A story in the Business Section of Tuesday's (Wednesday) newspaper incorrectly reported that the Warner Building on King Street was nearly empty of tenants.

In fact the building is two-thirds full, a spokesman from Eve Properties Ltd.

said.

Real estate agents and rental managers are scrambling to secure tenants for thousands of square feet of vacant office space scattered throughout Hamilton.

Some of the city's prime office space has remained empty for months, and many say there is little hope for a turnaround in the market in the near future.

The one example cited by many as a telling example of the state of commercial real estate market is Crawford House, on the corner of Church Street and Cedar Avenue, which has been vacant since last year. It has 25,000 square feet of available space.

Transworld Oil, which had its offices in Crawford House, moved out in December to relocate at St. James Court in Flatts.

The Warner Building on King Street is also understood to be nearly empty. In addition, many recently constructed buildings in Hamilton are seeking tenants for vacant penthouse offices. For example, the top two floors of the new Richmond House on Par-la-Ville Road remain empty as finishing touches are completed and tenants prepare to move in.

Mr. Philip Bollen of Atlantic Marine Ltd., which is part owner of the building, has had a few calls from interested parties, but said no one has yet committed.

"It shouldn't be difficult to lease, but the market is so down, and there is a surplus of office space,'' he said. The two floors have a total of 6,800 square feet of available space.

Atlantic Marine is moving to Richmond House at the end of June from its present offices in Argyle House, which is reportedly now looking for a replacement tenant.

Par-la-Ville Place, next door to Richmond House to the south, is also seeking a tenant for its penthouse floor, as is the recently completed Corner House, on the corner of Church and Parliament streets.

Other buildings with empty offices include Craig Appin House on Wesley Street with 2,400 square feet available, Dorchester House on Church Street with 7,000 square feet available and -- come July -- the Dallas Building on Victoria Street which will have 10,000 square feet available.

All three buildings are managed by Dorchester Realty, whose managing director Mr. Duncan McBeath described the situation as hopeless.

"Companies are shrinking,'' he said. "With computerisation and companies putting files on microfilm, there is not so much need for office space.'' Mr. McBeath said he does not expect the market to pick up significantly this year, and said it may not even be until next summer or fall.

Mr. Terry Faulkenberry, rental manager at L.P. Gutteridge Ltd., said much of the vacant office space in Hamilton is "secondary space'' -- or what he also calls "Class B'' space.

He said that following the building boom of the 1980s, many companies decided to move to newer and more cost efficient offices, leaving behind older offices.

He said the new buildings offer greatly improved facilities and reduced overhead costs. He said most offices now have central air conditioning, movable partitions, double glazed windows which are more energy efficient, computerised water heating and lighting.

"Right now, there is not much movement at all in the market,'' he said. "I think that's the result of recession. People are saying, `Let's sits tight and see where we are, and where the economy is going'.'' But he said one thing is for sure -- quality will sell.

Mr. Faulkenberry, who started working in Bermuda in 1987, said there has been a significant change in the commercial rental market over the past five years.

"There was a building boom and consequently there was a lot of space available,'' he said. "But we're not seeing the huge influx of business that was anticipated then.'' He said many of the newer buildings are either partially owner-occupied or pre-leased before financing is secured.

The Hon. Leonard Gibbons, whose commercial real estate company CareCorp. Ltd.

is a subsidiary of Leonard O. Gibbons Real Estate, is seeking a tenant for the top floor of the Emporium Building on Front Street.

OUT OF LUCK -- Real estate agents have been unable to secure a tenant for Crawford House, on the corner of Church Street and Cedar Avenue, which was left vacant at the end of December. Its former occupant, Transworld Oil, moved to St. James Court in Flatts in January. The building has an estimated 25,000 square feet of available office space.