A giant hotel will be built on scenic Lake Malta. The building will overshadow the ski slope, and its architectural concept is controversial. The investor has already applied to the city council for permission to build the hotel. And although officials argue that it was too late for aldermen to change the zoning plan, but the protests are not quieting down.
gignatic hotel according to the zoning plan?
It's been a few weeks since Malta Ski applied to the city council for permission to build a hotel. The lump of the building, due to its scale and design, raises doubts not only among councilors, who criticize the idea. It is also criticized by residents and architects. However, according to officials, this giant object has a chance to be built, without legal objections. Despite the fact that most of the green areas around the popular lake belong to the city, it turns out that the very ones on which the hotel is to be built are a private plot of the investor of the Malta Ski complex. The complex has been operating as a year-round ski slope and sports and recreational space since 2013.
mega-scale facility
The planned facility was designed based on current regulations and the specifics of the Malta Lake area. The recreational part of the building will complement the sports infrastructure, specific to the operation of the ski slope, and the high-standard hotel part will complement the offer of the regatta course," explains Pawel Cielewicz of Malta Ski in an interview with Gazeta Wyborcza.
Visualizations by AESDE, a project by ACE ODA Studio BOAA, have also reached the media.
Visualizations by AESDE, the Malta Ski hotel project made by ACE ODA Studio BOAA
What does the head of the city council's spatial policy and revitalization committee think of the concept?
This form is simply disastrous. It looks like a copy of the building of the Academy of Physical Education," replies KO Councilman Lukasz Mikula to GW.
Meanwhile, the city remains (according to what city officials report) powerless. The current zoning plan for the area was created almost 20 years ago, and allows for the construction of a more than 100-meter hotel. But according to the protesting councilors, the plan is imprecise.
personal interpretation of the regulations
The imprecise plan, as it turns out, gives room for free interpretation. And that is what the Malta Ski investor is doing.
The investor is acting within the boundaries of this plan and creatively interpreting it," explains Law and Justice Councilor Krzysztof Rosenkiewicz.
In the development plan, the "recreational facilities" that can be built on this plot are described as hotel facilities. In addition, the 2002 plan does not take into account current standards. Among other things, it does not specify how intense the development of the site can be. And since it doesn't specify, that means anything is possible. A hundred-meter-high block that prevents access to the lake and the view is also possible. However, it islikely thatif the city blocked the construction of the hotel, it would have to pay compensation to the investor.
Amending the plan in such a situation is a belated action. The mere fact of proceeding with it cannot be a reason for denying a permit or suspending proceedings, says Piotr Sobczak, director of the city hall's urban planning and architecture department.
standard and attractiveness
It's no surprise that the investor is convincing the media of its good intentions, emphasizing the qualities of the 100-meter hotel.
The investment will in no way affect the existing character, operation and accessibility of attractions in the Malta Ski area, and is also intended to improve their standard and attractiveness. The facility will not interfere in any way with existing traffic routes, and Malta Ski will implement on its premises the rules established for Lake Malta by the city of Poznań in this regard, argues Pawel Cielewicz of Malta Ski in a statement to GW.
Visualizations by AESDE, Malta Ski hotel project by ACE ODA Studio BOAA
in defense of the landscape
The city should take all steps to prevent the negative transformation of these areas. Building a huge hotel facility there - in the form in which it has been planned - is completely outof keeping with the
specificity and purpose of the place, protested MEP Robert Biedroń in a letter to the mayor, Jacek Jaslowiak.
Similar positions are held by councilors (regardless of party) and city residents. But when it comes to hundred-foot profit-making facilities, it's easy to forget what's around.
