The Washington Mall in Hamilton is to double in size with construction of a new development that will change the face of Church Street.

The expansion will see the Mall replace the three existing buildings between its current site and the Mechanics Building with two floors of retail space and four floors of offices.

Although owners Washington Properties Ltd. were reluctant to say what the project could cost, The Royal Gazette estimates the building, with 125,000 square feet of rentable space, would cost about $37.5 million with commercial construction costs now averaging around $300 per square foot.

Washington Properties general manager Paul Slaughter said yesterday that Washington Properties is planning to “basically redevelop three existing buildings on Church Street adjacent to the existing Washington Mall”.

“The three lots between Washington Mall and the Mechanics Building (with the addresses of numbers 16, 18 and 20 Church Street) were already owned by the company and were to be the target of the redevelopment,” he said.

The old Cable & Wireless building will be part of the new shopping mall.

The expansion to the existing mall will include 125,000 square feet of rentable space.

“There will be four floors of offices and two floors of retail,” he said. The new retail floor “will connect with the existing Washington Mall” and “will double the size of the mall as it is now”.

Washington Properties made their design application to the Development Applications Board (DAB) last week, which means they are still working with the building concept rather than initial building drawings, he said.

The planning application was for a new five-storey office, retail and residential building on 16, 18 and 20 Church Street, Hamilton. The building also has a penthouse level.

And although construction cannot start until approval is given, he said Washington Properties expected to begin construction in June, 2006.

He said the architects for the project are Linberg & Simmons and the senior architect is Sjur Linburg. “Hopefully it will be completed in June, 2008,” he said. “There are no projected costs at this stage.”