Approval this month of an environmental terms license, by the relevant development ministry, has cleared another obstacle before the relocation of the casino atop Mt. Parnitha to a choice spot in northern Athens’ “mall corridor”.
The investment is billed as high as 250 million euros by North Star Entertainment, the corporate successor to the company that manages the mountain-top casino – the only such gaming concessionaire operating at present in the greater Athens-Piraeus area. Another gaming license has been approved for the Elliniko property development in coastal southeast Athens, although its operation will take years.
Building licenses are next up for the developers before actual construction commences.
The project has faced fierce opposition, with residents of adjacent municipalities and individual citizens, in fact, blocking the investment for several years after an initial successful challenge at the Council of State – Greece’s administrative court.
Another four lawsuits were are currently pending at the CoS against a 2023 presidential decree allowing the casino’s relocation to the Dilaveri site, as the land where the project is set to be built is called.
The new casino resort, dubbed Project Voria, is slated for construction and operation on the west side of Kifissias avenue, a major north-south thoroughfare connecting central Athens and its northern more upscale districts. The large plot of land lies within the Maroussi municipality, close to the Athens Olympic complex (OAKA) and in the near vicinity of the Greek capital’s biggest department store malls.
According to reports, developers have promised to grant the municipality 25,000 square meters out of the total expanse of 55,000 square meters for the creation of public areas and green spaces.
Besides the casino itself, the investment eyes the construction of a five-star resort, a related conference and convention center and a F&B court.
