Ricasoli Properties Ltd, the bellwether developer behind the new lifestyle destination of The Shoreline, will be opening the sales of the Phase II in November further bringing to the market an extensive choice of 180 high quality properties on the south-eastern shores of Malta.
Well over a hundred residences forming part of Phase I were snapped up by Maltese and international investors, leading to the announcement of the launch of Phase II which marks another milestone in the €200 million project.
The Shoreline is situated on the sun-kissed Mediterranean coast inside a Specially Designated Area (SDA) also housing SmartCity. A total of 450 residential units and 25,000sqm of retail space will be built with an aim to maximize waterfront views, provide open and green public spaces, and comfortable walking routes throughout the retail and residential areas on site.
“In every step of this project, we have made renewed assessments to ensure that what we are developing complements the surroundings and supports the overall growth of SmartCity as well as the south of Malta,” said Mr Ben Muscat, Chairman of Ricasoli Properties Ltd. “With Phase I sold out completely and the launch of Phase II, we are happy to see that investors have recognised the potential and reached back out to us.”
Meanwhile, the company has issued a public invitation to general contractors to register their interest and participate in a pre-qualification process. The exercise will result in a selected number of contractors to eventually participate in the tender process for the works at the 125,000sqm development.
To manage the retail part of the mixed-use development, Ricasoli Properties Ltd has appointed an international team to advise it, alongside architects Haskoll. The team is comprised of Development Solutions, headed by Philip Harcourt, and retail specialists SSRC, run by Stephen Spendlove.
Spendlove and Harcourt previously worked together at Colliers International where they were involved in other major projects in Malta such as The Point and continue to work together internationally on retail projects in such places as the UK, Russia, Slovakia, Libya, Poland, Serbia, Ukraine, Latvia and Estonia.
Interestingly, in advising on The Shoreline Shopping Mall, which will consist of 30 outlets on two floors with ample space for underground parking, the duo have also introduced a former colleague, with whom they continue to work, namely the internationally acclaimed and leading place branding specialist, Malcolm Allan of Placematters.
“Whilst SmartCity may now have some office space and a handful of restaurants, Ricasoli know that they have big challenges to take SmartCity to the next level and turn it into a retail and leisure destination, complementing the early success of the residential apartment reservations at The Shoreline,” say Harcourt and Spendlove.
The aim is for The Shoreline to lead, rather than follow, the fortunes of SmartCity, and part of this will be to establish it as a shopping destination where people from across Malta will come to enjoy what we call Experience Retail.”
As a destination, the intention is that The Shoreline will both drive the aspirations of the local and wider communities, and will bring with it the need and desire to improve infrastructure and improvements within Kalkara, and also Malta as a whole.
The Shoreline’s location within, according to Ben Muscat, is strategic in that it harnesses the ‘Smart’ elements of the city and offers a futuristic way of life.
“We wanted The Shoreline to embody all aspects of a smart, integrated living. We envisage that The Shoreline will have distinctive hard-scape and soft-scape smart dimensions: smart infrastructure, smart environment, smart mobility, and smart economy, smart people, smart living, smart governance. Choosing SmartCity for this reason was a natural decision,” said Muscat. The aim is to turn what is essentially an office park into a 24/7 living – working - playing destination.
“We want to arrive at a point where people would say: ‘Let’s go for a day out at The Shoreline’. We would like them to say this in the same way they might say it about a day out in Valetta or Sliema,” said Steve Carter, managing director at The Shoreline.