Church leases Valletta property for offices, irks Superintendence

A Valletta corner building leased out by a Church order will be extensively demolished to make way for offices.

The property fronting St Ursula Street and Old Theatre Street, was leased to developer Ray Camilleri in 2019, and is now subject to a planning application which proposes extensive demolition works.

MaltaToday is informed that when the site was leased, the developer was obliged to renovate and conserve the building, parts of which are in a heavily dilapidated state.

In the application proposing the conversion of the building to one housing financial offices, Camilleri declared not being the full owner of the site but indicates that the owner had given consent to the proposed works. The application not only proposes an additional storey on the present building, but also the demolition of almost all the ceilings within the building, some internal walls and a staircase, as well as new ceilings at different levels, resulting in a number of new floors.

The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage has warned that this will result in the complete loss of “legibility” of the existing spaces. “This is a totally unacceptable proposal within a building of significant architectural value,” the SCH said.

Part of the corner building previously housed a printing press, but the tenement forms part of an extensive property which includes a convent for cloistered nuns and is one of few buildings in Valletta which retain their original height since its erection at the time of the Knights of the Order of St John.

Parts of the building date to 1595, although extensive works were made in the mid-18th century. The building also suffered damage in WWII. The monastery, which follows the rules set by the first Grand Master of the Order of St John Raymond de Puy, was originally subject to the Grand Master. But after the departure of the order, it fell under the authority of the Archbishop.

Although the Order of St John continued patronising the monastery, it now mainly depends on the rents paid by third parties who were rented out parts of the building.

The building is considered to have significant architectural value. It features an entrance hall roofed with a groin vault and sculptural decorations on the side panels, a central courtyard with several forms of sculptural decoration around the doorways, rooms roofed with timber beams and stone slabs, rooms roofed with arches and stone slabs and a traditional stone staircase. The printing press is also considered as a tangible example of industrial heritage. The Superintendence has now requested details on the current state and whereabouts of this printing press.

The Superintendence has not excluded any development but this should retain the general layout of the rooms, the ceilings and any significant features. Acceptable interventions within a building of this nature may include “the opening of apertures between rooms, installation of lightweight partitions and intermediate floors and the addition of toilet facilities”.  The SCH has refrained from commenting on the proposed additional floor, asking for a more detailed streetscape analysis before expressing itself on this issue.

Din l-Art Helwa is also objecting to the addition of another floor on top of the existing building, arguing that such an addition will alter the historical appearance of the property and thwart its proportions.