Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/680790
8 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2016 News IN ALL LEADING BOOK SHOPS HISTORY OF ORNITHOLOGY IN MALTA Gzira tower to rise to 24 storeys JAMES DEBONO ADMG Estates Limited have ap- plied to add eight new storeys to an already approved 16-storey tower on a triangular-shaped plot of land fronting Triq il-Gżira, Triq il-Rebħa and Triq Tas-Slie- ma and which housed the former United Garage building, 150 me- tres away from the Gzira church. The additional storeys will make the Gzira tower as high as the Portomaso tower in St Ju- lian's, but the project remains 10 f loors shorter than the largest of the three proposed Metropolis towers in Testaferrata Street. The additions will consist of 10 additional residential units and a panoramic lift along the facade on Triq il-Gzira. ADMG is owned by various shareholders, including Sonnet Investments, JPK Investments, Marius Cordina and Paul Darma- nin. The directors of the compa- ny are Ian De Cesare and Marius Cordina. The 16-storey building, which consists of a mix of offices and apartments, was approved in a re- cord four months in August 2015. A Project Development State- ment for this project had warned of impacts on long distance views of Valletta was never published and no full Environment Plan- ning Statement was ever con- ducted. Photomontages showed that the project as approved will be moderately visible from Hast- ings Garden, Valletta. The visual impact is expected to increase with the addition of eight f loors. Other studies – such as those for the Townsquare Project in Sliema – contained detailed en- vironmental studies including studies on traffic impact, pollu- tion, wind conditions and land- scape impact. No wind studies which are ob- ligatory in EIAs for high-rise buildings were requested by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority before the approval of a new 16-metre tower in Gzira. A Project Development State- ment noted that the significant increase in the height of the de- velopment could potentially have implications for wind circulation around the development and the wind microclimate of the sur- rounding streets. Shading studies show that shading will be limited to roofs of surrounding build- ings. But it emerges that no such studies were ever carried out. "Studies on the possible chang- es to the wind microclimate in the area of the development were not requested by either the Plan- ning Directorate or any of the agencies/departments consulted during the processing of the ap- plication," a spokesperson for MEPA told MaltaToday after the project was approved. As for shadowing, a sun path study was carried out to show the shadowing of the proposed development. The study showed that the surrounding streets are already shaded and the project will mostly impact surrounding roofs, depending on the time of the day. As approved, the 16-storey building will include three base- ment parking levels accommo- dating 125 car parking spaces, 695 square metres of landscaped public open space, a cafeteria, overlying office space and 10 resi- dential units. The board imposed a planning gain of nearly €30,000 for the Gzira Local Council to use in environmental and urban improvement projects, traffic management, green transport and similar projects. The project will include a public plaza which occupies 62% of the site at ground level. But a part of this open space is roofed over by the tower. In fact the non-roofed open space is slightly less than the 50% of the site dictated by the policy. A four storey development was already approved in 2012. The project in- cludes 125 parking spaces which is 28 more than required by pro- ject. The building will include a green wall. MDA says 'tender' for St George's Bay site should have set minimum price THE Malta Developers Associa- tion said it was concerned on the process followed for the call for offers for the development of the ITS site in St George's Bay. "While the MDA declares that it is not against the project pro- posed by the Seabank Group, the MDA is concerned that there appear to have been shortcom- ings in the process for the tender call," the MDA, whose president is Sandro Chetcuti, said. The MDA said the public call "effectively resembled more of a request for proposals (RFP)" than a tender, and that there appears to have been confusion on this in the same tender document. "The MDA expects that, when a tender of this nature is issued, the government should prepare a development brief in advance so that everyone will know clearly what can be built on the specific site. The tender system should not be used when there is a call for proposals and ideas, as ap- pears to have been the case." The MDA also said the time allocated for the documents to be prepared and the details of the submissions should be long enough to ensure that there is a level playing field between all those interested in embarking on a project of this size. "This is also important so that transparency of the process is ensured. The MDA appeals to the government to ensure that the process is just. The govern- ment should establish a mini- mum price it is prepared to ac- cept for public land. The value of the land should reflect the commercial market price to safe- guard the common good." The St Julian's site currently housing the Institute of Tourism Studies No wind studies were requested by MEPA before the approval of a new 16-metre tower in Gzira