PA set to approve two 11-storey towers in Smart City

A case officer is recommending approval of an 11-storey hotel and residential development at Smart City in an area currently used as a surface car park.

The development consists of a 250-room hotel and 128 apartments on a 15,200sq.m site along the eastern part of the Smart City complex.

Photomontages of the development show the new development dominating views from the Xghajra promenade and the shoreline. A final decision will be taken by the Planning board on Thursday 3 August.

In the original Smart City masterplan, approved in 2008, this parcel of land was earmarked for a hotel and short stay accommodation facilities.

As proposed  the hotel component will have a gross floor area of 21,000sq.m while the residential component will have a floor area of 16,500sq.m.

But according to the case officer the proposed introduction of the residential component within the site is in line with the residential uses already established for Smart City as a whole.

The report also refers to “demographic trends over the last 20 years” which led to changes in the “objectives and approach to the original concept of Smart City Malta” as an ICT city.  This led to the transfer of floor space from office use to residential use.

Moreover, according to the case officer, the proposed change in use would translate into a reduction in traffic generated by the development on the site in question, which in turn is expected to result in an alleviation of traffic-related emissions.

According to the case officer the proposal will not exceed the building intensity envisaged in the 2008 masterplan, but will involve a slight increase in the maximum  height allowed by 0.2m from 38 meters to 38.2 meters.

“In this regard the proposed changes are not envisaged to lead to significant additional impacts on the visual amenity of the surrounding environment, over and above those permitted in the 2008 permit.”

Moreover, the proposed development seeks to increase the landscaped areas surrounding the plots.

The site is presently accessed through an internal road off Triq Santu Rokku and the promenade. Once the whole network of Smart City will be completed the site will also be accessible throughout a ring road.

In the meantime, Smart City is also proposing a new masterplan which allocates plots previously earmarked for information and communications technology (ICT) offices to other purposes like development related to education and residential institutions.

A spokesperson for the company attributed this change to a “significant saturation of local office development” and “the post-pandemic changes to workplace outlook”  as well as an increased demand for space for “less speculative educational land uses”.

The amendments to the 2008 Smart City masterplan also foresee the elimination of residential development on 38,000sq.m of agricultural land around St Peter’s battery. This large area is to be retained as a green open space.