropolitan Park will be the largest private investment ever made in Greece, with an estimated cost of 7 billion Euros. In a country plagued by unemployment and economic collapse, the project promises to generate approximately 50,000 jobs in the development period from 2014 to 2025."

Indeed, the site "is poised to be home to the world’s largest city park... Hellenikon Metropolitan Park will be 2 million square meters, providing the city with the green space it desperately needs. The park will be nearly twice the size of New York’s Central Park, and featuring 2 miles of Mediterranean coastline."