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MALTATODAY 28 July 2024

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12 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 28 JULY 2024 JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Portelli's Birkirkara makeover: five-storey block opposite Big Ben Portelli partner eyes Junior College site for 133-unit block Proposed block is one of several being proposed in this part of Birkirkara ONE of mega-developer Jo- seph Portelli's companies, Ex- cel Investments, is proposing a five-storey block of 29 flats and seven shops opposite the Big Ben store in Birkirkara. The application will see the demolition of a two-storey building partly occupied by the Fajsu garage and an overly- ing residence between Naxxar Road and Triq il-Mithna. The proposed development will include 17 garages on two basement levels and seven re- tail shops at ground level, with 29 residential units from the second to the receded fifth lev- el. A pool and jacuzzi are also being proposed on the fifth floor. The local plan limits devel- opment in this area to three floors. If approved the new de- velopment will create a blank party wall on both sides, thus paving the way for similar ad- jacent developments. This area in Birkirkara has already been transformed by the demolition of the modern- ist Villa Moira and its private gardens which hosted 54 cit- rus trees, to make way for a car park for the Smart supermar- ket. The application had originally been presented as the first stage for a future commercial devel- opment; the car park was sub- sequently extended by demol- ishing two adjacent townhouse whose facade was retained as a shell around the car park. The Superintendence for Cul- tural Heritage had opposed the demolition of these townhous- es, arguing that these mid-20th century townhouses offered a degree of legibility to the streetscape. But the PA's case officer over- ruled the SCH, arguing that the architect's proposal to retain the façade was an acceptable solution in a commercial area, and that the façade could be integrated in a future develop- ment. An eight-storey high home for the elderly is also being pro- posed on the Bonnici Textiles building opposite the nearby iconic Ta' Ganu windmill in Birkirkara, which is scheduled. The new development – also proposed by Portelli's Excel Limited – is in the buffer zone for the Ġnien tal-Kmand, a scheduled garden that forms part of the group of gardens built in various localities in Malta, in the early years of the 19th century when the island was a British protectorate. This means that the develop- er will have to present photo- montages showing the impact of the development on the sur- rounding area. The development is also 100m away from the modernist Villino Grech, an iconic home characterised by its V-shaped concrete columns. The build- ing is protected by law but is suffering from evident signs of neglect. A Joseph Portelli business part- ner is seeking the green light for 133 apartments in a 'student pri- ority area' right outside the Jun- ior College where one-bedroom units are not capped at the legal maximum of 20%. Mark Agius, a business part- ner of Joseph Portelli, intends to build the large residential complex on a 2,000sq.m site at the corner between Triq Clar- ence and Triq il-Bacir. No details were filed on the height of the proposed devel- opment since the only applica- tion so far is one for the demo- lition of a warehouse complex presently screened by various trees and shrubs. A second phase of the project will consist of the complex that will have two levels of base- ment garages, a mix of com- mercial and residential devel- opment at ground floor level, and 133 residential units from the first floor upwards. This part of Msida has a height limitation of four floors in the local plan but follow- ing the introduction of metric heights, developers normally fit six full floors and a pent- house level in such areas by lowering the heights of the in- dividual storeys. The site in question has no planning or environmental constraints being outside the Urban Conservation Area. Mark Agius is also behind an- other massive development of a five-storey development con- sisting of 101 apartments being proposed in Paola, on the site of the former Castille Leathers factory at the corner between Triq Ninu Cremona, Triq L-Ib- jar and Triq il-Belt Valletta in close vicinity to the A3 towers. The industrial site is also pres- ently screened by vegetation. JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt 'Student priority area' zone has no capping on number of one bedroom apartments

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