Commuters disembarking at Hamilton Ferry Terminal this morning will be greeted by a gaping hole.

The former Harbourfront Restaurant, The Perfume Shop, ER Aubrey Jewellers and Wadson's opposite are no more. They have been razed to the ground to make way for a six-storey office block.

Over the weekend workmen demolished the lemon-coloured Front Street building, which was built in the mid-1900s and was owned by the Bermuda Church Society.

However, those worried about preserving Hamilton's signature waterfront architecture need not worry.

A spokesman for project managers Somers Construction said: "The building will be in keeping with the original facade as much as possible, and the upper floors will have a set-back tiered effect so as to avoid a looming effect over the street."

The demolition crew were busy at work yesterday, using two excavators to pick up the rubble and salvage any cedar beams from the roof.

Manny Furtado, operations manager of sub-contractors D and J Construction, said: "It's been a two week process of stripping and prep work. On Friday night we started demolishing the porch facade and worked our way in.

"It's taken us two days to demolish the building and salvage as much cedar for the owner as possible. The roof beams were 85 per cent all cedar so the owner wanted to keep them."

The five-man crew will now clear the rubble, taking concrete to a landfill site near the airport and lumber to an incinerator.

"It's a big void, and it will be a three day process now cleaning up before the actual excavation work and the digging of the hole takes place," said Mr. Furtado.

The new office block will be occupied by financial company Orbis Mutual Funds and will consist of a basement level with five upper storeys. Construction is expected to take 12 months.