The Newstead sale has been completed and redevelopment of the property is expected to begin immediately.

And Belmont Hills developer Kevin Petty said Government will never allow him to use the property for residential development, adding the company is ?very, very conscious? of keeping the Bermuda charm of the area.

The owners of the Newstead Hotel and development company Belmont Hills confirmed the sale, which took months to complete, yesterday afternoon.

Submitted plans identify a combined total of 154 rooms to be developed at the Belmont and Newstead sites. Of those rooms, 50 will be at Belmont, while 104 will be at Newstead, arranged into 41 suites and five cottages.

The new facility at Newstead will also include a full range of luxury services and amenities associated with a luxury quality hotel; including spa, pool, restaurant with harbour views, tennis and golf, and full concierge services, Mr. Petty said.

Controversy has surrounded the plans with residents voicing objections to the extent of the development.

Sewage disposal, access to the Harbour Road property, and the size and style of the buildings to be erected were among residents? chief concerns, although the National Trust could not find any basis for launching an objection to the plans.

Mr. Petty, who sold the 12-acre Hamptons development in Southampton last Christmas in order to devote all his energy on Belmont and Newstead, said Belmont Hills was following the foundations of the buildings already on the property as much as possible. ?We are building on the exact same footprints that exist there now,? he said.

Proposed building heights were lowered so they will not be any taller than what is there now, he said. The pool will be remaining in the same place, every tree that has to be moved will be transplanted back on to the property, and the bougainvillaea facade along the front of the main building will be left. ?We are painstakingly working around that to keep that feel,? Mr. Petty said.

The cottages along the water on the property will be left as they are and merely refurbished on the inside, he said.

Though the rooms in the main building will increase from 12 to 50, Mr. Petty said they will be put in ?efficiently? to keep them in the same space. ?We are very conscious of keeping that old Bermuda charm ... We are not going down uncharted territory.?

And fears that the property will be turned into a residential condominium property are unfounded, he said. ?The land is zoned for tourism only ... Under no circumstances will there be residential condos. That cannot happen.?

Former Newstead owner Dana Goodfellow expressed her relief at the completion of the sale.

?I?m very pleased that the Newstead/Belmont transaction has finally come to a successful conclusion,? she said.

?I?m sure that Kevin?s ideas for the redevelopment of the property will continue the grace and charm for which Newstead has been known for many generations.?

Mr. Petty thanked the Bank of Butterfield, the principal lenders to the Belmont and Newstead projects. He said the investment in the properties expressed the belief in Bermuda?s long-term tourism future and support for the Tourism Department.

A statement from Mr. Petty said that, once operational, the combined Belmont/Newstead facilities are expected to generate 100 new jobs in the hospitality industry.

?Work on the Belmont site is well underway and making good progress, and it is expected that work on the redevelopment of the Newstead property will begin immediately,? the statement said.