About the Kytheria Cultural Centre in Alimos

24 January 20024

Information and call of the Kythirians for the rescue from the demolition of the Kythirian Cultural Centre in Alimos

The Building Cooperative and the School-Church-Spiritual Centre triptych

The area of Kytheria Alimos was created by the Kytheria Building Cooperative «Myrtidiotissa», which consisted in its vast majority of Kytherians. The area was purchased when it was not yet on the plan, was cut into plots which were distributed to the share holders after it entered the city plan in 1968, and areas designated by the Co-operative itself and left out of the distribution were designated for public uses in order to properly plan the new area.

In the context of these public utilities, in 1969 the Annual Ordinary General Assembly of the Building Association decided that building block 264 of the area, of an area of 3,432.68 sq.m., should be used for the construction of the «Kytheria Cultural Centre». It had already been decided that the neighbouring building blocks would become a School and a Church respectively and so this decision came to complete the triptych of School - Church - Spiritual Centre in three consecutive building blocks on Kytheria Avenue as advertised in the Kytherian newspapers of the time.

In 1995, the permit for the Cultural Centre was finally issued, it began to be implemented and reached the stage of the skeleton and the masonry that we can still see today.

So for many decades both the Kytherian settlers, their children and grandchildren, as well as the residents who bought in the area invested knowing that this area next to the church of Panagia Myrtidiotissa and the unfinished building that had been built in the meantime is the Kytherian Spiritual Centre as the sign that still stands on Kytherian Avenue says.

It is therefore understandable from the outset that the decision of demolition for the construction of four apartment buildings comes to suddenly overturn the efforts and sacrifices of many decades, causing feelings of righteous indignation in the families of Kythirians and non-residents of the area. All the more so because the current owner, the Triphyllion Foundation, acquired this property in Alimos following a donation from the Cooperative and its current actions are directed against the area and the families of its benefactors.

The donation to the Trifyllion Foundation and what it provided for

By its very nature the Building Co-operative had a specific purpose and, as a matter of law, when this purpose was completed, the course of the Co-operative would be completed. So while the function of the Temple passed to the Church, the School to the Ministry of Education who would manage the Spiritual Centre? Which institution of Kythiraism could operate it and serve the purpose of the spiritual center as it was designated by the Kythirian settlers of Alimos?;

«The aim of the Spiritual Centre is to raise the spiritual and cultural level of Kytherians, to strengthen the relations between them and to preserve and cultivate the Kytherian Heritage»

With this in mind, in 2004 the Building Association proceeded to the donation of the already unfinished building of the «Kytheria Cultural Centre» to the Triphyllion Foundation with the obligation («way») to complete it within 5 years, while of course the possibility of granting ownership to a third party, even a part, was explicitly excluded. The Triphylion accepted it as «honourable and advantageous».

In fact, with the same donation the Cooperative gave to the Trifyllion Foundation and «dowry» five additional plots of land of the Cooperative in the area from the sale of which the Cultural Centre would be completed as it undertook with the donation. The donation contract was extended by a notarial deed of extension on 17/12/2009 for another 5 years.

Indicatively, we mention some uses of the Cultural Centre taken over by the Trifyllion and mentioned in the donation contract beyond a simple cultural hall and office of the Association and the club.

- Small wing for housing and care of Kythiria seniors in the area of the Cooperative

- Exhibition space and museum (folklore, historical, scientific material)

- Library and reading room

- Department of Youth and Student Services of Kytheria

It is therefore obvious that the other uses of the building complex apart from the cultural hall and the office of the Association and the Association had been agreed in the contract of donation and were all of a cultural nature. Nowhere was there any reference to the creation of housing nor was the donation made for the purpose of generating income for the Kythera nursing home.

Any reference to the Kythera Nursing Home on the part of Trifyllion in relation to the donation is only to create impressions and to exploit the sensitivity of the Tsirigotes for the Nursing Home. It begs the question, if the Cooperative had not made the donation, would the Nursing Home be doomed to close as the Foundation claims today?;

The modification of the Donation in 2015

On 5/10/2015 and shortly before the dissolution of the Cooperative (2019) the only modification of the donation contract was made, where apart from an extension for another ten years, the possibility of consideration was added.

The «consideration» was introduced as an exception to that article of the donation which prohibited the sale or transfer to third parties. This gave the Foundation an additional financial tool to finally complete the Cultural Centre without delay. It takes another seven years, without justification, to reach the announcement of a tender in 2022 by the Trifillion for the «development» of the property under the system of consideration.

How did we get to the modification and consideration?;

From the 2004 donation until the 2009 extension, there was a legal entanglement (a request for the invalidity of the donation contract by a member of the Association) that did not allow Trifillion to complete the Cultural Centre. However, while the invalidity of the donation contract was finally and irrevocably rejected at the end of 2011, again Trifyllion did not proceed with the completion of the Spiritual Centre as it should have done. On the contrary, already in 2010 it tried to change the «way», i.e. the obligation it had from the donation, arguing that the money of the «dowry» was not enough to complete the existing building.

For this purpose, Trifyllion attempted in court to unilaterally modify the «way» of the donation, i.e. to change the obligation of completion to the construction of a smaller spiritual centre on one of the plots of land of the «dowry», so that Trifyllion would be left with a free obligation on the property of the unfinished spiritual centre and could do what it wants.

Thus, the donor Cooperative and benefactor of the Foundation was forced to intervene against Trifyllion before the Court of Appeal, insisting on the completion of the spiritual centre.

Therefore, over the years the Association reacted strongly, even in court, to any attempt by Trifyllion to change the obligation it undertook and after years of legal pressure the Association accepted the compromise of the «consideration» as a financial tool for the completion of the Spiritual Centre. It never consented to the demolition of the existing Spiritual Center building and the construction of apartment buildings.

The tender and the offers of the Municipality and the construction company DAKON

Since Trifyllion was not able to complete it by selling the five plots, it proceeded to a tender for the development of the property of the Cultural Centre with the system of consideration.

Two proposals were submitted in the competition of Trifyllion for the utilization of the Cultural Centre with consideration.

The City's proposal was for the completion of the existing unfinished building of the Cultural Center as a cultural space with a consideration of 36.09% in Trifillion.

The proposal of the construction company DAKON concerned the demolition of the unfinished Kytheria Cultural Centre and the construction of four apartment buildings with a percentage of rent in Trifillion 36,20%.

The rate of consideration is about the same but DAKON will build apartment buildings with 48 apartments and much more square meters in total and so in Trifyllion there are 12 apartments of consideration so it chose the proposal of the construction company. A contractor's contract has already been signed and a demolition permit has been issued.

Four-storey (pilot and three floors) high-volume apartment buildings with 4 apartments per floor will be constructed. There is nothing like this anywhere in the area and at 544 Cooperative. This is a dissonance in an area dominated by owner-occupied, single family homes, and this will be next to the Church of Our Lady of Myrtidiotissa.

Among other things, this dissonance degrades the area since if all the buildings in the area were like those that will be constructed by Trifillion, the area would clearly have less value. On the contrary, a cultural area next to the holy church of Panagia Myrtidiotissa would enhance the area.

Also the developer as owner of 74% will have no restrictions now or in the future and the area may find itself with unregulated commercial uses detrimental to the environment, traffic, and quality of life of the residents many of whom are children and grandchildren of Kythirian settlers and donors of the Triphyllion.

While if the use is approved as cultural in the new urban planning of the municipality of Alimos, the area is protected from other uses now and in the future and most importantly, the vision, the struggles and sacrifices of the Kytherians of the Cooperative and their families are protected.

The new General Urban Plan of the municipality of Alimos

Since 2008, under the Orfanos municipal authority, the modification of the General Urban Plan (GSP) of Alimos had begun. When the new municipal authority of Andreas Kondylis took over in 2014, it restarted the process and ended up in 2021 with a decision of the Alimos city council, which after many years of studies and consultations resulted in the new GPA of the city.

So in our area in the new GPA the area where the school is was designated to be a school, the church to be a church and the unfinished spiritual centre to be a cultural area. It was obvious to put it as a cultural area in the new GIS of the municipality because it was always like that after all:

- Since 1969 he was designated as such by the Cooperative

- They issued a building permit for a cultural

- They built up to a point cultural (underground parking, amphitheater, etc.)

- The Trifyllion itself gave permission for an additional floor of the cultural

The new GIS has passed through the region and the regional council and is in the final stage at the Ministry of Environment which will eventually issue the relevant FEK.

So that's where the Trifyllion intervened, asking not to be classified as cultural but to remain a general residence in order to proceed with the demolition and construction of apartment buildings.

We therefore inform the Kythirians that the new GPA of the Municipality of Alimos if it becomes a Government Gazette as proposed by the municipality comes to save the Kythira Cultural Centre from the demolition that has already been decided and signed by Trifillion and not to put obstacles to the Cultural Centre, as misleadingly stated in publications that have seen the light in Kythira media recently.

We call on the people of Kythira to support the rescue of the Spiritual Centre and the administration of the Trifyllion to come to an agreement with the municipality of Alimos for the proper use of the property according to the will of the donors of Kythira, as required by the moral obligation of the beneficiary towards the families of the benefactor, the great donor of the Foundation, the former Building Cooperative of Kythira Alimos.

John Vardas
General Secretary of the Building Cooperative for 23 years and former President of the Kytheria Alimos Recreational Association