Municipality of Athens upgrades buildings aesthetically and functionally

The first tangible results of the “Facade” program can now be seen in the center and neighborhoods of Athens by residents and visitors of the city. Facades of buildings that until recently were worn and covered by the gray color of pollution, come to light again and acquire color, enriching the image of Athens.

The program aims to restore the damage of time, to maintain and upgrade the aesthetics of the facades of the capital’s buildings.

The interest of Athenians to “transform” the facades of their buildings is great, according to the Municipality of Athens.

To date, more than 400 applications have been submitted, absorbing 100% of the initial budget of the action (1.7 million euros), which was increased by 1 million euros in order to benefit more citizens.

223 apartment buildings, 67 single-family dwellings and 78 listed buildings have already come under the “umbrella” of the program. Membership applications are approved within a month, while the subsidy is quickly paid to the beneficiaries after the submission of the final supporting documents.

“Green light” for nine out of ten applications

So far, 91% of those interested, i.e. 368 property owners, have already received the “green light” in order to proceed with aesthetic and functional upgrade works.

All private buildings within the Municipality of Athens can be included in the program, i.e. detached houses, semi-detached houses, apartment buildings and listed buildings. It foresees a maximum subsidy amount of 6,000 euros per building, while especially for listed buildings the subsidy can reach up to 7,200 euros per building.

How and where applications are submitted

Submission of applications is ongoing and will be completed when available resources are exhausted. The applications and related procedures are carried out by a private engineer, who is chosen by the citizen, through the electronic services of the Greek Technical Chamber with absolute transparency and control.

In fact, the engineer chosen by the beneficiary will not simply carry out the process, but will monitor the implementation of the interventions, take care of obtaining the necessary permits and approvals and will quantitatively and qualitatively check the works performed in order for the subsidy to be disbursed.

For their part, the owners of the buildings that wish to join the program must remove individual antennas, as well as illegal advertising and professional signs.