Work to tear down a Front Street building is well under way with the site set to become a parking lot.

Plans to largely demolish 117 Front Street to create 31 parking spaces were approved on appeal in December 2024.

As part of the project, the building’s Front Street façade will be preserved, with the parking lot to be accessed from Reid Street.

Construction crews worked at the site last week, when the front of the structure was taped off and the cleared space behind could be seen through window frames.

The application, submitted in 2024, argued that the building — erected in the early 1800s — was “structurally compromised” and in a state of disrepair.

The plan was originally turned down by the Development Applications Board over concerns that the project could worsen traffic in the area and create a “dead space” in the city.

However, in a planning appeal letter an agent for the developer argued that the proposal would improve pedestrian safety and traffic as fewer Supermart customers would need to cross Front Street to go between the store and the nearest parking lot.

The letter stated that a three-day traffic survey was conducted which highlighted safety issues and traffic congestion in the area of Front Street.

The appeal letter said: “The most concerning incident witnessed involved a mother with two small children who was forced to drop her groceries to retrieve her child from active traffic when he stepped off the curb and into the road.

“This type of incident becomes especially dangerous during inclement weather or at dusk in reduced visibility conditions when pedestrians managing shopping carts and grocery bags must cross a major thoroughfare.

“The cross walk's frequent use, with the button pressed every 96 seconds during peak hours, creates a dangerous cycle of stop-start traffic, particularly hazardous during night time and inclement weather.

“During rainfall, shoppers often rush across with raised umbrellas obstructing their vision, some not waiting for traffic signals to change.”

The agent said that the parking lot would be a “vibrant and moving feature” in the city, and that the area has only 97 public parking spaces to serve more than 50 businesses and government offices.

Crystal Caesar, when she was the Minister of the Cabinet Office, allowed the project to move forward on the basis that it would help support local businesses.

According to the Bermuda’s Architectural Heritage Series, 117 Front Street was one of several lots on the eastern part of Front Street originally earmarked for government buildings.

The property was purchased by Richard F. Peniston in 1810, with the building erected on the site sometime between then and 1819.

While the building did not originally include a veranda, a wooden structure was later added and subsequently replaced by a concrete one.