Farewell Empire: Buġibba’s Retro Cinema Set To Be Demolished And Replaced By Hotel
A staple of many 90s childhoods is set to be demolished, with Buġibba’s Empire Cinema Complex becoming the site of a new hotel in the bustling tourist hotspot.
Closing down during the COVID-19 pandemic, Empire had been facing some years of declining attendance and popularity even before its fateful final blow… despite rumours of a potential refurbishment by owners and managers the Polidano Group. Back in 2022, the group had said it wasn’t sure “when or whether” Empire would reopen, but it seems like the complex’s future is now looking surer – and bleaker for cinema fans.
Now, an application to build a 167-bedroom hotel on 11 floors was validated for initial processing, with the site notice being affixed earlier this month.
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The deadline to make any representations objecting the plans is 17th May, with the St Pay’s Bay Local Council already objecting and asking to be informed about updates and additions to the application process (which was initially for a 144-bedroom hotel on 10 levels).
The Empire complex includes seven cinema auditoriums, restaurants, an apartment block and three levels of parking, and the eventual hotel development reportedly also includes another restaurant and a supermarket.
Tag someone who remembers watching films at Empire.
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