Large real estate plans in marinas cause storm reaction

With difficulty it seems that the development of the largest in Greece is progressing today, as their grand plans cause severe reactions to the Municipalities and local bodies, which are putting obstacles, by proceeding to a barrage of appeals. The most well-known cases of exploitation of marinas are that of Kalamaria, Pylos and Rhodes. In this context, the developments in the series of opposition between the Municipality of Kalamaria and TAIPEDE for the use of the Aretsos marina are continuing. Another appeal was recently filed at the St.E., by the new Mayor, Chrysa Arapoglou, who asks that the Presidential Decree issued in February 2023 be annulled, which approved a master plan of the marina providing for real estate development, which according to the Municipality leads to overbuilding of the area. Specifically, the Presidential Decree, for which the municipal authority reacts, enables the building of nearly 15,000 sq.m. with tourist uses, which will surround hotel, residences, shops, such as a shipping shop, supermarkets, shops for the sale of emergency items and exhibition-conference areas, cultural activities. The new municipal authority also opposes the new competition for the long-term concession of marina to a private person who wants to announce TAIPED in the summer. In court adventures the investment plan for the marina of Pylos has also been entered as months ago the Municipality “sold a lawsuit to the Kalamata Court of First Instance, claiming part of the land zone of the marina. The investment in Marina Pylos that D-Marin has undertaken to implement, the group of premium marinas, will include the development of the wider area by providing more events and other amenities, focusing on the sustainability and digitisation of its services. It is worth noting that the plan provides that a wider area of marina will be accessible to the public to enjoy it freely. However, the court dispute is expected to delay investor plans, which plan projects of 15m euros to upgrade infrastructure. Investment of EUR 220 million is to be implemented in the marina of Rhodes. The master plan of the project, designed by Marinas Rhodes S.A., aims to transform the marina of the island, like the other modern European marinas of the Mediterranean. As far as port projects are concerned, 180 more docking sites will be added to the 440 already available, reaching 620 places, which always depends on the size of the vessels. There will also be a five-star hotel unit, which will be a few keys, while in the residential sector a total of 22 luxury villas and 13 maisonettes will be erected, which will be addressed to foreigners and Greek buyers. This investment, however, has caused a storm of reactions from a group of local bodies in Rhodes since its location was completed. In particular, some members of the TEE Dodecanese and the Association of Architects complain that this is a large-scale project, with an excessive increase in the terms of construction and the permissible height of the buildings in force in the area, according to the General Urban Plan. They even say that a new city is created within the urban fabric of the existing, with elements of unbalanced development, urban and urban, which will hide the coastal front.