Stivala files new application to build hotel in Gżira and sanction extra floor on adjacent building

Through a new application for another hotel in Gżira, Malta Development Association (MDA) President Michael Stivala is also seeking to sanction an extra floor that was developed illegally a couple of years ago in a business centre adjacent to the site.

The proposal also foresees “the interconnection with the adjacent building (ST Business Centre) at Level 10 to serve as a conference hall”, while also seeking permission to sanction “a temporary structure and minor roof alterations” that were previously added to ST Business Centre’s top floor in 2024.

At the time, Stivala had denied knowledge of illegalities related to the extra floor on top of his business centre, despite the fact that the space was being advertised as an office space available for lease.

ST Projects Ltd, which is owned by the Stivala Group, filed a planning application to build a three-star, 13-storey hotel adjacent to the ST Business Centre on Gżira’s promenade.

The new planning application seeks permission to demolish the neighbouring three-floor building to construct 90 guest rooms for a Class 3B hotel spread over 13 floors and one basement level.

The application, filed by architect Daphne Zammit on behalf of ST Projects Ltd, covers a site area of 318sqm, with the proposed plans showing that the new hotel would be taller and slimmer than the business centre next to it.

Stivala said the application was submitted in accordance with all applicable policies and regulations.

Though the application is still in its early phases and a case officer for the PA has yet to issue a recommendation for approval or rejection, the MTA has already issued a no-objection letter.

The developer expressed a commitment to finishing and operating the proposed development to “a high standard”, pointing towards the company’s efforts to use energy efficient systems, environmentally friendly materials, and sustainable operational practices to reduce environmental impact and enhance the quality of the development and the surrounding area.

A pattern

Stivala Group’s new application for the 13-storey hotel development in Gżira follows another recent application to develop a Class 3A 11-storey hostel in nearby Triq Moroni in Sliema.

In 2022, residents and activists organised a protest against Stivala’s original plans to develop a Class 3B hotel spread over 11 floors on the same site, arguing that the residential context was incompatible with the proposal and that it would further add to the pressures caused by the large volume of major developments in the area.

A court case filed to overturn the PA’s approval of those plans was successful, with the developer now stating that “the application currently before the PA was substantially different from the one subject of the court decision and has specifically been redesigned to address the matters raised”.

The developer maintained that the MTA issued its approval a few months ago and that the hostel application has been prepared in accordance with applicable requirements and regulations and that it should be assessed “solely on the basis of the policies and regulations applicable to the proposal submitted”.

After Stivala’s revised plans for the Sliema site came to light at the end of last month, the coordinator of eNGO Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar, Astrid Vella, described the new application as “identical” to the original plans.

A side-by-side comparison of the proposed elevation designs submitted in 2021 and 2026 does make it apparent that they are identical in size and scale.