Michael Stivala applies to build another 13-storey hotel on the Gżira seafront

Property mogul Michael Stivala has applied to demolish two three-storey buildings on the Gżira seafront and replace them with a 90-room hotel spread across 13 floors and a basement level.

The planned development lies adjacent to Stivala’s ST Business Centre, which the developer plans to link to the new hotel on the tenth floor to create a conference hall.

This new venue will incorporate a so-called “temporary” glass-panelled roof structure on the tenth floor of the business centre, which the application also seeks to sanction.

Should the application (PA/03862/26) be approved, the new hotel will be Stivala’s third on The Strand, joining the Bayview Hotel and Sliema Hotel.

The hotelier has recently also attempted to revive plans for an 11-storey hotel on a side street further up the road.

The architect for the project is Daphne Zammit, with the application filed on behalf of ST Group.

Graphic: PA.

The three-storey buildings set to be demolished include a black-fronted property with an Asian restaurant under the Yami Yabi brand and a residential-building next to the business centre.

ST Group is declared as the owner of all buildings included in the planning application, which covers 120, 121 and 122 Triq ix-Xatt – including the business centre.

The planned hotel on the 318-square-metre site will comprise 180 beds across 90 rooms and feature glass railings, white-framed apertures, a light render finish, and tile cladding, with drawings showing it will be taller and thinner than the adjoining business centre.

The project is awaiting recommendation by the Planning Authority. The Malta Tourism Authority has already said it does not object to the plans.

High-rise buildings are taking over The Strand. Photo: Jonathan Borg.

Should the plans go ahead, the three-storey building’s demolition and subsequent replacement will signal a further death knell for smaller buildings on the Gżira front, which have steadily been replaced by high-rise apartment blocks and hotels.

The remaining three-floor residential-looking building situated next to the Asian restaurant will end up sandwiched between two larger buildings.

Stivala’s attempt to revive his plans for an 11-storey hostel on Triq Moroni and Triq Parisio in Sliema follows a similar application being thrown out by a court in 2024.

The application also seeks to sanction a "temporary structure" on the roof of the business centre.

The site of the development. Image: PA.

Residents had protested fiercely against the plans, arguing that the plans were unacceptable in a residential area already affected by overdevelopment, and appealed a Planning Authority decision approving the application.

The Environment and Planning Review Tribunal sent the application back to the PA for reconsideration as a different type of hotel, but the court later ruled the tribunal had overstepped its role and revoked the permit.

Stivala’s brother Carlo is currently building two 15-storey hotels further up the same road, close to Sliema ferries.