12-storey hotel proposed at ITS’s new SmartCity campus

A 12-storey high hotel is being proposed in the new Institute of Tourism Studies campus, which is being re-located from St Julian's to SmartCity.

Plans submitted to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority envision the construction of a hospitality campus to cater for 2,500 local and foreign students, a 135-room hotel, government offices, underground parking spaces, a gymnasium, a spa and a rooftop hotel.

Official sources confirmed that any private development in the project will be subject to public procurement procedures.

The announcement that ITS, whose premises in St Julians are being vacated to make room for a private tourism development, was made in the budget.  Only Seabank developer Silvio Debono expressed an interest on the St Julian’s site.

The application, which covers development over an 11,407 square metre plot in SmartCity, was presented by Projects Malta, the entity responsible for private public partnerships.

MaltaToday is informed that the government will be seeking amendments to the SmartCity masterplan to change development parameters in the area. The plots identified for the new development were previously allocated for offices.

The master plan approved by MEPA in 2010 envisioned a maximum height of 38 metres, which roughly equates to 10 floors.  Kalkara was not identified in a planning document regulating tall buildings approved in 2014, among the localities where over 10 storey buildings are allowed.

A planning application has been recently presented for the construction of St John Paul II Hospital in SmartCity, which is being proposed over seven floors, a semi-basement floor and one floor of underlying parking garages.