A spokesperson for the company behind Townsquare, a high-profile development in Sliema that includes a 27-storey tower, has confirmed that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed “with a potential buyer to discuss the sale of its proposed residential tower”.

The company, Townsquare Sliema Ltd, is a joint venture between families Ganado, Gasan, Soler and Trapani-Galea, major players in Malta’s business community.

The Townsquare project sits on 12,000sqm of private land, with around 62 per cent of the take up dedicated to open space, the inclusion of around 159 residential apartments, a restored 19th Century Villa (Villa Drago), open air shopping, food and dining, as well as underground public and residents’ parking.

The main tower, in 2018, was reduced by 37 metres to reach around 27 storeys, and will be made up of one double-height commercial ground level, as well as 27 levels for residences.

A spokesperson for Townsquare Sliema Ltd, while confirming the MoU with WhosWho.mt, added that the company is bound by a non-disclosure agreement and may not divulge who the other party is.

This newsroom, however, is reliably informed that it is none other than Stivala Group that is in talks to acquire the residential tower.

Stivala Group, run by Stivala brothers Martin John, Ivan and Michael, acquires real estate for long-term investment purposes as its main business. The Group’s operations is split into three areas: Hotels, Properties and Projects.

Within its property arm, the group specialises in long-term rental of residential and commercial properties, mostly in Malta’s cosmopolitan localities around the Gzira and Sliema district, making the residential tower of Sliema’s Townsquare project an ideal fit.

Townsquare project controversy

In 2016, the Planning Authority (PA) narrowly voted to grant a permit to the Townsquare project and its initial 38-storey tower, which led to the Sliema local council appealing this decision. The project was also heavily objected to by prominent local environment NGOs.

In 2018, an appeals tribunal for the PA revoked the permit for the project, saying the process will need to start fresh due to the perceived inadequacy of studies commissioned.

A year later, in June 2019, the PA Board voted to approve a version of the project that would see the main tower reduced by 37 metres, to reach 27 storeys.

PA board chairman Vince Cassar, NGOs representative Annick Bonello, and the chairman of the Environment and Resources Authority Victor Axiak, all voted against the project.

All other board members, including Sliema mayor Tony Chircop, and then-Opposition representative, Marthese Portelli, voted in favour.