build a four-storey extension with 40,000 square feet of office space will soon be putting the contract out to bid locally.

Project manager Mr. Eric Robinson expects building of the new offices on Richmond Road to begin in March and take 20 months to complete.

Special features including a penthouse apartment with executive offices and conference rooms are included in plans by architects Onions, Bouchard & McCulloch.

But Mr. Robinsons could not reveal the expected cost of the addition. "The budget has yet to be finalised,'' he said.

The rapid expansion of departments within the company mean that two departments are presently occupying rented accommodation in Hamilton.

Architect overseeing the project, Mr. Ramano Erba, said the external appearance of the addition would be in keeping with the existing structure.

"There will be nothing drastic,'' he confirmed. "There will be nothing architecturally different about it.'' In other planning news: An application by Austrian business tycoon and Bermuda resident Dr. Wolfgang Flottl to demolish his Castle Point home and rebuild on the site was deferred at last week's Development Applications Board meeting.

A decision would be made pending a visit to the site, the minutes showed.

The original building was build by Dr. Childs Frick in the 1920s but is not listed by the Bermuda National Trust.

But the thumbs-down was given to deli owner Mr. Paul Adderley whose application to convert Twins Deli into a convenience store was refused at the DAB meeting.

The application, made last July, was rejected because of inadequate parking.