Hamilton?s Mayor and a Front Street retailer have sounded notes of caution over the Bank of Bermuda?s plans to erect a seven-storey building on the site of former department store Trimingham Brothers Ltd.

The site to be developed extends from Front Street to Reid Street.

Mayor Lawson Mapp said: ?I think we have got to be very careful with large entities coming in? to a traditional shopping district.

And Hornburg Calypso general manager Pierre Dutoya said: ?It could be a big mistake as tourists don?t want to see a seven-storey building when they come to Bermuda.?

The bank?s design, for which a planning application has been filed, retains some of the traditional elements of the existing building but incorporates a multi-storey office tower at the upper levels. The plan includes limited space devoted to retail use.

Mr Mapp, who admits to harbouring ?some concerns? about the design, said the Corporation of Hamilton would be working closely with the developers to ensure that the end product is sympathetic to the rest of the cityscape.

?It is changing the facade, and is going to be right in your face, so hopefully the developer will have some feel for the Bermudian environment,? he said in an interview on Friday.

The Corporation of Hamilton is also concerned that the bank?s plans to have a banking hall on the Reid Street side of the development is not in keeping with plans to pedestrianise the area.

?I would think that if we ask HSBC maybe we could scale it down or maybe change this and have more retail space,? he said. ?I have the feeling that they will work with us. HSBC call themselves ?the world?s local bank? so they should want to work with the local environment to come up with something.?

He added: ?I don?t want to pour cold water on this. These are old buildings and they need redeveloping.?

Mr. Dutoya said he was concerned the redevelopment could hurt an already ailing tourism industry.

?From an architectural aspect Bermuda could lose its traditional heritage if it becomes another downtown area? like any other modern city, he said. ?This will slowly make it difficult to sell Bermuda?s tourism industry.?

Mr. Dutoya operates several Hamilton apparel stores including Calypso, which borders the site to be redeveloped.

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