Stivala seeks 13-storey hotel on Gżira seafront as The Strand's transformation gathers pace

Property mogul and Malta Developers Association (MDA) president Michael Stivala has applied (PA/03862/26) to demolish two three-storey buildings on the Gżira seafront and replace them with a 90-room hotel spread across 13 floors and a basement level.

The planned development lies adjacent to Stivala's ST Business Centre, which the developer intends to link to the new hotel through a conference hall on the tenth floor.

The application also seeks to regularise a so-called "temporary" glass-panelled roof structure on the tenth floor of the business centre that would form part of the conference facility.

If approved, the new development would become Stivala's third hotel on The Strand, joining the Bayview Hotel and the Sliema Hotel.  Stivala also has a pending application to reconstruct the Sliema Hotel increasing the number of floors to 15.

Site of the proposed development

The application, filed on behalf of ST Group, was drawn up by architect Daphne Zammit.

The three-storey buildings set to be demolished include a black-fronted property housing an Asian restaurant operating under the Yami Yabi brand, as well as a residential building adjacent to the business centre.

ST Group has declared itself the owner of all the buildings included in the planning application, which covers 120, 121 and 122 Triq ix-Xatt, including the business centre.

The planned hotel, proposed on a 318-square-metre site, would accommodate 180 beds across 90 rooms. Drawings show a building featuring glass railings, white-framed apertures, a light render finish and tile cladding, rising taller and slimmer than the adjoining business centre.

The project is awaiting a recommendation by the Planning Authority. The Malta Tourism Authority has already indicated that it does not object to the plans.

Should the development proceed, the demolition of the existing buildings would represent another blow to the small-scale urban fabric that once characterised the Gżira waterfront.

Over the years, The Strand has steadily given way to high-rise apartment blocks and hotels, reflecting the area's transformation into an increasingly tourism-oriented district.

The remaining three-storey residential-looking building situated next to the Asian restaurant would end up sandwiched between larger developments.

The latest proposal also raises wider questions about the cumulative impacts of over tourism on the Gżira-Sliema area. Beyond concerns over the changing skyline and the loss of smaller buildings, residents and commuters have increasingly pointed to the growing strain placed on infrastructure serving one of Malta's busiest tourism hubs.

Bus routes passing through The Strand and connecting Sliema, Gżira and neighbouring localities have become increasingly crowded, particularly during peak tourism periods, with residents frequently reporting difficulties boarding services used heavily by visitors staying in the area's expanding number of hotels and short-let establishments.

The hotelier has also recently attempted to revive plans for an 11-storey hostel on Triq Moroni and Triq Parisio in Sliema follow another application for the same site that was thrown out by the courts in 2024.

Residents had fiercely protested against those plans, arguing that another tourist establishment was unacceptable in a residential area already affected by overdevelopment. They appealed the Planning Authority's decision approving the application.

The Environment and Planning Review Tribunal subsequently sent the application back to the Planning Authority for reconsideration as a hostel. However, the court later ruled that the tribunal had overstepped its role and revoked the permit.

Meanwhile, Stivala's brother, Carlo, is currently building two 15-storey hotels further up the same road, close to the Sliema ferries, and has recently applied to construct another 44 room hotel over 12 floors at the corner between Triq  Ganni Bencini and Triq San Albert.