Work on 12 new housing units to buy in Southside will begin this month and Bermuda Land Development Corporation head George Smith has said there is room for plenty more.

But he said BLDC would continue to demolish buildings at the former military base in St. David's because it was too expensive to convert some existing houses left by the US forces.

The BLDC CEO told the Annual General Meeting of the St. George's Chamber of Commerce yesterday: "We had an awful lot of housing, most of it needed to be taken down because it didn't meet with the building codes.

"It cost too much to do. But there was a group of housing we could turn over to entry-level housing and we have done that."

Mr. Smith said buildings would have to taken down because they were fire hazards or because they had been built to military standards rather than civilian standards.

"It might seem ridiculous to take down these buildings but we don't have much choice.

"At the end of this month we begin work on another 12 units of housing to refit them. It's very exciting."

But he said there was still vacant land left for more house building, even if some of the space was split in awkward shaped parcels.

"There's an awful lot of land out there.

He added: "We hope there are maybe 54 spaces for entry-level housing, some mixed housing units."

Mr. Smith said even the building the BLDC was based in, in Southside Road, would have to come down within the next six months. BLDC plans to move across the road.

He said the public should not be alarmed by piles of asphalt, rock and concrete seen dotted about the place because it would be used in contouring the landscape to give it a softer look.

"We don't wish to put up and industrial site that looks like an industrial site."

He said BLDC was putting up 35,000 square feet of industrial building.

"The first materials will be here by the end of next month. We are hoping to have one of the buildings up by the end of March."

He said there was a need for industrial units and commercial space at Southside was being offered at a very attractive rate.

Roadworks will increase access to the new units said Mr. Smith while a marketing campaign would be aimed at plugging the area overseas.

But he stressed the BLDC would co-operate with St. George's and not try to usurp it as a retail centre.

He said Southside had a lot of waterfront areas ripe for development while the completion of Stoke's Point marina would attract yachts. Plans were also well established to enhance park land.