Three more storeys proposed atop Balluta’s Villa St Ignatius

An application transforming Villa St Ignatius in the Balluta area into a 4-star hotel also includes plans for the construction of three additional set-back floors above the villa, to accommodate hotel rooms and suites.

Plans submitted to the Planning Authority indicate that the extension will consist of a contemporary glass building.

The villa in Scicluna Street in San Giljan is part of a larger property which once housed the first Jesuits’ College in Malta, which was already mentioned as a landmark building in an 1839 account of Malta. The villa was the subject of controversy in November 2017 when a wing of the historic villa was partly demolished on the pretext that it contained dangerous structures.

The latest application, submitted by developer Paul Gauci, proposes the reinstatement of the villa’s front annex on Triq Scicluna, restoration works in the villa and reinstatement of the external stairs and other masonry features. A number of more recent structures and accretions will be demolished.

Three underground levels beneath the front and side of the property are being proposed to accommodate a service area and two levels of underground parking. The hotel will include a restaurant and breakfast area within the villa’s front annex at ground floor level together with an outdoor catering area within the villa’s front garden. An outdoor heated pool and deck area is being proposed on the roof of the villa’s front annex.

The project envisages the construction of a two-storey high multi-purpose hall and four floors of suites at the rear of the villa. Another side block comprising exhibition space at ground floor level and four levels of hotel rooms and suites is also being proposed. The plans foresee extensive landscaping and paving works within the front garden and a paved passage along the villa’s extents and roof gardens.

Villa St Ignatius was originally a detached country villa belonging to an English merchant named John Watson. Surrounded by gardens and fields, it was considered a prominent St Julian’s landmark and is mentioned in accounts of Malta dating back to 1839. The villa was later turned into the Malta Protestant College. The college remained in operation for almost 20 years and closed down in 1865.

In 1877 it was turned into a Jesuit boarding school which was closed in July 1907 after the Jesuits opened St Aloysius College in Birkirkara. The villa was converted into a military hospital in 1915 which included 155 hospital beds. In the 1920s the building was divided into tenements and sold off for residential purposes.

In June 2017, a court order was issued which allowed the removal of some dangerous structures and other works at the building. All works were to be supervised by a court-nominated architect. In July, architect Stephan Vancell submitted a request to the Planning Authority to demolish an entire wing of the building, including dangerous structures.

In November 2017, the NGO Din l-Art Helwa made a formal request for the building to be scheduled. But days later demolition work began on a more recent part of the building dating to the nineteenth century, resulting in the destruction of a balcony. The court later ruled that the partial demolition was in breach of the court order. In April 2018, Gauci applied to demolish part of the villa in order to create a public square. The application was later withdrawn.