The Municipality of Spata–Artemida has increased the amount it has earmarked for the new Artemida Municipal Health Centre building by 288,000 euros. By decision of the mayor, Dimitris Markos (No. 710/2026, 24 September), the long-term commitment for the twelve-year lease is now set at 864,000 euros: €18,000 for 2026, €72,000 for each year from 2027 to 2037, and €54,000 for 2038.
In April, the corresponding decision for the same expenditure, entitled ‘Rent for the new Municipal Clinics building’, had been finalised at 576,000 euros, at 48,000 euros per year. By simple division, the monthly cost rises from 4,000 to 6,000 euros, a 50 per cent increase within five months.
What the figures show – and what they don’t
Entering into a long-term commitment is an accounting commitment: the Council ‘locks in’ the funds it estimates it will need in the budgets for the coming years. It is not the rent that was agreed. The rent will be determined through an open, oral, competitive tender, in which only those owners whose property has been deemed suitable by the valuation committee may participate. To date, neither a suitability report nor the minutes of the auction nor the award decision have been published on the ‘Diafania’ transparency portal. It is therefore not known which building has been shortlisted, who owns it, or what the final rent will be.
The fact that the commitment was increased does, however, indicate that the 4,000 euros allocated in April was no longer sufficient for the council’s plans. Neither of the two decisions explains why.
There is also a second change that is only apparent in the figures. In April, the €20,000 for 2026 corresponded to five months’ rent of €4,000, meaning the tenancy would commence around August. Now, the 18,000 euros corresponds to three months’ rent of 6,000 euros each, so the Council estimates the lease will start around October. In both scenarios, the total comes to exactly 144 months, that is, twelve years.
From 130 to 330 square metres
The Municipal Clinics are currently housed on the ground floor of a rented building at 5 Avras Street, occupying an area of approximately 130 square metres. The same building also houses the Department of Social Policy, the Community Centre with its Roma Annex, the Social Pharmacy and the Social Grocery Shop. According to the proposal unanimously approved by the Municipal Council on 31 March (Decision 55/2026), appointments average more than 35 per day, whilst over 4,000 residents and visitors have been served over the last two years. The same proposal notes that there are no National Health System (ESY) facilities operating in Artemida, and that with so many services housed in the same building, overcrowding is inevitable.
The notice of 15 May specifies a building of at least 330 square metres of usable floor area on Artemida Avenue, either a ground floor unit or a ground floor with one upper floor, with a separate entrance, parking facilities, bus access and full accessibility for people with disabilities. The premises are designed to house five clinics: orthopaedic, general practice, paediatric (with a breastfeeding room), psychiatric and gynaecological – services not currently available at the four clinics on 5 Avra Street. There will also be a short-stay ward, the Community Pharmacy with its storeroom, a nurses’ office, a group room and an archive area. If the property requires refurbishment, the owner has two months to carry this out at their own expense, and no rent is payable during this period.
The building is one part of the equation. The other is the doctors. As we reported on 18 September, the state committee approved five contracts this year instead of the seven requested by the municipality: an orthopaedic surgeon, a general practitioner, a paediatrician, a psychiatrist and a dietitian. The general practitioner for the Senior Citizens’ Centres and the psychologist were left out. There was no gynaecologist among the seven either, so it is not yet clear who will staff the gynaecology clinic planned for the new building.
What’s next
The next step is for the Municipal Committee to issue a decision confirming the outcome of the auction, which is then submitted to the Decentralised Administration of Attica for a legality check. Only then will the building and the actual rent be made public. iartemida.gr will provide a follow-up.
Source: Municipality of Spata–Artemida, Mayor’s Decision No. 710/2026 (24/09/2026), decision on the assumption of a multi-year commitment dated 15/04/2026, Municipal Council decision 55/2026 (31 March 2026) and lease notice 15 May 2026, as published on the ‘Diafania’ transparency portal.
