The Island's first ten-storey condominium block has been given the go-ahead in the City of Hamilton.

The development, at 70 Serpentine Road, was granted approval on appeal by Environment Minister El James. It will consist of 30 "affordable" one-bedroom units for sale and rental, with parking spaces for 40 motorcycles.

The accompanying pictures with this article show the early design 'in principle', and s.h.y. Architecture say some units may be redrawn to incorporate office space for teleworking.

Architect Simon Hodgson explained: "As part of the application we submitted a scenario that there could be a 'live-work' station adjoining some units, because this is proving popular in other metropolitan areas such as London, Toronto and New York."

The condominiums will be built at the junction of Dundonald Street with Park Road, on the current site of Bermy Cuisine, which is renting a building from property owner Dennis Chin.

Mr. Chin, a retired Certified Public Accountant, said: "This development will be the first ten-storey residential building in the country.

"We are going to make these units affordable and also want to create a new concept in interior design. "No two units will be the same. The kitchen, living room, bathroom and furnishings will all be different. Each unit will also have a balcony and be furnished with state-of-the-art appliances. The rental units will be fully-furnished down to the linens and will also have the option of maid clean-in service."

Mr. Hodgson said the building will also be "environmentally-friendly", incorporating the new technology of self-cleaning glass, plus energy efficiency in heating, lighting and mechanical systems.

In a letter accompanying the planning application, s.h.y. criticised the City of Hamilton Plan 2001 for not doing enough to encourage residential occupation of the city.

"It said: "Incentives in the current Plan to revitalise the atrophied residential urban population has in our view, been unsuccessful.

"We strongly believe this is a deficiency in the Plan that must be corrected in order to ensure the current poor status of Hamilton as a residential city is challenged by vigorous planning initiatives.

"Therefore, we ask the Board to lend their support for the application — hopefully to set precedent facilitating revisions to the City of Hamilton Plan to provide real incentives for significant increases in residential projects for Hamilton."

The building however, was turned down by the Development Applications Board which said it did not comply with the maximum seven storeys.

But Mr. Chin and agents s.h.y. Architecture appealed and this was upheld on August 21 by Mr. James, who agreed with a Planning Inspector's recommendation that Planning permission 'in principle' should be granted.

Inspector Peter Cuming said the development would meet some of the goals of Sustainable Development (the Sustainable Development Strategy states "the need for higher density smaller accommodation is clear").

Mr. Cuming added: "It seems to me that viewed on a case-by-case basis, the height of some modern development in Hamilton has exceeded the City Plan limits without discernible harm having been done."

There was only one objection to Mr. Chin's application, from the Bermuda National Trust, which said: "This application is the latest in a number of recent applications for buildings which seek to exceed the storey and height limits of the City of Hamilton Plan 2001."

Mr. Hodgson however, said that despite the ten-storey height, the 'mid-rise' development would not impinge on the Hamilton skyline or the Cathedral Corridor.

"In that area, because of the low topography we can easily consider a ten-storey building because residential structures do not exceed the 138 ft height of the ridge of the Cathedral.

"Because of the quadrant of the city there, we are out of the Cathedral corridor.

"We feel this is a trailblazing and precedent-setting project," he said. "The National Trust objected but we take the view that in order to incentivise residential living in the city, we feel there should be higher buildings.

"If you want a vibrant living city, people have to be living in that city, so projects like this are important.

"Around the world, urban living is proving more and more popular. People are recognising that living in a city is much more sustainable, particularly in terms of commuting."

He said that with no facilities for car parking, the condos would appeal to expat workers but also "young professionals and couples".

S.h.y. Architecture is the team behind the condominium blocks Six and Ten, also on Dundonald Street. The company is also the agent for the proposed nine-storey residential development at the Bermuda Athletic Association in Woodlands Road.