Fort Chambray: 155 new apartments proposed

The latest plans for Fort Chambray in Gozo include a 5-star aparthotel with 63 rooms, 50 serviced apartments, 105 residential units and the creation of a new public pjazza.

The project, proposed by Gozitan developer Michael Caruana on behalf of Fort Chambray Ltd, involves the construction of two levels of underground parking with 319 garages.

The relocated British barracks’ screen and flanks will be relocated close to the Knights’ barracks, and a new building will be built behind it to house the proposed aparthotel. Ten hotel rooms are also proposed within the restored Dar it-Tabib.

The Knights’ barracks themselves will accommodate four small retail outlets, the aparthotel restaurants, and a conference and exhibition space. The polverista building will be transformed into the aparthotel bar, whereas the naval bakery will become a club house.

The height of the serviced apartments will vary from two floors to three floors. The residential apartments and the hotel will rise to a maximum of four floors.

Development is regulated by the Fort Chambray Development Brief, which envisages the use of the historical fort for a hotel, casino, retail and craft centre, multi-ownership tourist accommodation, cultural and heritage facilities, health and fitness centre, s language school and open-air theatre.

The dismantling and partial relocation of the British barracks was already foreseen in an outline permit back in 2012, but has since than expired.

Back then the PA’s Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee had objected to the the relocation of the British barracks, deeming this to be in breach of conservation principle and the approved development brief for the area.

But the final plans were endorsed by the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage, which welcomed the new layout of the development which was shifted towards the centre of Fort Chambray, and away from the perimeter of the fortifications.

Development to rise to four floors

The residences located closer to the edge of the fortification will start at a lower building height and progressively step up towards the centre of the site, culminating in the aparthotel as the highest proposed building.

The aparthotel will cover a built footprint of 1,008sq.m, rising to four floors. The hotel will be split in two blocks with a garden. The 50 hotel-serviced apartments will cover a built footprint of 1,370sq.m, proposed across two concentric strips northwards of the aparthotel building.

The 105 residential units will occupy a total built footprint of 5,011sq.m, which is subdivided into smaller blocks to create more open spaces in between.

The outer historical ditch of the fort, which occupies an area of 21,230sq.m, will be rehabilitated into a “highly landscaped, accessible recreational space”. Together with a central square and other open spaces with the fort itself this will increase the open space provision to 50,566sq.m.

The proposal represents an increase in the floor area of the hotel and residential development from 18,097sq.m approved in the 2012 outline permit, to 22,556sq.m now. This development will occupy a footprint 7,388sq.m. This will result in a total built footprint of 20.1%, with the remaining 79.9% proposed to be dedicated to public and private open space provision.

The project statement acknowledges that the project is likely to have a “negative” visual impact since it involves an increase of development, but the retraction of the building line from the fortifications, and the inclusion of landscaping will help diminish the adverse visual impact. In this sense the PDS concludes that the changes will not be resulting in “a major negative visual impact.”

The development is also poised to breathe life into a hitherto inactive place, opening to the public a major cultural and tourism asset on the island of Gozo which has been inaccessible for a long time.

The aim of the project, according to Studju Urban, the architectural firm owned by urban planner Antoine Zammit, is to create a high-quality urban environment using “green urbanism principles”, to create “a contemporary residential and tourism-oriented development, complementing the sensitive historical context wherein it is located, while simultaneously providing new meaningful open spaces that enrich and strengthen the unique identity of Fort Chambray.”

Fort Chambray was built under the direction of Bailiff Jacques François de Chambray, Lieutenant General of the Ships, after his appointment as Governor of Gozo, between the years 1749–1760.