(ATHENS, GREECE) – Hines, the international real estate firm, has entered into a joint venture with the National Bank of Greece (NBG) to redevelop Athens Heart Mall into a 22,000-square-meter premium outlet mall.
The scheme, which will be renamed Gazi Outlets, will feature a new cinema and undergo a comprehensive refurbishment to become a prime outlet destination with a strong leisure and food & beverage offering. The redevelopment will be completed by early 2021, with anchor tenants already in place.
Located in Athens’ dynamic Gazi district, the mall is just 2km from the Acropolis and a 10-minute drive from the city centre. The site is also positioned on the main thoroughfare between Athens’ tourism centre and Europe’s largest passenger port, Piraeus, which handles 17 million passengers a year.
Paul Gomopoulos, Hines’ Greece regional head, said: “Gazi Outlets will become a very compelling destination in the heart of the Greek capital, combining the best of Greek and international fashion with quality venues in which to eat, drink and relax. We are attracted to the thriving and dynamic neighborhood of Gazi, famous for the Technopolis cultural centre, which is popular with both locals and tourists.
“Hines has a global retail portfolio of over 1 million square meters and significant international experience of developing and operating outlet malls, including as the largest outlet operator in Russia. We have a clear strategy to reposition the asset and will bring our international and local expertise to bear to create an exciting new destination in Athens.”
Hines entered the Athens market in 2017 with the acquisition of the Athens Ledra Hotel, which became the successful Athens Grand Hyatt hotel following an extensive renovation, in a joint venture with Henderson Park. In March 2019 Hines acquired 23 Vasilissis Sofias Avenue, one of the most prestigious office buildings in the centre of Athens.
Hines is a privately owned global real estate investment firm founded in 1957 with a presence in 219 cities in 23 countries. Hines has approximately $124.3 billion of assets under management, including $63.8 billion for which Hines provides fiduciary investment management services, and $60.5 billion for which Hines provides third-party property-level services. The firm has 148 developments currently underway around the world. Historically, Hines has developed, redeveloped or acquired 1,362 properties, totaling over 449 million square feet. The firm’s current property and asset management portfolio includes 514 properties, representing over 222 million square feet. With extensive experience in investments across the risk spectrum and all property types, and a pioneering commitment to sustainability, Hines is one of the largest and most-respected real estate organizations in the world.
Since entering Europe in 1991, Hines has grown its European platform to include a presence in 57 cities in 13 countries and Hines currently has €17.0 billion of assets under management in Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Visit www.hines.com for more information.