As of 2020, the American University of Malta operates from a renovated building at
Dock no. 1 in Cospicua. Plans have been made to extend the campus into nearby buildings in Cospicua, with an additional proposed campus at Żonqor Point in
Marsaskala. The latter was originally intended to be the university's primary location, but on 20 August 2015 it was announced that the Maltese government and Sadeen Group had agreed to split the university campus between the two sites.The government has leased land in Cospicua and Żonqor to Sadeen Group for approximately €200,000 per year.
Cospicua campus British Building (Sadeen Building) The British Building was built between 1841 and 1844 as a workshop within Dock no. 1, which was being constructed for the British
Royal Navy. and repairs and alterations made after the war were unsympathetic to the building's aesthetics. An almost identical building which was located on the opposite side of the dry dock was demolished between 1972 and 1974. This is regarded as destruction of cultural heritage, but it led to the creation of an open space which was rehabilitated and opened to the public in 2014. The
Planning Authority approved the restoration of the building to house part of the AUM campus on 25 August 2016. The renovation was carried out by Edwin Mintoff Architects between November 2016 and March 2019, The building is now known as the Sadeen Building, and it houses the university's lecture halls, laboratories, administrative facilities and library.
Knights' Building and proposed extensions The Knights' Building was commissioned by
Adrien de Wignacourt, Grand Master of the
Order of St John, in 1689. In 1776, arcades were built over the existing building by Grand Master
Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc. When Malta was under British rule, the building's upper level was used as a sail loft and ropery. It was also damaged during World War II and it remained in a dilapidated state. This proposal was opposed by local residents, the
Nationalist Party, the
Democratic Party, the
Catholic Church and various
NGOs. and petitioned against the proposal. Opposition to the project was mainly because public open spaces would have been built up, and the proposed extensions would have obstructed views of the
Senglea fortifications from Cospicua. There were also concerns relating to the project's potential impact on traffic and parking spaces, and that the project was unnecessary given the small number of students enrolled at the AUM, with some residents being concerned that the proposed student accommodation would be converted into a hotel. Other critics of the extension included
Yana Mintoff and
Labour Party MP
Glenn Bedingfield; the latter was opposed to the accommodation which would have a swimming pool on the roof. On 26 September 2019, the Planning Authority board announced that it will reject the proposed extension to the university, citing the need to preserve cultural heritage, maintain public open space and ensure the continued view of the fortifications. The formal refusal of planning permission was made on 21 November 2019.
Proposed campus at Żonqor Point When the university project was announced in May 2015, the government offered Sadeen Group of Outside Development Zone (ODZ) land near
Żonqor Point in Marsaskala on which to build the university. A natural park, partially funded by the university, would be set up nearby. An early proposal also included the incorporation of the 19th-century
Fort Leonardo into the university campus. The proposal to use ODZ land raised concerns among environmentalists, and multiple NGOs, the
Alternattiva Demokratika (AD) political party, and the Church spoke out against the proposal. Residents of
Marsaskala and southern Malta supported the university project by signing a petition in its favour. Muscat responded to the criticism by stating that the
Malta Environment and Planning Authority would consider other sites in the southern part of the island, and a public consultation process was subsequently made to select an alternative site for the university campus. Opponents of the Żonqor Point development set up the Front Ħarsien ODZ (
Maltese for
Front for the Protection of ODZ) on 23 May 2015, and its founding members included then-Labour MPs
Marlene and
Godfrey Farrugia and former AD politician Michael Briguglio. The group held a protest in
Valletta against the development on 20 June, and it was attended by 3000 people. On 20 August, it was announced that the government and Sadeen Group had reached an agreement to split the university between Cospicua and a reduced site at Żonqor Point. The latter occupy the site of a water polo pitch and of adjoining ODZ fields, and it would consist of three faculties and student dormitories, with a maximum height of five stories. A new water polo pitch would also be built to replace the one demolished to make way for the university. The move was welcomed by the Cospicua Heritage Society, who said that the
Three Cities and
Kalkara would benefit from the project. In December 2015, Front Ħarsien ODZ criticized the government's granting of land to the university. Sadeen Education Investment Ltd submitted a planning application to demolish the water polo pitch and construct the campus on 17 February 2017. The designs of the proposed campus are by the architect Ray Demicoli. In November 2017, after the university had started operating but had attracted significantly less students than expected, Education Minister
Evarist Bartolo and Prime Minister Muscat stated that construction of the Żonqor campus would only begin once the Cospicua campus is ready and when it nears full capacity. Bartolo confirmed this once again in January 2018, and in the following month AUM President Lewis Walker stated that development at Żonqor would only begin when the university has at least 2,000 students at its Cospicua campus. In February 2022, the title of the land at Zonqor was returned to the Government of Malta, who awarded it back to the Marsascala Aquatic Sports Club. ==Organization and administration==