Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/682623
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 22 MAY 2016 8 MATTHEW VELLA A luxury boutique hotel in Birgu, the Palazzo Vittoriosa, has been sold for €4.1 million by the Dutch couple who acquired the building and renovated it, just over three years since it opened for business. The 16th century palace was renovated by Jessica and Remco Slik, who received €85,000 in EU grants for the renovation, but put the boutique hotel on sale in July 2014, just 18 months after open- ing for business in December 2012. Initially built in 1565 and un- used for decades prior to its transformation into a tourist as- set, the palace was a beneficiary of sustainable tourism funds. But the hotel appears to have attract- ed little custom. The sale, made earlier in May, was made to Belgian entrepre- neur Patrick De Pauw. The house at 55 and 56 Hilda Tabone Street was originally ac- quired by the Sliks for €535,755 in May 2009. The renovated property earned the Sliks a profit of €3.6 million over five years. The former Malta Tourism Authority chief executive, Josef Formosa Gauci, had said the EU money would have to be paid back if the property were to be sold as a residence. "What we would now need to look into is in what form the property is going to be sold. At the end of the day, the owners were given the grant for the restoration and opening of a top-end hotel. The scheme was not given to them in order to fund a private residence or sell it as such." MaltaToday understands that the hotel was in part sold to De Pauw's company Peacock Ltd – set up in De- cember 2015 – for €200,000 in consideration of the movable items in the hotel. If the property is sold as a residential unit, then the own- ers would need to pay back the grant they received in its entirety, but if the hotel is sold as a going concern with the purpose of the property remaining the same, then the new owners would need to take on the responsibility of the agreement themselves. JAMES DEBONO THE Government Property Di- vision will not be renegotiating the price of the land acquired by Gap Holdings, which in 2007 was selected to develop Tigné's Fort Cambridge area according to the specifications of a development brief. Despite being instructed not to increase the height of the Fort Cambridge barracks adjacent to its 20-storey apartment block, Gap Holdings are now seeking the green light for an unprecedented 40-storey tower block atop the his- toric British forces barracks. But despite this tenfold increase in building heights over and above what was set by a legally-binding development brief to retain the Tigné barracks, the brief is legally not mentioned in the deed signed with Gap Holdings in 2007. And that means that the com- pany is likely to be unhindered in seeking a permit for the new tower block. Additionally, the drastic change in building heights for this part of the project that had to be reserved for office space, will now result in a massive appreciation of land value from the original 99-year lease of €54 million. Parliamentary secretary for lands Deborah Schembri has confirmed with MaltaToday that since the 2007 deed does not take into ac- count the development brief that guided Gap Holdings, the Govern- ment Property Division "has to honour the original deed" – that would imply that no renegotiation of the lease price or any changes are being considered. The parliamentary secretary also sent MaltaToday copies of corre- spondence from the office of the Attorney General in 2007, which confirms that the development brief was given to all bidders for the land as a guideline before sub- mitting their bid. When former Labour MP Joe Brincat questioned the changes to the building heights that were proposed by bidders over and above the development brief, the AG had replied that the brief's planning parameters were not in- cluded in the tender conditions. Initially the developers wanted to raise heights for the luxury apartment portion of the project from 16 to 23 storeys. In 2008, the PA opted for a 20-storey de- velopment that would however retain the same height in metres of a 16-storey block: by lower- ing the height of each individual floor. The PA board insisted this would respect the brief's param- eters, a decision that was con- firmed by the planning appeals board because it was in line with the approved development brief. And indeed this would be the indication that even though the Gap Holdings deed does not re- fer to the development brief, the brief was still recognised as the legal mechanism regulating de- velopment in the area. But in 2015, new planning laws allowed the Fort Cambridge de- velopment brief to be superseded by a policy that allows standalone hotels to add an unlimited num- ber of floors. Now, by relegating development briefs to the lowest rung in a hierarchy establishing the precedence of plans, the new Planning Act effectively paves the way for the approval of the Fort Cambridge 40-storey tower. The only snag is that the ho- tel heights policy does not apply to hotels located on scheduled and protected buildings, like Gap Holdings' proposal for the Fort Cambridge barracks. And the Sliema local council has recently called on the Planning Authority to schedule the British barracks. But if the permit for the 40-sto- rey tower is granted, Gap Holdings will not be paying anything more to the public despite the higher value of its land; nor is the PA bound by the development brief when it comes to issue the permit. Additionally Tigné is designated as a high-rise zone by a 2014 poli- cy, which applies to buildings that apply the so-called floor area ratio: enabling taller buildings by creat- ing more open space around them. But Gap Holdings' proposed hotel does not fall in this category. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt News IMPORTANT NOTICE Grant scheme on the purchase of photovoltaic systems for domestic use The Regulator for Energy and Water Services, will be holding information meetings for the general public interested in applying for a grant on the purchase of photovoltaic systems for domestic use (2016/PV/ERDF) The meetings will be held as follows: Tuesday 24 th May: Catholic Institute, Floriana at 5.30pm Thursday 26 th May: Ministry for Gozo, Rabat at 5.00pm Fort Cambridge developers won't have to pay more for appreciation of land Gap Holdings' proposal for a 40-storey hotel atop the Fort Cambridge barracks will appreciate the value of the land whose 99-year lease it acquired for €54 million, but it won't be paying an extra cent Swanky boutique hotel in Birgu goes for €4.1 million Couple Remco and Jessica Slik turned the Birgu property into a goldmine