A huge, 19th-century villa in Sliema will be restored and transformed into a four-star hotel with 64 rooms and an additional three floors if a recently-submitted application for development is approved by the planning authority.
Villa St Ignatius, located up the street adjacent the Balluta church, was originally built as a high-class residence but was later transformed into an education institution, a Jesuit college and a military hospital. Recently, it became the subject of controversy when a developer attempted on a number of occasions to either restore or regenerate it.
The fresh application proposes to regenerate the run-down villa into a hotel with a restaurant and breakfast/bar area, an outdoor heated pool and deck area, a spa, an exhibition space, two levels of multi-purpose hall area, an outdoor catering area within the front garden and two levels of underground parking.
As part of the project, developer Paul Gauci promises to restore the building, which has been previously described by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage as a “a property of undeniable architectural and historical value” that required scheduling.
The development would also reinstate an external stairway, masonry features and apertures and demolish a number of more recently constructed blocks and accretions on site, apart from extensive landscaping and paving works.
The project would also entail the construction of three additional setback floors above the villa, containing hotel rooms and suites.
The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage has previously appealed to the Planning Authority to reject all development applications for Villa St Ignatius and schedule the building instead.
In 2017, environmental protection NGO Din l-Art Ħelwa made a formal request for the villa to be scheduled and, only days later, parts of the building were illegally demolished.
Despite facing court proceedings in connection with the works and a conservation order issued by the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage, Gauci had applied to build a “public square” cutting right through the remaining part of the historic building. That application was eventually withdrawn.
Villa St Ignatius, in Scicluna Street, is part of a larger property that once housed one of the first Jesuit colleges in Malta and was mentioned as a landmark building as early as 1839.
Historians like Albert Ganado, Temi Zammit and Carmel Baldacchino have acclaimed the villa for its exceptional historic importance.