Smart City villas: heights reduced from 2009 plans

A 38,000 square-metre plot of land between Fort St Rocco and the Xgħajra coastline will be taken up by 69 villa developments – altogether the size of five football grounds.

The plans submitted by Smart City last week for its villa development will include 11,200sq.m of roads and 17,800sq.m for public areas, promenades and landscaping around the fort.

The villas will be set on four rows, with the front row on the 7,000sq.m promenade rising to five metres, then 10 metre for the second row, and stepped down again to five in an adjacent third row. These first three rows are subdivided into 52 plots of 500sq.m each. The back row of 17 plots, of 400sq.m rise to 10m in height, and will be separated by a 9,800sq.m landscape area.

Maximum height zones, in pale yellow (5m max) and yellow (10m max), are the maximum heights to the finished facade works above street level

While occupying a considerable amount of land, the new plans lower the original heights approved, and eliminate plans for a row of six plots directly facing the Kalanka tal-Patrijiet and Fort Ricasoli.

Original 2009 plans foresaw development rising to 14m on the entire Xgħajra coastline, yet the new plans increase the villas from 50 to 69 as a result of a reduction in the landscaped areas.

Last year the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage welcomed the height reductions as an improvement for the line of sight of the fort toward the open seas”. Villas originally proposed on the scheduled glacis were also removed.

The villas will be built on a largely undeveloped area added to development boundaries to Smart City in the infamous 2006 extension of building zones.

Apart from the villas, Smart City has submitted plans for an 11-storey hotel and residential units on the site of a temporary car park, directly overlooking Xgħajra. Another application foresees the makeover of the 15,074sq.m laguna area which is set to be replaced by a park and two restaurants.