[WATCH] Second phase of Pendergardens underway

Pendergardens - Big demand for high-end property. Video: Ray Attard

The second phase of the ongoing development at the Pendergardens complex in St Julian's was announced this morning. It will cost an estimated €50 million with works on one block having already commenced. Works on the three other blocks will begin in July of this year.

In total, the project will include the building of 120 apartments, and will also create 5,500 square metres of office space and 9,000 square metres for commercial outlets. The new phase is expected to be completed within the next three years and will employ a total of 200 persons.

The development will be an extension of the project’s first phase, which consists of 150 apartments – all having already been taken up – with a car park that holds 400 vehicles.

Describing it as a “significant investment”, Muscat said that the project showed the extent of the demand for a market for real estate of quality. "The keyword here is quality," he said. "The time of being satisfied with mediocre projects has to end.”

"The level of interest in high-end property in the country has reached unprecedented levels," he added, citing the sale of Maltese citizenship under the IIP as just one reason for this interest.

On his part, Pendergardens chairman Edmund Gatt Baldacchino said the project had been successfully undertaken during a time of economic crisis. He said that Pendergardens aimed to become a business and financial centre, as well as being the site for high-end apartments.

The prime minister was then given a private tour by Gatt Baldacchino, after which he was expected to reply to questions from the awaiting press. However, after around half an hour, members of the press were told that Muscat had left as he had a meeting to attend to.