Gzira’s GasanMamo building slated for 3-star hotel

In another sign of creeping touristification, a 151-room hotel with 322 beds is being proposed on the site of the GasanMamo insurance building in Gżira.

The landmark round building is situated on the corner of Msida Road and Enrico Mizzi Street opposite the abandoned Empire Stadium.

The new three-star hotel is proposed to rise over 10 floors, including the ground floor. A bar and pool area are also proposed at roof level.

The applicant is committed to implementing ECO certification to minimise the new hotel’s environmental impact.

In March 2023, the Planning Authority had approved a seven-storey office building for the site, which was going to replace the existing GasanMamo Insurance building and two adjacent residential blocks. The development was never carried out.

Instead, new plans for a hotel have been presented in an area that is slowly seeing an increase in hotel developments.

When recommending the previous office block proposal, the Planning Directorate had concluded that the building would “complement the ongoing changes to the Gżira-Msida skyline”, making it “a destination of choice” as a business hub.

The case officer had also commended on the high-quality design of the proposed building, whose top floor would be characterised by a cantilever that provides a clear termination to the building and “a high-quality outdoor space for the users of the building itself.”

The design of the new hotel, drawn up by Malcolm Xuereb, is similar to that previously approved, although higher.

The new hotel will further change an area once notorious as a red-light district, but it also represents a further expansion of the Gżira waterfront tourist zone inland towards Msida.

The site is opposite the excavated plot for the proposed 33-storey Metropolis Tower, which is also set to include hotel accommodation.

The highest building in the area is presently the Stivala Tower, an office block rising to 18 floors.