Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/685221
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 29 MAY 2016 6 News JAMES DEBONO A new casino and Malta's "larg- est shopping mall" were among the proposals listed by Seabank, the sole bidders for a concession of land on the site of the Institute for Tourism Studies, in documents describing the components of the project pre- sented to the government in Janu- ary. Moreover the document reveals that the developer plans to com- mence works on the site are pro- jected to start on 3 October 2016 well before the completion of the new Institute for Tourism Studies campus in Smart City. Such a short time frame also as- sumes a fast tracking of planning procedures especially when one considers that the Planning Author- ity is still considering changes to the local plan for Paceville and still has to assess the project. Last week a spokesperson for the Tourism Ministry told MaltaToday that the move will only take place once the campus is completed in 2019. The shopping mall will cover al- most 24,000m2 on three levels and will be "solely dedicated to the most luxurious designer brands, in line with the recurrent upmarket theme of the project". Big Bon Group owned by Bernard and Mario Gauci is described as "lead operator for the mall" in at- tracting brands which are currently not found in Malta. Bigbon has already taken over 2,400m2 in the Point shopping mall. 17,690m2 of retail space, with an area of between 3,000m2 and 5,000m2 earmarked for designer brand and luxury outlets. 2,000m2 will be allocated to an upmarket supermarket brand. The remain- ing outlet space will be allocated to high-street fashion outlets, other branded retail stores offering cos- metics, home furnishings and tech gadgets, cafés and other refreshment and entertainment establishments. The opening date of the mall is set for June 2018. The Hard Rock Casino will be laid out over a total of 2,085m2 on three floors. The Casino will also include a bar and restaurant. The games on offer will include 25 table games, 375 slot machines and a poker room. "Together with other casino op- erators in Malta, we want to build up this sector by attracting interna- tional events such as those organised by Pokerstars" the document states. The casino aims to attract High Net Worth Individuals and "high- rollers", especially from the North American and Asian markets who are used to the kind of casino expe- riences offered at the Hard Rock. The hotel will also house a sepa- rate state-of-the-art concert venue for 1000 seated guests 2,500 stand- ing guests. Cocooning residents in luxury The residential gated community proposed in this area comes with a promise of "cocooning residents in luxury and isolating them from the hustle and bustle of the urban land- scape". The proposed residential towers will consist of a total of 209 luxury apartments. 140 of these apartments will be located on Tower A spread on 29 levels over 28,544m2. Tower B will include 69 apartments on 23 levels over 17,825m2. Tower B will also contain 3,875m2 of prime office space spread over five levels. Since a significant proportion of the apartments will be sold to expa- triates, the proponents of the project are also asking for the residences to be declared a Special Designated Area (SDA) in accordance to the Immovable Property (acquisition by non-residents) Act. "We believe that these residences will be of equal or greater impor- tance to the 15 SDAs including de- velopments such as Portomaso and Tigne Point." Special Designated Areas are prime residency areas where the conditions of acquisition are the same for Maltese and foreign resi- dents. The Hard Rock Hotel will also in- clude a Sky Bar, perched atop the highest point of the hotel, overlook- ing the beach and the St Julian's area and a beach bar on the coast. The hotel will comprise 260 rooms and 110 suites. City Centre has been designed to include 2,364 parking spaces that will service the individual compo- nents of the project. ITS expected to close doors next month The document assumes that the Institute of Tourism Studies "will close after the end of the academic year in June 2016 and will then be re-located into new premises to be provided by the the government". Excavations were projected to com- mence as early as this October. The development of the residen- tial towers will be in two phases, spanning nearly three years. Phase 1 will see the construction of the South Tower and should take place between April 2017 and June 2018. Phase 2 will see the construction of the North Tower and should take place between July 2018 and August 2019. Last week a spokesperson for the Ministry for Tourism told MaltaTo- day that the ITS will only move from its current site following the com- pletion of its campus in SmartCity in 2019. The document refers to the exist- ing ITS building which is scheduled for its historical importance by say- ing that it will be "carefully protect- ed, appropriately restored and inte- grated within the new development scheme and use". But it is not clear how this integration will take place. But another part of the document refers to works envisaging the "care- ful" dismantling of the building and the "identification and logging of each piece." The "necessary protec- tion and restoration process will kick start together with the excava- tion works to the north part of the development site". No planning parameters for project Negotiations with the Seabank Hotel's owner for the concession of the site occupied by the Institute for Tourism Studies in St George's Bay, were started in the absence of a de- velopment brief setting out the plan- ning parameters for development of this site. A Projects Malta tender for the site was issued before the revision of the area's local plan, which started on 28 December, 2015, and which will change the parameters for develop- ment in the entertainment mecca to one aspiring to be a "quality" busi- ness hub. The brief will also include a "strat- egy" on how to incorporate "tall buildings". In 2014 Developer Silvio Debono had revealed in an inter- view that he was working with the government to find land for a Hard Rock hotel. "We have been awarded best Hard Rock Café Franchise in the world and profit-wise we are one of the best. Now together with them we are looking to do a Hard Rock Ho- tel. We are looking with the govern- ment to see where the available land is". The documents seen by Malta- Today do not refer to the price the developers are willing to pay for the land in question. DUE TO THE SUCCESS OF OUR CAMPAIGN THIS MONTH WE ARE PLEASED TO ADVISE OUR REGISTERED MEMBERS FREE NEUTERING WILL CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE MONTH OF JUNE. WE THANK THE MVA FOR THEIR SUPPORT. Email paws1@go.net.mt Tel: 79524555 PAWS MALTA FREE NEUTERING CAMPAIGN FOR STRAY CATS 24,000 square metre shopping mall, casino and concert venue proposed at ITS site An artist's impression of the proposed development on the ITS site in St Julian's