The Biccerija inhabits that curious middle ground of being a falling-down, intact sort of place. A corner of the city with a daedalian history on a pause, sitting out a non-happening. Life goes on in the area, but from an outsider’s perspective, it gives the outward impression it’s been on pause for a while. Mention the Biccerija and you get the reaction that it might in fact have been earnestly traveling backwards in recent memory - slowly unraveling itself by shedding residents and decorative cornices.
Cue the atmospheric black and white photographs; poetic, melancholy, and irritatingly familiar.
M.E. is now at the fourth stage of our Biccerija project and the findings to date are as follows: Architecturally, the area is in a relatively bad state, but it’s just about still standing; the population is low, but there are still residents; there are social problems, but we’ve spoken to a number of individuals who are interested, concerned and motivated. There is no real commercial centre, but due to this, unsympathetic shop fronts and such have yet to be shoehorned in. Essentially it retains a sort of ‘character’ but not necessarily one that everyone is happy with: Rundown historic fabric is only romantic for people who accidentally wander through it once. The Biccerija is not a blank canvas in one (obvious) respect but in Estate Agent speak, it’s also an area of Valletta that is considered “up-and-coming” however overly optimistic that might be. We’ve also found that it’s not been completely ignored, however suitable or unsuitable future plans made for it have been. Overall, the picture isn’t particularly rosy, but also not as bleak as it could be, so enough of the doom and gloom.
In our June issue, we examined the possibility of small, commercial interventions and proposed the idea of converting the Auberge de Bavarie into a boutique hotel. Usually, city districts are ‘known’ for something, and we tried to think of something positive for the Biccerija to become known for aside from hazy recollections of bakeries and slaughterhouses. It was a hypothetical scenario intended to generate debate, but to our surprise, rather than garnering responses such as: “No, the Government currently makes good use of it.” “Why do you need a hotel there?” Or words to that effect - we in fact received a general reaction more along the lines of “Yes, why not?” “If caution is exercised, it could be a good move” and our personal favourite – from the Government itself, “…it may be argued that housing the Lands Department is beneath the dignity of the Auberge de Bavarie and there are several other public utilities that could be considered for this site”. Even more interesting, was a little trickle-down snippet which we recently caught wind of - that the Government was considering putting a boutique hotel in one of its Auberges…
Gossip or misinterpretation notwithstanding, it seems that large projects that instantly change the face of an area spark controversy, but a smaller venture isn’t always greeted with so much suspicion. One carefully considered, well planned and respectful intervention appears to be much more palatable. So evidently, size matters. Actually, size in general is a key point to consider about the Biccerija - essentially, the whole area is a few streets, and the fortune of a few streets, whatever their current state shouldn’t be a mammoth task to improve – should it?
We’re a design magazine, so indulge us, we’re going to take the concept of boutique hotels a little further. Currently there is not one five star, boutique hotel in Valletta. Name one other European capital that lacks a boutique hotel of this calibre. Actually, name one other European capital that is considered a UNESCO World Heritage site in its entirety. Can’t? That’s because Valletta is the only one – a great USP if ever we heard one for an island so reliant on the tourist industry. M.E. spoke to Winston Zahra, CEO of the Island Hotels Group to get his take on things.
“It’s an interesting concept, and people are really interested in Valletta. I recently spoke with two American investors who were in Malta recently, and they found the city absolutely fascinating”. Mr Zahra began enthusiastically. We begin to talk about the Biccerija and its problems, and about the positive responses we received from our proposal. Given his experience in the field, we wondered, would he consider a boutique hotel in the Auberge de Bavarie to be a viable option? “Location is key.” Mr Zahra replied without hesitation. “A hotel can bring something to an area certainly, but the area has to offer something to the hotel. Opening a hotel in the area we’re talking about would be a challenge – it’s off the beaten track and it does have its social issues. As for putting a boutique hotel in the Auberge [de Bavarie] I’d have to find out more about the Auberge itself to give a more detailed response as to how suitable the building would be for conversion into a boutique hotel”.
Generally speaking, what would constitute a boutique hotel in his eyes? “Less than fifty rooms definitely, and at least a four or five star rating. A boutique hotel is not only about size, it also implies a certain standard. I wouldn’t, for example, consider a small guesthouse, to be a boutique hotel just by virtue of the property size”.
“A boutique hotel, whatever the size, requires a lot of money, starting with the investment per se and followed by the operational costs including staff, overheads, and so on”. Mr Zahra continued. “And, if you have to purchase it, renovate it and so on, it’s a lot of investment and hard work, and potentially quite risky. If you take Prague as an example - a city with a lot of empty historic property, the Government leased buildings out to the private sector on the condition that the buildings were renovated, and it worked well”.
Does he think similar Government support would encourage an investor to take on the Auberge and turn it into a hotel?
“Perhaps. But a holistic approach would be needed – you simply can’t just put a boutique hotel in the Auberge and expect it to work. I think there would be interest in the idea if you considered the area as a whole. The hotel can’t be a stand alone project because the standard of an area is important for a hotel. If you have guests, and they go out in the evening, staying out until say, 1am, are they really going to want to walk through the area as it is? It’s really a case of what comes first - the chicken, or the egg”. He smiled. “Look at the Waterfront project. They regenerated the whole area and I think it’s a success. A structured approach like this, might work for the [Biccerija] area, if based on a similar model”. Timing, as Mr Zahra pointed out, is also crucial:
“A holistic approach would have to be used all at the same time.” So to change the look of the area gradually would be taking a huge risk? We asked. “Yes. Whoever is first to invest in the area, like a hotel for instance, would have a nightmare on his hands. They’d have to withstand and survive the initial period until the area is upgraded and starts to build the right image and additionally suffer from building work in the area created by those who followed them. But a large scale regeneration project is also the most difficult to achieve”. He conceded. “The bigger the dinosaur, the slower it moves and therefore it would need commitment from all involved and a hard nosed driver to move the project forward”.
So are we back to square one? Are singular interventions like the establishment of a boutique hotel in the Auberge de Bavarie doomed without the support of large scale investment in the area as a whole? Who is going to make the first move? We’ve explored the viability of one investment possibility, a boutique hotel, which it seems might be interesting to private investors with Government encouragement, but it seems that just one intervention is like this not really enough. However, what about two, or three? A vision for an area needn’t always entail large scale upheaval, and location really is the key. So how about a couple more strategically placed investments of a similar size? Most would agree that a mixed use for the Biccerija area would be ideal, whether that might include a hotel, real estate or retail outlets. Smaller pockets of investment also have the added advantage of being less likely to alienate residents – something Valletta’s last Mayor Dr. Borg Olivier warned against when we spoke to him in June. Vision, is the operative word here as there really doesn’t seem to be one. It’s clear that nobody knows quite what they want to do, although the question of “What”? is determined by the question of “Who”?
The Government has shown some commitment to improving other parts of Valletta, through their investment in the recent paving of Merchant’s Street and the restoration of key buildings in the upper part of the city. Access around Valletta has also improved a little with the introduction of the electric city cabs – a move we applaud. What is now necessary is a move to reduce barriers to development in other areas of Valletta. Perhaps this could come in the form of Government support in making the buildings of the Biccerija accessible, usable and useful, combined with a push to improve paving, but ultimately, the issue of accepting responsibility hangs around like an elephant in the room. Who is responsible for the state of the Biccerija? We could wag our fingers at Government, but then they don’t own all of the buildings in the area. Ownership of a property in Valletta means that by default you are responsible for a piece of a UNESCO World Heritage City, so what we don’t understand is why these owners have let their properties disintegrate over the years. It must be said, that whilst researching this series of articles on the Biccerija we’ve also seen that there are a number of freshly painted doors on the fringes of the area’s core. Some of these are workspaces, mostly housing law firms and notaries offices, but quite a few are residential too. Perhaps regeneration at the edge of the Biccerija and working inwards might be more successful than starting at the centre and working outwards as suggested by the Entrust project, and there are a number of interesting properties in the area.
The Biccerija needs a vision, a game plan, and if one move like the creation of a boutique hotel isn’t an unacceptable concept, M.E. is wondering what other ventures on a similar scale could be considered alongside it...
