21.02.2023
The path for further development and even greater investment in the center of Limassol is wide open thanks to the “Plan of the Limassol Center Area”, prepared and published at the beginning of the year by the Department of Urban Planning and Housing of the Ministry of the Interior. This development is expected to give further impetus to a development path that wants to erase the center and west side of the city.
This is a development plan that includes a number of measures and policies that can act as incentives for potential investors, giving them the opportunity to start implementing their plans to develop the area between the old and the new port, where there were old industrial buildings that were abandoned.
Among other things, the “Limesos Center Plan” provides urban incentives for the construction of high-rise buildings, since the Plan proposes a high building factor of up to 0.3, i.e. buildings up to 120 meters high and corresponding to 30 floors.
It is recalled that huge land plots have been bought out that have not been exploited for years in the Tsiflikudiya district (central-western part of the city), which are intended for large-scale developments with multi-storey buildings that will house foreign companies.
The above, combined with the construction of the Coastal Road, which is to connect the old port/marina area of Limassol with the new port area, will give additional momentum and glamor to the city to become even stronger as an international business center.
Investors, after purchasing the land, were waiting for the announcement of new urban development zones, which was done through the new Plan. Their plans include the construction of high-rise buildings that will be designed to accommodate companies. In addition, there is an interest of the same investors in the creation of cultural spaces.
Investors are preparing a master plan
This is an extremely important event for the city of Limassol, as the first attempt at redevelopment of the area was made 20 years ago, and since then many discussions and consultations with stakeholders have followed.
A source in the market told the editors that the published plan generally suits investors in the region, as it matches the published project quite well and is what they expected to start their investments.
The same source added that investors are preparing a master plan for the site, which they intend to submit to the competent authorities. In particular, to prepare a master plan, investors are negotiating with a major foreign architectural house.
Limassol city center area plan: vision and what it includes
The “Limassol City Center Area Plan” refers to the detailed planning of the city center area, which also includes the area between the old and new ports. In the same context, the development of appropriate policies and regulations aimed at solving the urban planning problems affecting the region is considered essential.
Essentially, the vision for the region, as outlined in the Plan, is “to establish an urban center as a pole of social, economic, environmental and cultural development that will promote social cohesion, employment, entrepreneurship, cultural creativity and participation, and the overall quality of life of its inhabitants”.
The revision of the plan, with its new restrictions, is also a persecution of the Limassol municipality, which seeks to revitalize and properly use both the city center and the degraded (former) mixed industrial area between the old and new ports.
The Plan area covers about 3650 sq. ha and includes two separate plots:
(a) the compact city center, that is, its geographical and functional core, where the largest percentage of services and activities are concentrated, and
(b) an area comprising Roosevelt Avenue to the north, the marina and Old Harbor to the east, and New Harbor to the west.
It is recalled that the industrial area to the west of the old port, which remained unused for years, and in some cases lay in ruins, experienced development during the 20th century.
It includes but is not limited to: Limassol Pottery, KEO facilities which include the wine industry and brewery, facilities of the former LOEL, SODAP, ETKO and Pantelidis wineries, the Lanitis Brothers bottling plant, facilities of the Charoupion Cooperative which includes a mill and carob warehouses and municipal slaughterhouses.
