Location Athens, Greece
Client University of Nicosia (UNIC)
Services Project Management
Project Value Confidential
The largest and oldest private university in Cyprus and one of the highest-rated institutions in Cyprus and Greece for research quality, UNIC is undertaking a phased construction program to deliver a new campus in Athens. The campus will allow UNIC to welcome more students each year and expand its academic programs in a variety of fields, including medicine, pharmacy, business administration, law, and psychology. As UNIC has enrolled more Greek students than any other non-Greek university, the project reinforces historic ties between the institution and the country. It also strengthens UNIC’s regional presence and reputation and creates a unique educational environment within the Ellinikon, Lamda Development’s “city within a city” just outside of Athens.
Phase I of UNIC’s program, adjacent to the Ellinikon, concluded in 2025. Phase II and III are ongoing. Hill International is providing project management services across the entire program life cycle.
Phase I
UNIC’s first development in Greece, the multi-million-euro Phase I comprised the conversion of an existing four-story building into a state-of-the-art academic and research facility with a total built-up area of approximately 12,500 SM. Located next to the Ellinikon, the new facility features 14 classrooms, two amphitheaters, 10 problem-based learning rooms, and 43 specialized teaching and research laboratories. It also features a library, cafeteria, administrative offices, faculty areas, and auxiliary spaces to support daily academic operations. Landscaped outdoor areas and on-site parking contribute to student, staff, and faculty convenience and comfort.
Phase I of UNIC’s Athens Campus program also established the first non-state medical school in Greece. Implemented in partnership with the Hellenic Healthcare Group, UNIC’s project team delivered simulation spaces to integrate academic excellence with clinical practice.
With a variety of sustainability features, the building achieved LEED Gold certification. Although the permit was issued in February 2025, Phase I concluded in time for the 2025 fall semester.
Hill provided project management consultancy services throughout the Phase I project. Our responsibilities included design coordination, permitting, procurement support, fit-out management, and overall supervision of construction activities. The Hill team also collaborated with UNIC’s stakeholders, local authorities, and design consultants to help ensure full compliance with owner expectations, national regulations, and European Union standards. Additionally, we oversaw the implementation of high-performance design solutions to achieve energy efficiency and the requirements for the target LEED score.
Phase II & III
Two additional project phases will add 75,000 SM to the Athens Campus within the Ellinikon district, bringing the entire campus to approximately 90,000 SM. Site works for Phase II will commence in 2026, and this phase is expected to conclude in time for the 2028-29 academic year. Phase III is expected to deliver additional facilities by 2031. The new buildings within the Ellinikon will be approximately a 15-minute walk from the Phase 1 facility and connect directly to the Ellinikon’s new transportation systems, including a tramline, cycle path, and pedestrian network.
Hill is currently supporting two projects associated with Phase II.
The Teaching & Research Facilities Project: This development will deliver a nearly 25,000 SM academic hub and is envisioned as a high-quality educational environment, integrating teaching, research, and innovation functions within a single, cohesive campus. The facilities are expected to accommodate a comprehensive range of uses, including teaching and lecture spaces, research and innovation laboratories, lab suites, modular workplaces for faculty and administrative staff, a presentation hall, high-performance computing hubs, a library, gathering spaces for students and visitors, an interior café, comfortable outdoor amenities, and more.
Hill is providing comprehensive, end‑to‑end project management services for the project. Leveraging technical expertise and an experienced multidisciplinary team, Hill is coordinating with stakeholders, managing the budget and the schedule, identifying and mitigating risk, and implementing rigorous oversight of onsite works to deliver the facilities as envisioned.
The Student Residences and Hotel Project: Undertaken in a joint venture with the Ellinikon’s developer, Lamda Development, this project will deliver a four-star hotel and student housing to serve UNIC’s Athens Campus and Ellinikon visitors. The facility will include approximately 800 beds and feature a variety of amenities, including coworking areas, gym space, dining options, a nearly 4,000 SM internal courtyard with landscaping and hardscaping, and a resort-size swimming pool, to promote a comfortable guest and student experience. UNIC is considering to prefabricate many building components off site, including multiple modular features for rapid reconfigurations to fulfill a variety of hospitality functions.
As project manager, Hill is coordinating design, permitting, procurement, and construction while addressing the unique operational, licensing, and hospitality standards required for the hybrid operational approach. By engaging specialized consultants from the outset, the Hill team is helping deliver early mock‑ups and mitigating schedule, permitting, and market‑related risks to help ensure successful project delivery.
