Sales brochures for luxury, waterside residences will be made available next month as work progresses on Pearman Watlington's (PWs) mammoth Waterfront development at Pitt's Bay Road that includes a commercial and office complex.

Yesterday, influential executives were on hand for a roof-wetting ceremony, the uniquely Bermudian tradition that indicates a new building's roof has been completed.

It will still be sometime before any of the buildings will be ready for occupancy, but the North, East and West roofs were doused with the traditional Black Seal rum simultaneously during the ceremony.

Distributed media material said: "The Cox family together with the Princess Hotels are overseeing the transformation of Pitt's Bay into a small, thoughtfully planned enclave of 18 luxury residences, nestled within lush tropical landscaping at the water's edge.

"The Waterfront Villas and Townhouses will be faithful to Bermuda's unique architectural heritage and will include all the modern comforts.

"The townhouses will be approximately 3,200 square feet of living space, while the villa plan will offer approximately 3,600 square feet of living space.

"The community is a distinct and essential part of the property. Home owners will be ideally located close to shops, offices, Miles Market and restaurants.'' The complex encompasses 175,000 square feet of office and retail space designed by award winning architects Conyers & Associates of Bermuda and CBT/Childs, Bertman, Tseckares of Boston working in conjunction with development consultants Beacon Skanska.

Contractors BCM McAlpine began the commercial phase with ground breaking ceremonies in December 1996. The first commercial tenancy is scheduled for an April 1999 occupancy, and already, all but 12,000 square feet has committed tenants. The North and West buildings will house the offices of several Zurich Group companies, including high profile Centre Solutions (Bermuda) Ltd., and related companies Centre Investment Services Ltd., Zurich International (Bermuda) Ltd. and Zurich Global Energy Ltd. Centre Solutions president David Brown said, "We are proud that our partnership with Will Cox and PWs has created, in the Zurich Centre, such a fine and long term home for our companies in Bermuda.

"Today's roof wetting ceremony celebrates the success of our efforts and demonstrates that partnerships between local and international businesses can be powerful and productive.'' Executive vice president of Princess Hotels International, Stephen Barker, said the hotel group was happy with the progress of the development. The Princess is a joint venture partner in the project, as part of the hotel's land was used for the development. He said, once completed, The Waterfront would add to the prestige of the Princess Hotel's operation, which is an integral part of the life-blood of Bermuda's international commerce.

The East building will be shared by Stockton Reinsurance Ltd. and Pearman Watlington & Co. It will also house Miles Market, Miles to Go, PW Marine Centre and Harry's Bar.

President and CEO of Stockton Re, Dan Malloy, said, "We are proud to be a part of this fresh and exciting corporate community, one that takes advantage of the beautiful waterfront property that will offer services and functionality unique to Bermuda.

"This development, spear-headed by the Cox family, and supported by Stockton Reinsurance Ltd., reflects the continuing commitment of international business to the Island.'' The residential phase, commencing in the summer of 1999, will consist of 18 three-bedroom villas and townhouses and is scheduled for completion in the year 2000.