Townsquare: Stivala fits in 75 more apartments

After buying the site of the already approved Townsquare project in Sliema, developer Michael Stivala has presented new plans which include 75 more apartments and a 10-storey hotel.

The 28-storey Townsquare project in Sliema was approved by the Planning Authority board in 2019, following years of controversy over the height of the high-rise building. The project was a joint venture between the Ganado, Gasan, Soler and Trapani-Galea families.

But a year ago Stivala, who is also president of the Malta Developers Association, clinched a deal with the developers to take over the project for reportedly €70 million.

The latest plans do not foresee any significant increase in the height of the approved tower but propose an increase in the number of apartments from the 159 approved in 2019, to 234. Moreover, the plans also envisage the development of a 10-storey hotel, which will service the apartments in the tower.

Serviced apartments, fully furnished and where guests have their needs provided by an adjacent hotel, are increasingly being proposed in major development projects, including the Jerma (259 serviced apartments), the Westin Dragonara (145) and the Villa Rosa project in St George’s Bay (789).

After being issued with a permit for the tower development in 2019, the former owners had applied to add three floors on an approved seven-storey building and change its function from an office block to a 113-room hotel, overlooking a new square near Villa Drago. The villa forms part of the project’s footprint.

But according to the plans submitted by Stivala, the hotel will now be located further away from Villa Drago in the direction of Hughes Hallet Street.

According to the new plans the main entrance and exit to the underground parking will be relocated from Hughes Hallet to Triq Qui Si Sana. A drop-off zone and a garage entrance for the residential component of the project will still be in Triq Hughes Hallet.

Stivala’s application also foresees a reconfiguration of parking levels to increase the number of parking spaces from 600 to 850, and the introduction of a parking area for alternative modes of transport, including cycling, scooters, and taxis.