Culture Ministry approves 5-star hotel plan for Piraeus mansion

The Culture Ministry approved works for the creation of a 5-star hotel and office complex on Grigoriou Lambraki, Vasileos Georgiou B' and Loukas Rallis streets in Piraeus. The decision concerns the functional merger of two adjoining buildings, a change of use and modification of the layout, with Pleiades Hotel Management IKE listed as the lessee.

The complex includes the protected modern monument -the historic Spyridon Metaxas mansion, built in 1897-1899 to designs by Ernst Ziller- an eight-storey building and an adjoining seven-storey building. The relevant modern monuments authority found that the works do not harm the monument, following a unanimous opinion from the Local Council for Monuments of Attica.

The approval comes with conditions to preserve the building's architectural character: restoration of ground-floor openings with wooden elements, use of movable elements for any covering of the outdoor seating area, a designation of gentle new uses for currently inaccessible basement spaces, and removal of incompatible elements such as cables and spotlights. Awnings, air conditioning units, antennas, photovoltaics and water heaters are banned on the buildings beyond what the approved study allows.

The investment had already become known at an earlier stage, when the building permit for merging the properties was pre-approved. The new Culture Ministry decision marks a further step in the process, without replacing the required building permit or other approvals.