Pitts Bay Road will house yet another international business headquarters within the next 18 months after Planning gave final approval for a new five-storey building last week.

The new office block - to be called the PXRE Building - is being developed in a joint venture between BF&M Limited and the PXRE Group.

The two companies joined forces to form Barr's Bay Properties Ltd. with BF.&M as controlling partner with 60 percent ownership and PXRE owning the remainder.

The new building will be located at 110 Pitts Bay Road, where Scarborough House currently stands.

BF.&M president Glenn Titterton said yesterday that demolition of Scarborough House may begin as soon as November and the companies estimate the construction period for the new building will be 18 months. PXRE will occupy the Pitts Bay Road entrance level and above, while BF.&M will have offices in the lower floors of the building and will be linked to their current location by a glass-covered corridor.

"We are very happy with the prime waterfront location on Pitts Bay Road and with the design of the building," said PXRE Group executive vice president Jeffrey Radke yesterday.

"This will be a modern building incorporating all the latest technology within a design that respects the character of this stretch of Pitts Bay Road."

Less than happy with the design of the building, however, are the owners of neighbouring Falconer House.

The residential home is owned by three sisters - Judith Montgomery-Moore, Janet Watlington and Aileen Wright.

The sisters objected to the plans for the new building on the grounds that it is too large and will obscure light, air and views from Falconer House.

And they asked that architects OBM not include any windows on the western wall facing their home. "This was to ensure that the Falconer House property could maintain a modicum of privacy," Ms Montgomery-Moore wrote in a letter of objection to the Planning Department.

Slight modifications were made to the plan prior to final approval being granted in order that the facade of the building provide a link in terms of architectural appearance between the purpose-built office building of BF.&M on the east side and Falconer and Waterloo Houses moving west along Pitts Bay Road. No windows will be located on the western facade of the building as the Falconer House owners requested but the two buildings will be only one foot apart at the closest point.

The sisters were also concerned that the height of the building exceeded Planning regulations for Pitts Bay Road but Planning has dictated in their approval that the roadside portion of the building not exceed 24 feet or two storeys.

"The design of the building will complement this area of Pitts Bay Road and be very much in keeping with the existing streetscape," said Mr. Titterton in a press release introducing the new building.

"It will be two storey in height facing Pitts Bay Road with a traditional design and traditional Bermuda roof.

"From the water it will appear as a four-storey traditional building with verandahs on each floor." The fifth floor of the building will actually be a small penthouse utilising roof space. Pitts Bay Road is fast becoming Bermuda's "Insurance Row" with the headquarters of ACE, XL and now PXRE lining the western Hamilton street.

The two companies are presently developing the timetable to move ahead with the building. "PXRE is looking forward to working with BF.&M to develop a property which will serve our long term need for a modern Bermuda headquarters while remaining in harmony with Bermuda's traditional architecture," said Mr. Radke.