Empire Cinema set to be replaced by 12-storey hotel and supermarket

The Planning Authority is set to approve the demolition of the existing Empire Cinema Complex to make way for a new 167-room hotel rising to 12 floors.

The development is being recommended for approval by the Planning Directorate, and a final decision is scheduled for a public hearing on 15 May.

The development, proposed by Carmel Polidano’s H&L 2 Ltd, will also include five basement levels with 161 parking spaces, three cinema halls with a total of 130 seats, a 682 sq.m supermarket, restaurants, and a rooftop pool area.

This corner site, occupying an area of approximately 1,703 sq.m, presently consists of an already excavated area where the Stownes nightclub was located and the Empire Cinema Complex, facing Triq il-Bardnell and Triq il-Gifen.

The 12-storey development is possible thanks to the Height Limitation Adjustment Policy, which permits two floors above the height limitation in the local plan.

The case officer concluded that, since the proposed hotel is situated in a ‘Tourism Zone’, the additional floors are acceptable.

Moreover, the case officer noted that while some buildings on the same street remain significantly lower in height, the proposed hotel has been designed to avoid the creation of blank party walls.

An urban design study by the project’s architects claimed that the contemporary design of the building is intended to alleviate the area from “the outdated, sometimes derelict and low-quality designed surroundings”.

A Visual Impact Assessment presented in 2024 included a number of photomontages of the development as seen from different viewpoints.