After years of economic recession, and due to ongoing projects, Limassol's most commercial street is being regenerated. One after another, the closed shops of Anexartisias Street are opened and new businesses are popping up along the road, rediscovering the glorious times of the past. After all, the road has been embedded in Limassol's consciousness as the city's favorite shopping destination. And who better to talk about it than City Councilor and Anexartisias street shopkeepers’ representative, Kristis Demetriou.
When the redevelopment of the road began in 2010, which had to be done, as Mr. Demetriou points out, the road's commercial activity was negatively affected. By the project was completed at the beginning of 2013, several shops had already closed down. Then came the financial crisis and the emergence of the malls. So it was not until 2017 that Anexartisias started to really recuperate. ‘’We still have not reached the pre-crisis levels’’, Kristis Demetriou told «Entrepreneurial Limassol», ‘’but we are on the right track.’’ In 2019 sales reached around 70% of their per-crisis levels. There are currently 110 shops on Anexartisias street, of which only 10 remain empty while during the crisis years as many as 40 were without tenants.
At the same time, there is an increased demand by new interested parties. The flagship of the new investments being implemented is the conversion of the former E&S Sore into a 180-room hotel by the Prosperity group of companies (which also undertook the Agora project in the adjacent municipal market), in collaboration with the international hotel chain Brown. Following the acquisition of this landmark building, the project is now in the planning stage, with preparation of all necessary applications. The idea is for the creation of a boutique hotel, with a panoramic lounge bar and a rooftop pool overlooking the historic center of Limassol, aim to set up a new hotspot for the city.
In addition, two new three-storey buildings are under construction, one next to MANGO (Athlokinisis Sports) and the second next to Megastore. The reopening of the Roxane café under a new international brand, the renovation of the Astir cafe and the conversion of the adjacent pavilion into an open café are planned at Grigori Afxentiou Square. Meanwhile, work on the renovation and expansion of four more stores is underway. Kristis Demetriou suggested another possibility is the setting up of a museum creation of a museum dedicated to Anexartisias Street, to be located on the first floor of a municipality-owned neoclassical building right on the corner Themistokleous street. Regarding plans of turning Anexartisias into a pedestrians-only street, he stressed that the majority of shopkeepers are not negative, provided this is done over a number of years, starting with turning it first into a one-way street, a process that will ensure a smooth transition.
