The Planning Authority on Thursday approved a new 33-storey building that will tower over the Paceville skyline.

Replacing a number of derelict buildings on Triq Santu Wistin and Triq Elija Zammit, the project, which is spread on some 3,400 square metres will limit its footprint to some 32 per cent or 1,100sqm of the site area, with a “sprawling open plaza” to be left open to the public.

The project site is at the top of the street of Eden Cinemas and the bowling alley. The applicant is Paul Xuereb of PX Lettings.

The tower will include apartments on its higher floors and a business centre on the lower floors of the building, as well as retail and restaurants spaces in the public sections of the plaza.

The project will include 11 floors of office space, with a total floor space of 7,461 square metres, a hotel with 11 suites on two levels, 58 serviced apartments between level 19 and level 30, a restaurant at level 31, and services in the two top levels. The project would also include 1,254 square metres of proposed open space. An underground car park for 259 cars will be excavated on six levels.

One of the main conditions linked to the approval is a tri-partite agreement between the applicant, the PA and Transport Malta regarding the implementation of a green transport plan to reduce traffic by 40 per cent during peak hours. This plan must be submitted within three months and the agreement must be signed before construction starts.

The project was approved by nine votes to two. The only board members to vote against were NGO representative Romano Cassar and St Julian’s mayor Guido Dalli.

Computer-generated renders of the tower show it will include circular windows and extensive terraces, making the building book like a honeycomb or Swiss cheese designed by 7478+ Christian Spiteri Architects, a collaborative firm based in Rotterdam and Malta.

A computer-generated image of the proposed development. Photo: PX Lettings

PA chairman Emmanuel Camilleri congratulated the architects for the project’s design.

“Architectural design is like a piece of art. It is liked by one segment of society and disliked by others. However, the architect is requested to consider reviewing landscaping while retaining open space of the piazza,” he said.

The green travel plan was raised during most of the planning hearing with NGO representative Romano Cassar insisting that there was nothing binding the applicant to this plan and the tri-partite agreement.

“What does he have to lose if it’s not respected?” he asked.

Traffic experts engaged by the developer replied that this dynamic which could be tweaked to achieve results.

The architect suggested, for example, that offices renting office space in the building will be given incentives to provide alternative modes of transport for their employees.

Traffic studies have revealed that the project will have a major impact on only one of the four junctions assessed, including the main arterial roads leading to Paceville.

A computer-generated image of the proposed development near Eden Cinema. Photo: PX Lettings

Cassar said he was voting against the project because the Environmental Impact Assessment had identified major impacts which had not been addressed. He also noted that hotels are not permissible in that area.

St Julian's mayor Guido Dalli said the project was pleasing to the eye but would look better in another locality.

“The impact assessment shows that people are fed up and that the character of St Julian’s was being lost... if it has not been lost already,” he said as he voted against the project.

The company had previously announced a 25-storey tower on the site, saying in 2018 they planned for a “true gate for Paceville” set to become a prominent business hub, close to the Intercontinental Hotel.

Previous mock-ups show the tower went through some significant design changes, with earlier drawings showing the tower characterised by bronze cladding.

The proposed tower is just a stone’s throw away from the Mercury House tower, which expanded to 33 storeys and approved plans for a 19-storey hotel in December. The approved height of the project, which belongs to construction magnate Joseph Portelli, rises some 121.66m above street level.