Jerma project in Marsaskala to include two eight-storey blocks housing residences and hotels

The Jerma site in Marsaskala could see two eight-storey blocks separated by a passageway rise on the seafront location in a proposed design reminiscent of cruise ships. 

The plans for the residential and tourism project were submitted by Jerma Developments Ltd, a company whose directors are Joseph Portelli and Charles Camilleri. 

The project will include two hotels with a total of 140 rooms and 259 serviced apartments, a separate block of 155 apartments as well as seven retail outlets and six restaurants. The passage connects the foreshore with a central plaza. 

A development brief issued last year had limited residential development on the Jerma site to a gross floor area of 26,000sq.m, tourism development to 33,000sq.m and commercial development to 6,000sq.m. 

However, the proposed project will see the area for residential apartments increase to 29,720sq.m and the commercial space expand to 10,298sq.m. This will increase the total area of the project from 65,000sq.m identified in the development brief to 72,878sq.m. 

The local plan approved in 2006 had zoned the area for “mainly” tourist accommodation but left a window open for residential development by saying that residential and commercial uses may be considered under an approved development brief setting parameters for planning. 

A project development statement (PDS) submitted by the developers does not give a clear definition for serviced apartments and whether these will be rented for short-term or long-term stays. 

Serviced apartments normally refers to fully furnished apartments, providing amenities for daily use, housekeeping and a range of other services, all included within the rental price. 

The project involves the demolition of the existing dilapidated hotel structure and its replacement by two eight-storey blocks. 

According to the PDS, the project will be designed into two wings to restore the “visual link between the historic tower and the sea” as dictated by the development brief. 

The project will also include a plaza between the coastal tower and the redeveloped site which will be landscaped and developed as a public open space which provides a direct link to the sea. 

The project will also include two basement levels used for car parking and lock-up garages for the residences and for the development of retail and catering outlets. 

Commercial space will also be located at basement level -2. The basement levels will extend beneath the existing road, which will be pedestrianized and converted into an open space.  

One of the hotels will be a five-star hotel with 134 rooms, whilst the other hotel will consist of a six-room boutique hotel. Level 0 of the five-star hotel will include the hotel lobby, the hotel’s administration, a bar and restaurant. 

A chapel is also being proposed in the residential block. 

The PDS acknowledges that the development will result in increased traffic in the area. It is estimated that the annual average daily traffic (the total traffic that passes along a road throughout a year, divided by 365 days) created by the project is estimated at 3,533 vehicles. 

The PDS prepared by environmental consultants ADI also refers to the inevitable visual impact due to the location of the building, its height and massing. 

But according to the consultants, the pedestrianisation and the rerouting of vehicular traffic will result in more open spaces for the public and thus improve the character of the area.