Hamilton?s Atlantis apartment complex is claiming an occupancy rate of 80 percent two years after it was officially opened by Premier Alex Scott.

While the Premier hailed the 60-apartment development two years as a new way of city living for Bermuda that could start the regeneration of Hamilton, developer and former Premier Sir John Swan said this week that Government has yet to partner with developers in a way that would encourage further apartments within the city limits.

The multi-million dollar, eight-storey complex on Parliament Street was unveiled with great flourish in January 2004 as a example to solve Bermuda?s housing crises and halt the destruction of green space beyond the city.

Hamilton?s first residential development in more than a century offered up a heated swimming pool, gym, roof top deck and other amenities. Prices for the apartments ranged from $635,00 to $850,000.

The complex however saw a huge pickup in sales last month almost certainly led by an increased demand for housing due to the new wave of insurance start-ups which incorporated here to in November. Several executives have told this newspaper that they are living in Atlantis.

?December was just incredible (for Atlantis),? said developer and former premier Sir John Swan who noted yesterday that 40 of the apartments have now been sold and an additional nine apartments are up for sale with tenants already in place.

Sir John said that non-nationals have embraced long-term rentals at the complex which is particularly attractive to the executives ? mostly CEO?s and CFO?s from exempted companies ? who have signed long-term rental agreements.

?If you are mobile you can just walk out because the place has great security and maintenance provisions and there is a custodian there so if you want something done you can get it done,? he said adding that the complex also offers a pool, gym, and is wired for Internet and is air maintained so mildew is not a problem.

Sir John said that the purchasers boil down to three groups of people. Retirees and future retirees who view the complex as a great way to downsize.

The other category of purchasers are investors who he said are seeing an eight to ten percent return on their rentals plus capital gains since the price of the units was set five years ago when the developers first borrowed development money.

Since that time, Sir John adds that construction prices have risen significantly.

Although it has taken more than two years to sell two-thirds of the units and reach 80 percent occupancy, Sir John terms the 40 sales as a success story at an average of 20 units sold per year.

?It has just now really picked up a lot recently, he said pointing to a decision by his team to furnish the units ? with the help of his daughter?s design skills ? as another reason behind the surge in sales.

?People looked at them and said what do I do with this, where do I get the furniture from so now what we?ve done is we?re furnishing all the apartments.

?It is almost like a gift being handed to people but it is easier because it means they can now rent the places without worrying about the furniture,? he said, adding that Atlantis has not increased the original asking price of the units.

While the original financial package allowed for the sell-out of the complex to take time, Sir John said that by absorbing the cost of furnishing of the units ?I reduced my margin considerably in the process?.

?We took it off the top. There wasn?t much left after that, but that is OK. My job is to help make Bermuda work and when you go in these things you try to do them in a way that you?re not going to lose any money but we are probably not going to make as much money as we probably could have made had we been encouraged to do it on a normal business basis.?

Asked whether he might follow Atlantis with another city complex as he stated might happen two years ago ?depending on how sales at Atlantis went?, Sir John said that while the possibility still remains open, he will not do anything until Atlantis is completely sold and the Bermuda Commercial Bank building which he is constructing on Par-la-Ville Road is completed.

He also acknowledges that he would be ?reluctant? to build again if, as with Atlantis, Government did not allow him to open sales to non-Bermudians.

?I would not be encouraged to do it unless Government becomes a partner in making concessions for this type of thing to happen,? he said. ?It is crazy that we keep letting international companies come in here and occupy office space yet we have a housing crisis and in the city, where you can have greater density utilisation, you are not asking the international companies to buy apartments for their staff so they can put something more into Bermuda than just occupying an office.?

He sees it as a contradiction to give concessions to hotel properties such Elbow Beach so they can build out their green space to create condo developments for retirees yet ?in the area of where we need to do something for the companies that are setting up business here and employing Bermudians and who might have a long-term commitment to Bermuda we are not encouraging development to meet their requirements.?

He says however that Premier Alex Scott and other ministers have never acknowledged the letters he has sent them suggesting they create a policy that serves Bermudian interests.

?We have missed an opportunity to solve a problem in the city and the longer we sit and wait the more condos will go up outside the city the more we will see the problem compound itself as we use up our greenspace and our greenspace shouldn?t be used up like that because greenspace creates moisture in our air an helps create our rain level,? he said.

?We are an international centre we need to house people in an international way and we need more complexes like Atlantis, but more with the Government?s encouragement.