A call for expressions of interest for the lease of the former Raffles disco in St Andrew’s for commercial use has been extended by two weeks, but the Labour Party which owns this prized asset is still seeking to choose the preferred proposal by July.
Issued on February 11, the call was originally meant to close on March 29 but has now been extended to April 12.
Times of Malta sought an explanation for the extension and asked about the number of proposals, if any, which had been submitted to date.
However, none of these questions were answered, with a party spokesman saying that they would be in a position to announce the number of submissions received after the closing date. As for the extension, he said that this was granted in reaction to various requests from prospective bidders.
According to the expression of interest, the Labour Party is seeking to lease this Grade 1 scheduled property – the highest degree of protection enjoyed by historic buildings – for a period of not more than 65 years.
The objective of this call is to “receive and evaluate commercial and high-level business concepts for the development and commercialisation of the property”.
However, the PL wants to retain ownership and derive a “competitive commercial return” from the lease or other arrangements of the property to the successful bidder.
Furthermore, the terms of the call state that a formal request for proposals will be issued to shortlisted bidders following the initial evaluation by a selection committee, with the ultimate objective being to select the preferred bidder by July.
The property ended up in the possession of the Labour Party through a controversial parliamentary resolution in 1979. Under this deal, the party was given three properties in St Andrew’s with an overall footprint of 14,000 square metres (the former Raffles Discotheque, Australia Hall and Hook House) and a factory in Marsa that is currently being used as the PL’s media house.
In return, the government had taken over the party’s headquarters at Freedom Press in Marsa, to be used by the Malta Shipbuilding.
Though the PL had been given these properties on the understanding that it would relocate its headquarters there, the PN had criticised the deal as no such condition was set in the agreement. The deal had been branded by the Opposition as a gift to the party in government from taxpayer money.
No part of the former Raffles Discotheque can be demolished since it is still a Grade 1 scheduled building. Moreover, the call for expressions of interest notes that this property falls under the North Harbour Local Plan which indicates that its appropriate uses could be a mix of club, local council premises, office space, food and drink, non-residential institutions, education or assembly and leisure.
However, proposals that could add social or other value to the Pembroke community would be considered favourably, as long as they maximise the commercial and financial viability, the PL is saying.