Valletta FC seeks to convert its clubhouse into a boutique hotel

Valletta football club has applied to turn its clubhouse in Triq St Lucia into a boutique hotel with 37 beds across 17 rooms.

The new hotel would add two floors to the existing building, according to plans submitted to the Planning Authority.

While the application was lodged by the football club, planning documents suggest the project is being spearheaded by Short Lets Malta CEO Franco Grech. Architecture firm AP Valletta drew up the plans for the project.

A Malta Tourism Authority document uploaded to the PA website suggests the new guesthouse is set to be called the ‘Tritoni St Lucia Valletta’.

The Superintendent of Cultural Heritage has not objected to the plans

There have been four objections to the development, including one from residents group Residenti Beltin Valletta, who argue the plans will place increased tourism pressure on the city and contravene national and UNESCO policies.

The Superintendent of Cultural Heritage has not objected to the plans. 

At the time of publication, the application is pending approval from the PA.

A digital mock-up (right) of how the extended building, pictured left in its current form, will look if the development goes ahead. Image: PA

Valletta FC said the premises is not owned by the club but rented from third parties, without providing further details. The property was in “urgent need” of repairs, it said, noting that the temporary emphyteusis for the building includes the right to alter the property. 

It said its clubhouse had not been used since last year, and that the subletting of the premises was part of a “wider financial restructuring exercise”.

The application envisages numerous changes to the existing property, including the addition of two new floors, both of which are set to feature terraces, adding around nine metres to the building height. 

The property’s fourth floor – the majority of the building’s current roof space – is set to undergo a raft of alterations, including the addition of numerous partitions allowing for four en-suite bedrooms and three balconies serving all but one of the rooms. 

The application seeks to add a fifth floor featuring a breakfast and lounge area, guest bedrooms, luggage storage area and a terrace. A second terrace is planned at sixth level, with the building topped off by a staircase enclosure at the top terrace level. 

Existing black wrought iron railing balconies facing St Lucia Street are set to be replaced by limestone-fronted steel balconies, while brown timber apertures will be changed to a blue grey colour.

Objecting to the proposed guesthouse, Residenti Beltin said the plan “falls under the same guidelines, policies and regulatory frameworks that were the basis for the refusal of earlier cases”, without providing further details on the cited cases.

The resident group said the application appears to contravene Valletta local plans, UNESCO – the UN heritage body – policy, Urban Conservation Area guidelines and Malta’s Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development.

“No modification or alteration of height, aesthetics, structural or physical layouts will be tolerated and only restoration, preservation and conservation of all original aspects and full support for long-term residential, essential or office purposes should be considered."

The development will see two new floors added to the property. Image: PA

‘Fully compliant’

A spokesperson for Valletta FC stressed the premises were rented, not owned by the club. While it had explored purchasing the property, “the asking price was far beyond what it could responsibly afford”.

“Once acquisition was no longer feasible, it made little financial sense for the club to invest directly in a site with a termination date,” the spokesperson said. 

“Instead, as part of a much wider financial restructuring exercise, the club opted to generate a stable income stream from the lease by allowing third parties to invest in and operate the project.”

He said the clubhouse located above the Café Jubilee and Buddies businesses had not been used since last year after the club moved its meetings to the Mediterranean Conference Centre.

The spokesperson stressed the application was “fully compliant with the local plan and policies” and that the building was “in urgent need of repairs and, more critically, is entirely inaccessible to elderly members and persons with disabilities”.

Planning documents show a lift being added to the property as part of the development.

He said Valletta FC was the biggest and only major club without adequate training or administration infrastructure, but that the club was in “advanced discussions with government on being allocated proper facilities”.

Image: PA

Image: PA

“This is a constant uphill challenge both operationally and financially. Encouragingly, for the first time in many years, we believe this matter is being given its due importance, and we are hopeful of a positive way forward in the near future,” he said.

“Due process is being followed, and the project will restore the building to its proper state while retaining it as a club-linked landmark.”

Image: PA