Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1477650
NEWS 7 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 31 AUGUST 2022 Stivala proposes two new floors on Ta' Xbiex tower JAMES DEBONO DEVELOPER Michael Stiva- la has applied to add two new floors to the 15-storey ST Tower in Gżira, which is already under construction. The building, which will house offices, was approved by the Planning Authority in April 2020. In the new application, Stivala is also envisaging the addition of an 85sq.m 'open space' on a site fronting Triq Emmanuel Galizia, which is separate from the site of the original tower development. The extension of the open space in this case would facil- itate the approval of the addi- tional storeys as the height of tall buildings is based on the floor area ratio calculation, which bal- ances increased heights with the open spaces created. The project's open spaces will be increased from the 478sq.m approved around the tower in 2020 to 563sq.m. In its reaction to the applica- tion, Transport Malta has asked for more details on how the open space which is "separate from the site and somehow linked across the public road to the de- velopment site" will impact on the road network". The Civil Aviation Directorate which assesses the impact of tall buildings on airplane move- ments found no objection to the proposed development but has recommended the installation of an obstruction light at the high- est point of the building. Stivala, who is also president of the Malta Developers Asso- ciation, is following in the foot- steps of the 14 East developers in Gżira, who had also applied for extra storeys immediately after being granted a permit for a low- er high-rise development. In 2017, the Planning Authori- ty had approved five extra floors to the 16-floor high rise develop- ment on the United Garage site two years before. How Stivala got tower permit The development of Stivala's 15-storey tower was approved in April 2020 when the PA board overruled the case officer's nega- tive recommendation. The pro- ject was recommended for re- fusal because the height of four basement garages will be 0.4 metres less than that required by law. In this case the height of four of the basement garages are set at 2.1m, less than the 2.4 m stipulated by law, while the top basement level will be 3.1m. Ar- chitect Joseph Bondin pointed out that going deeper under- ground would create structural problems due to the fact that the excavations will already go 6m below sea level. All board members, except NGO representative Annick Bonello, had voted in favour of the project. PA executive chairman Mar- tin Saliba specified that the law foresaw the possibility of exemp- tions to the law, even if the law does not specifically mention basement garages among the cases where an exemption can be granted. Saliba also said that reducing the height of basement storeys helps in reducing con- struction waste. Despite recommending re- fusal of Stivala's tower due to the technical issue posed by the height of the parking levels, the case officer also recognised that the new project will act as "the starting push for the upgrading of the area". The height of the proposal was also deemed to "complement with the potential landscape of other approved developments in the vicinity" and would replace the "existing run-down build- ings in an area which is in dire need of regeneration projects of this type". A social impact assessment among residents had revealed great construction fatigue inside the harbour town and neigh- bouring villages. Nearly two-thirds of residents in Gżira, Msida and Ta' Xbiex disagreed with the proposed tower on Testaferrata Street, which would stand beside the as yet to be built Metropolis devel- opment, and reported a "degree of mistrust, bordering on resent- ment, towards the construction and building industry." The study was conducted by sociologists Marvin Formosa and Maria Brown, and included a survey carried out in August 2019 among 301 residents from Msida, Gzira and Ta' Xbiex. Developer also proposes the addition of an 85sq.m plot of land on a separate sight as additional open space