Plans have been dusted off for a new block of luxury condominiums in Hamilton, seven years after the original project was stopped in its tracks due to a combination of an overheated property market and the economic downturn.

Developer Gilbert Lopes has reactivated the Seven Park project to gauge the level of interest in the proposed 52-unit condominium, which would be built on Park Road and neighbour one of his earlier developments, Ten, on Dundonald Street.

Featuring a selection of one- and two-bedroom apartments, prices will start at $485,000, which is $90,000 less than the advertised cost in 2009.

Advances in construction materials have allowed for a drop in construction costs, said Mr Gilbert, who explained the project was granted planning approval in the late 2000s.

“I’m advertising to see if there is a market. I would need to take 20 or 25 deposits to go ahead,” he said.

Mr Lopes is waiting to see who potential purchasers might be, although he admits he already had interest from parents looking to buy an apartment for their children to rent.

Last year’s Bermuda Immigration and Protection Amendment Act 2015 also broadened the range of properties that Permanent Resident’s Certificate holders can now own.

The proposed apartment complex would feature a rooftop fitness room, pool and terrace, a ground floor lounge and underground parking. There would be space for four commercial office or retail condos.

The building and finish specifications for apartments are the same as those planned in 2009.

Referring to the decision not to go ahead with the project at that time, Mr Lopes said Bermuda had reached a point of “overbuild” that had exhausted the market for new properties. He feels things are different now.

“There’s a bit of optimism out there. We have had some interest and people asking if we are going to build this. It feels like the right time,” he said.

A full-page advertisement for the proposed development appeared in yesterday’s Royal Gazette. It refered to the apartments as “affordable urban living”.

The Seven Park complex would be built on a vacant lot on Park Road, previously the location of Jack ‘n’ Jill’s toy store, a dive shop and the Thistle Gallery in the H. Davidson & Co building, which all closed and were demolished in the late 2000s.

Mr Lopes, who runs GL Construction, has built a number of apartment complexes in the past, including the aforementioned Ten, Six, which is on the corner of Dundonald Street and Cedar Avenue, Loughlands in Paget and the Grand Atlantic development in Warwick.

Further details about the proposed apartments can be found at www.se7enpark.com