The Mall Athens
Encyclopedia
The Mall Athens is a major shopping mall
in Athens
, Greece
. It was the first of the kind to be constructed in Greece and one of the largest shopping and leisure centres in Southeastern Europe.
The Mall Athens is located close to the Athens Olympic Stadium
in the suburb of Maroussi and was opened to the public on November 25, 2005. It has approximately 200 outlets for commercial and entertainment use, spread over four levels, and covers about 58,500 square meters with 90,000 square meters of underground space.
Built under the pretext of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games
, its construction and operation have evolved into one of the biggest Greek scandals of the last decade involving real-estate, construction and commercial corporations, heads of government, ministers, mayors and, last but not least, the media. Its main competitors are Golden Hall, Avenue, Athens Heart and Athens Metro Mall
s are available. Opening hours are Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Restaurants, cafes and cinemas are open Monday to Sunday until the early hours, while parking areas operate from 9 a.m. to 3 a.m.
The Mall’s Third Level houses a Village Cinema
multiplex
, an amusement park and a restaurant
/food court
area.
and suburban railway
networks (Nerantziotissa station
), as well as by the Attiki Odos
highway.
Before the Olympics, the site currently occupied by the shopping center was grazing land for sheep. However, major road and rail infrastructure projects turned it into a prime piece of real-estate. The site belonged to the state and was meant for social housing. Instead, it was sold at a discount to Lamda Development, the Latsis Group subsidiary which erected The Mall.
The agreement between the Greek state and Lamda focused on the construction of a housing complex to accommodate a number of foreign journalists during a 15-day period.
In exchange, the state changed the laws so that Lamda could build a giant shopping center on land which it did not own, under terms not allowed by the Greek Constitution.
Following a motion brought by a citizen, Dorilaos Klapakis, the Greek Supreme Court (SC) ruled in 2003 that the laws passed for The Mall were indeed unconstitutional and ordered the cessation of its construction. Lamda corporation and the state (ministries in charge and the police) ignored the ruling, so construction proceeded regardless.
Over the next 3 years, major Greek politicians tried to fight the SC’s decision and avoid further legal repercussions by introducing legislation, contrary to the Constitution but favorable to the Mall, and then ruling the new laws untouchable by the Greek Supreme Court.
In November 2005, one year after the Olympic Games, The Mall is inaugurated. Tens of stores and movie theatres, including multinational brands, operate illegally and without a license in spite of the police having pressed charges against them. The Mall also served at the time as an experiment in labor market conditions: within The Mall, the branch of Eurobank
, a bank also owned by the Latsis Group, operated for a while on Saturdays, in violation of labor legislation and with the acquiescence of the government.
Moreover, Lamda has yet to meet most of the commitments it made towards Athens 2004, the local authority and the public organization that owned the land, when it was awarded the “Media Village” project in March 2002:
- Instead of hosting 6.000 journalists, as originally planned, the Media Village accommodated a mere 1.000.
- The land purchase was only settled in early 2006. That means that the Mall was being built from 2001 to 2005 and eventually opened in late 2005 on public land that Lamda Development did not own or rent.
- The 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) park that Lamda was supposed to build next to The Mall is still a bus parking lot.
Outside Greece, the Latsis Group (which holds a majority stake in the Mall Athens) is also dealt with extreme caution by the international media. While the British newspapers The Times
, and The Telegraph
dealt with the close relationship between Spiro Latsis and José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission
, they soon backtracked, under the threat of litigation.
owns the rest.
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. It was the first of the kind to be constructed in Greece and one of the largest shopping and leisure centres in Southeastern Europe.
The Mall Athens is located close to the Athens Olympic Stadium
Olympic Stadium (Athens)
The Olympic Stadium "Spiros Louis" , is part of the Athens Olympic Sports Complex. It is named after the first modern Olympic marathon race winner in 1896, Spiros Louis.-History:...
in the suburb of Maroussi and was opened to the public on November 25, 2005. It has approximately 200 outlets for commercial and entertainment use, spread over four levels, and covers about 58,500 square meters with 90,000 square meters of underground space.
Built under the pretext of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
, its construction and operation have evolved into one of the biggest Greek scandals of the last decade involving real-estate, construction and commercial corporations, heads of government, ministers, mayors and, last but not least, the media. Its main competitors are Golden Hall, Avenue, Athens Heart and Athens Metro Mall
Visitor information
The Mall provides access for handicapped persons and has a play area for children, along with a babysitting service and a special children’s care area. It also has a first-aid area. Automated teller machineAutomated teller machine
An automated teller machine or automatic teller machine, also known as a Cashpoint , cash machine or sometimes a hole in the wall in British English, is a computerised telecommunications device that provides the clients of a financial institution with access to financial transactions in a public...
s are available. Opening hours are Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Restaurants, cafes and cinemas are open Monday to Sunday until the early hours, while parking areas operate from 9 a.m. to 3 a.m.
The Mall’s Third Level houses a Village Cinema
Village Cinemas
Village Cinemas is an Australian cinema chain. Its Australian sites are owned and operated by Village Roadshow-Amalgamated Holdings Limited joint venture Australian Theatres. The group has rebranded several of its premier Australian and New Zealand cinemas as Event Cinemas since 2009. Village...
multiplex
Multiplex (movie theater)
A multiplex is a movie theater complex with multiple screens, typically three or more. They are usually housed in a specially designed building. Sometimes, an existing venue undergoes a renovation where the existing auditoriums are split into smaller ones, or more auditoriums are added in an...
, an amusement park and a restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
/food court
Food court
A food court is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dining. Food courts may be found in shopping malls and airports, and in various regions may be a standalone development...
area.
Access
Access is by metroAthens Metro
The Athens Metro is an underground rapid transit system serving Athens, the capital city of Greece. It was constructed and owned by Attiko Metro S.A. and operated until 2011 by Attiko Metro Etaireia Leitourgias S.A....
and suburban railway
Proastiakos
Proastiakós , is the name used for the suburban services of TrainOSE, servicing Greece's three largest cities: Athens, Thessaloniki and Patras; providing them with modern commuter rail links, towards their suburbs and also towards other cities and towns located around them.The service, operated by...
networks (Nerantziotissa station
Nerantziotissa station
Nerantziotissa station is a complex of two train stations located in Maroussi, Greece, a northern suburb of Athens. The first is a station of the Athens Metro and the second is a suburban railway station...
), as well as by the Attiki Odos
Attiki Odos
Attiki Odos is a privately owned toll motorway in Greece. The Proastiakos high-speed suburban rail is set almost entirely in the median of the motorway, along its main section. The motorway's numbers are 6 for the main section, 64 for the Hymettus Beltway and 65 for the Aigaleo Beltway...
highway.
The Olympic Games pretext
A sign outside The Mall reads: “Olympic Media Village”. That’s because The Mall is an Olympic project that was, nevertheless, inaugurated a full year after the Games (the Media Village was meant to provide accommodation to foreign journalists).Before the Olympics, the site currently occupied by the shopping center was grazing land for sheep. However, major road and rail infrastructure projects turned it into a prime piece of real-estate. The site belonged to the state and was meant for social housing. Instead, it was sold at a discount to Lamda Development, the Latsis Group subsidiary which erected The Mall.
The agreement between the Greek state and Lamda focused on the construction of a housing complex to accommodate a number of foreign journalists during a 15-day period.
In exchange, the state changed the laws so that Lamda could build a giant shopping center on land which it did not own, under terms not allowed by the Greek Constitution.
"The largest illegal construction in Europe"?
The Mall scandal involves Spiros Latsis and his corporation, members of both major Greek political parties (including the former and current Prime Ministers), their government ministers (who introduced legislation contrary to the Constitution), the local mayor, Mr. Tzanikos (who came up with the idea for the construction and is currently being sued in court) and, last but not least, the president of Athens 2004, Gianna Angelopoulou. Against them, stood only a handful of citizens along with some members of the judiciary.Following a motion brought by a citizen, Dorilaos Klapakis, the Greek Supreme Court (SC) ruled in 2003 that the laws passed for The Mall were indeed unconstitutional and ordered the cessation of its construction. Lamda corporation and the state (ministries in charge and the police) ignored the ruling, so construction proceeded regardless.
Over the next 3 years, major Greek politicians tried to fight the SC’s decision and avoid further legal repercussions by introducing legislation, contrary to the Constitution but favorable to the Mall, and then ruling the new laws untouchable by the Greek Supreme Court.
In November 2005, one year after the Olympic Games, The Mall is inaugurated. Tens of stores and movie theatres, including multinational brands, operate illegally and without a license in spite of the police having pressed charges against them. The Mall also served at the time as an experiment in labor market conditions: within The Mall, the branch of Eurobank
Eurobank
EuroBancshares, Inc. was a financial holding company located in San Juan, Puerto Rico. On April 30, 2010, the bank failed and its deposits and assets were seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation...
, a bank also owned by the Latsis Group, operated for a while on Saturdays, in violation of labor legislation and with the acquiescence of the government.
Moreover, Lamda has yet to meet most of the commitments it made towards Athens 2004, the local authority and the public organization that owned the land, when it was awarded the “Media Village” project in March 2002:
- Instead of hosting 6.000 journalists, as originally planned, the Media Village accommodated a mere 1.000.
- The land purchase was only settled in early 2006. That means that the Mall was being built from 2001 to 2005 and eventually opened in late 2005 on public land that Lamda Development did not own or rent.
- The 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) park that Lamda was supposed to build next to The Mall is still a bus parking lot.
The Mall Athens trial
The case of the Mall was brought for a second time before the Supreme Court of Greece in 2003. Since then, and six years after the building was first ruled illegal, the SC has not yet reached a decision. A new date was set for October 2009. Lots of things will be at stake during the trial and the subsequent court decision. First and foremost, the very existence of The Mall itself. Second, whether the Greek government will still be able, through the gimmick of ad hoc legislation that it used over the Mall case, to ignore the Supreme Court's decisions in other important environmental cases that trouble this country.The media black-out
Greek media (with slight exceptions,) played a dual part in the Mall case: while The Mall was under construction, they concealed the Media Village scandal, which, despite being obvious, did not receive as much as a comment. Later, The Mall’s inauguration was followed by a grandiose publicity campaign in print and on TV.Outside Greece, the Latsis Group (which holds a majority stake in the Mall Athens) is also dealt with extreme caution by the international media. While the British newspapers The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, and The Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
dealt with the close relationship between Spiro Latsis and José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
, they soon backtracked, under the threat of litigation.
Ownership
The Mall is owned by a Special Purpose Vehicle which belongs to Lamda Development, a real-estate development firm within the Latsis Group, and HSBC Property Investments, each holding a 49.2% stake. The municipality of MarousiMarousi
Marousi , alternative forms: Maroussi, Amarousion, and Amaroussion, is a suburban city NE of Athens, Greece. The Athens Olympic Sports Complex, the largest sports complex in Greece, is also located here; its main street is Kifisias Avenue, and also contains four ISAP train stations and two of the...
owns the rest.