New hotel to potentially rise near Ruins of St. Paul’s

A new hotel will potentially soon be built in an area close to the Ruins of Saint Paul’s. The urban conditions plan (PCU) for the project was discussed yesterday afternoon at a meeting of the Urban Planning Committee.

The project will be in a land plot located between the Rua de Santo António and the Rua da Tercena, in an area surrounded by the Calçada do Embaixador.

The project includes two plots (A and B) that will be connected, allowing the future development to be accessible from both streets.

The major concerns from the committee members came precisely regarding the access located at the Rua de Santo António which includes an old portal and a section of the old wall.

The plots are included in the protected area of Macau’s Historical Center and subjected to the so-called Plan of the Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro.

In the binding opinion of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) it is noted that both the Portal and the fencing wall need to be fully preserved and the building outlook should be “harmonized” with the portal and old wall style.

In the plot’s A section (closer to the Portal), the building’s maximum height is capped at 16.4 meters, while in the B section it is allowed to rise to 20.5 meters. The last two stories must be indented from the normal alignment of the building.

The total land plot area is 448 square meters and the information that it is to be a hotel was only revealed after committee members asked why the PCU only considered the purpose “Tourism and Leisure 1” (TD1), as opposed to other options of a commercial or residential nature.

At this time the director of the Land and Urban Construction Bureau (DSSCU), Lai Weng Leong, said no other purpose was considered as the bureau was following up on the request from the owner which was for the construction of a hotel unit.

Further explanation on the project paid by a staff of the DSSCU also noted that section B will include a portion that will be reserved for a public passage that will allow pedestrians to access between both sides of the slope and that will connect to the Pátio das Escondidas.

No reserved space for a parking lot was considered by DSSCU since, in its words, “the building type is of the ‘M class’ so there is no consideration to do in this case.”

Currently, the land plot is occupied with a temporary private car park, not having any constructions on it.

According to information that the Times investigated, the hotel unit to be built on the plot is likely to be a budget hotel or inn, like several others that have been built in recent years in Macau’s central district.