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MT 7 June 2015

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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 7 JUNE 2015 10 News JAMES DEBONO THE 'Dubai-fication' of the Sliema skyline is in full swing, with two newly proposed towers fighting for the honour of becoming Malta's tallest buildings. As far as plans go, a 40-storey tower being proposed on top of the Fort Cambridge officers' mess is set to become Malta's tallest tower block. In a separate development, plans for the town square project pro- posed by Mark Gasan, the son of magnate Joseph Gasan, have also been changed. Plans submitted last week show the height of the main tower in- creasing from the 34 storeys pro- posed in September 2014 to 38 storeys. In 2010 the development was limited to 23 storeys. If approved the two Sliema tow- ers will be higher than any other building in Malta, surpassing by far the Portomaso tower, which is 23 floors. Not very far away, the Metropolis development in Gzira is set to rise to 33 floors. 40 storeys on Fort Cambridge The application proposing the erection of a 40-storey hotel also foresees the "retention of the his- toric existing facades of the Fort Cambridge barracks" and the "demolition of the existing south- west facade and the 'internal struc- tures'." The design of the high-rise build- ings is being prepared by leading architect Ray Demicoli, who de- signed the Portomoso tower and marina developments, and is cur- rently designing plans for the Zon- qor point American University, the proposed Costa del Sol Hotel in Ghadira and the proposed ex- tension of the Ramla Bay Hotel. In 2014 Demicoli was also one of a number of architects chosen to sit on a committee entrusted with drafting a new policy on building heights, which was approved by the government in 2014. MaltaToday had already revealed in January that the barracks had been identified for a high-rise hotel development. MEPA's Planning Directorate had held "preliminary discussions" on a proposal to develop a "new hotel" on the abandoned site of the former Holiday Inn in Tigné, Sliema, a spokesperson for the Malta Envi- ronment and Planning Authority confirmed. When asked whether a high-rise development is being proposed in the barracks area, Paul Attard, di- rector of GAP Developments Plc, said the company has "no particu- lar plans" for the site but confirmed that it "is looking at all possibilities available according to the current building policies". The building, whose façade will be retained in the proposed develop- ment, includes the officers' quarters dating back to the British colonial era. The building has been left in a shabby and abandoned state for the past decade, despite being proposed for Grade 2 scheduling by MEPA. Over the past months residents have denounced "countless mys- terious fires" and a general lack of maintenance which have made the abandoned building a haven for "vermin of all kinds". The permit issued in 2010, oblig- ing developers to restore Fort Cam- bridge, did not impose any obliga- tions with regard to the upkeep of the British era barracks. Currently the developers are conducting works to restore the nearby fort. Although the site is adjacent to the high-rise Fort Cambridge de- velopment, it also lies in proximity to low-rise residential houses. The barracks is being proposed for Grade 2 scheduling by the Mal- ta Environment and Planning Au- thority. If scheduled, the building itself will be protected from demo- lition but alterations can be made to its interior. Recently the façade of the naval clinic was integrated in an eight-storey development next to the Pjazzetta at Ghar il-Lembi in Sliema. 38 storeys in Sliema Townsquare The Townsquare project, which includes the premises of the former Union Club and the scheduled Vil- la Drago, which is to be restored, dates back to 2005 when an appli- cation was presented to construct a shopping hall, residential units and an underground car park on this site. A Project Development State- ment presented by the Gasan Group in 2007 proposed a 32-sto- rey tower on the site, apart from a public square, pedestrianised areas and a number of smaller blocks. Three years later the height of the tower was slashed to 23 sto- reys, but a new tower rising to 15 storeys was also proposed along with the central tower. An update to the Environment Planning Statement presented by the developers in 2010 stated that the building heights were changed following discussions with MEPA. In 2012, a revised environment impact study recommended that people should close their win- dows to mitigate the noise impact of the development, prompting a reaction by former environment minister Mario de Marco, who described this recommendation as "unreasonable". The studies commissioned by the developers in 2010 – after the height of the main tower was slashed to 23 storeys – concluded that the project will have a "minor impact" with regard to the shad- owing on the neighbourhood. But the same study acknowl- edges that the project will increase the shadowing on the public open spaces along the Qui-Si-Sana sea- front. "The scheme will extend this impact further over the sea. It will also impact additional areas of the rocky foreshore at noon insofar as COURT NOTICE The Registrar, Civil Courts and Tribunals notifies that the First Hall of the Civil Court ordered the sale by Judicial Auction of the following property to be held in the corridors of the Courts of Justice, Republic Street, Valletta. Date and Time Judicial Sale No Property 16th June, 2015 62/13 - 11.30am EGL Villa, by the name of 'Lycidas', in Triq dun Mikiel Xerri, Attard, built on two portions of land which are numbered twelve and thirteen, forming part of a land known as Tal-Irmiedi, in the district of Tal-Idward, limits of Attard. The property consists of two storeys and a semi- basement garage with its own airspace and with perpetual ground rent of circa (sic.) forty-two Euros (!42.00) yearly. The property is valued at five hundred and eighty-two thousand and five hundred Euros (!582,500.00). Further details can be obtained from the website: http://www.justiceservices.gov.mt/courtservices/JudicialSales/search.aspx The bidders taking part in the auction must present their identity card. Rudolph Marmara' For the Registrar of Civil Courts and Tribunals Feeling dizzy? Sliema's Townsquare tower has now been increased to 38 storeys... Sliema's new towers Towering high above Fort Cambridge, the Gap Holdings' new tower will be built over the former Holiday Inn hotel Photo (C) Demicoli & Associates

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