Church-owned elderly home Casa Leone seeks second floor

Plans have been submitted to extend and upgrade Casa Leone XIII in St Julian’s, including the construction of an additional second floor.

The application (PA6764/26) also proposes alterations and extensions at ground and first-floor levels of the existing elderly care home, together with designated service areas and a new electrical substation.

The project follows a landmark  50-year agreement between the Archdiocese of Malta and CPHCL, the majority shareholder of the Corinthia Group, for the redevelopment and management of the Church-owned home.

The approximately 8,000sq.m complex is to be modernised and its bed capacity increased, while remaining under Church ownership.

The project involves a building with considerable historical significance. The core of Casa Leone XIII dates to 1900, when it was inaugurated as a convent and hospital for the Sisters of the Little Company of Mary, known as the Blue Sisters. But the building is not scheduled.

The complex was established for nursing and care and subsequently developed into an elderly home.

Back in 2020 in its reaction to a previous minor application the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage had noted the architecture value of the property, and was recommending that the building should be granted Grade 2 protection. But the building was never scheduled.

Moreover, a policy approved in 2017 still allows two additional floors on Grade 2 buildings provided that the resultant design is in keeping with the urban context and no blank walls are created.