12-storey high structure approved for Xemxija hill

A huge 103-apartment real estate project first proposed 21 years ago was approved on Monday for Xemxija not by the Planning Board, which normally takes major planning decisions under the scrutiny of the media, but by the Environment Planning Commission.

The project, proposed by Anthony Abdilla, includes two basement levels providing 133 parking spaces, 23 lock up garages and four catering establishments on ground floor, 103 apartments on the first 11 storeys and six penthouses on the 11th and 12th floors.

20 years ago residents had objected to the demolition of an existing villa and the building’s proposed massive proportion and scale. But the Planning Directorate, in a report recommending approval of the development, said that since then “the overall context of this area has been drastically changed by other developments”. 

The site, which lies within development boundaries, consists of a vacant plot and an old villa on a 3,500m2 plot of land between Triq is-Simar and Xemxija hill. The main access to the project will be from Xemxija Hill, which is described by the case officer as an “important traffic artery”. 

The case officer claims that the 12-storey building respects the four-floor height limitation of the area because of the terraced nature of the development.

The report notes that all developments in the area have been approved between two streets, which have a major difference in levels between them. The height difference between the two streets is of approximately 22 metres. Therefore, according to the case officer, the terraced profile consisting of 12 floors “reflects the difference in levels between both streets”.

The demolition of the existing building was justified because although such buildings were “a common occurrence in the past these have been overtaken by terraced development”.

The high-rise will include a pedestrian space fronting the commercial outlets on Xemxija hill.

Abdilla is an owner of ACS Real Estates Limited, whose shareholders include Anton Camilleri, the proponent of the Villa Rosa development in St Julians. Camilleri is described as the ‘client’ in plans submitted by the architect of the project. 

Project could increase pressure for new road

No details are given in the case officer report recommending approval, about the Transport Impact Statement conducted. Transport Malta had no objection to the project even though it is expected to exacerbate pressure on Xemxija Hill.

The Imbordin Road, controversially proposed as part of the TEN-T network, was meant as a solution to the Xemxija bottleneck before 2008. 

But amid major environmental concerns, the road was not even considered one of the Transport Authority’s priority projects for the period 2007-2013. The Imbordin Road would have comprised a 545m tunnel that would pass under Xaghra ta’ l-Ghansar in the Pwales area. It was proposed as an alternative to the Manikata road network, which was shot down in 2006 after protests from farmers in the area.