The area
NEUROPUBLIC’s operations and evolution are inextricably linked to Piraeus and, in particular, to the Papastratos neighborhood, where in the past, more than a century ago, shipyards, industries and artisanal businesses, slaughterhouses, garages, machinery shops, rolling mills and sheet metal shops were located – where the heart of the largest industrial zone in Greece once beat.
The operation of the Larissa railway station at the beginning of the 20th century, the construction of permanent tanks and, later on, the opening of the factory of the Hellenic Anonymous Chemical Products & Fertilizers Company – the first company to build a large plant in the area – whose construction was completed in 1910, radically changed the face of the district.
In 1931, the most famous of Greek tobacco merchants, Evangelos Papastratos, erects, east of the church of St Dionyssios, his large tobacco factory, which gave its name to the area. Following the closure of the iconic factory, however, the industrial character of the area began to fade, the streets became deserted and the neighborhood “withered”.
Today, a number of entrepreneurs, together with the regional authority, have shown a renewed interest in the urban re-development of the district. Many of the old derelict building have been demolished and the, previously sturdy, industrial buildings were upgraded to create luxury offices.
At the same time, the arrival of the metro, the tramway and the suburban railway, with a direct link to the airport, have transformed the port of Piraeus and its neighboring area into a transport node, with the aim to create a modern center modeled along the lines of London’s City.
NEUROPUBLIC could not be absent from the challenge of redeveloping the area and preserving its special industrial architecture. Thus, the company’s new privately owned building honors the special history of the Papastratos neighborhood, all the while being hailed as a landmark of the new identity of Piraeus.
