Trust laments demolition of Front Street building
Efforts should have been made to preserve a vacant Hamilton building damaged by Hurricane Ernesto.
While 93 Front Street was torn down last week, the Bermuda National Trust filed a letter of objection to the Department of Planning, arguing that the property was an historical building in an historical area of the City.
“The applicant’s argument to demolish a building in an historical area is based on the owner’s neglect and negligence,” the BNT said.
“This should not be an acceptable argument given the protections of historical areas and historical buildings, even if not listed buildings, which is the case for many buildings that remain worthy of listing in the City of Hamilton.
“Furthermore, there should be some concession from the owner of 93 Front Street should neglect have been observed by the Department of Planning during any site visit carried out after the western wall collapse was reported to the Department of Planning.”
The BNT said any evidence of neglect would highlight the need for the Government, or the City of Hamilton, to develop measures to make the preservation and renewal of historical buildings more financially viable.
“Incentives such as low-interest loans and relief of land tax, duty or payroll tax, with relief capped at the value of the project, need consideration,” the charity said.
According to a planning application submitted by the 93F Trust, a portion of the western wall of 93 Front Street fell after it was exposed to the elements by the demolition of the neighbouring 91 Front Street.
The documents said that interior demolitions had left the building in a structurally compromised position and the demolition of the neighbouring building had left the western face exposed to the elements.
Hurricane Ernesto subsequently caused a portion of the building’s western wall to collapse.
As part of its objections to the demolition of 93 Front Street, the Bermuda National Trust highlighted the building’s history with an article written by Linda Abend and Margie Lloyd for the charity’s Built Heritage series.
The article said that 93 Front Street had a “long and interesting” history dating back more than 200 years.
“It was one of the only two vernacular buildings remaining structurally intact on this section of Front Street. The two buildings, 93 and 95 Front Street, were built by Henry Gilbert Hunt on one lot, probably in 1814, with gable ends facing the street, and looked almost identical.
“The buildings were separated by an alley, now known as Bermuda House Lane, which was a right of way for both buildings and for Bermuda House itself on Reid Street.”
The buildings were originally constructed as warehouses, and by the time of the earliest known photographs of the area in the late 1800s, both buildings featured wooden verandas.
The ownership of the buildings was split in 1851 with the death of Mr Hunt, with 93 Front Street going to his nephew, also named Henry Gilbert Hunt.
“In 1886, when the Bermuda Colonist newspaper moved from St George’s to Hamilton, its offices occupied the upper floor while various shops used the ground-floor premises,” the article stated.
The building was later sold to Arthur Ernest Bourne in 1902, who was listed in the 1899 Bermuda Almanack as a cabinetmaker, pastry cook and confectioner and ice cream manufacturer.
“He opened Bourne’s Bazaar and appears to have got away with his larger-than-life signs considering they probably were contravening the Advertising Act of 1911,” the article continued.
93 Front Street went on to become the ticketing office for Pan American Airways, and when the airline closed, the building became the local home of Benetton and later Swiss Timing.
The BNT said in a letter of objection that it had intended to propose an alternative way forward, but the demolition took place the day before the planning application’s response deadline.
The charity said that while the demolition could have been allowed through a construction permit from the Corporation of Hamilton or a commercial building permit from the Department of Planning, it was not aware of the permits being gazetted or added to the Department of Planning’s Customer Service System before the demolition.
The City of Hamilton said in response to questions from The Royal Gazette that the City does not control building operations and such permits did not fall under its remit.
A request for comment was also sent to the Government, but no response was received as of press time last night.
The charity said that while neglect could have been a contributing factor to the damage caused by the storm, it questioned if adequate provisions were made to protect the structure from risks arising from the demolition of the neighbouring building.
The BNT added that provisions to protect neighbouring sites are particularly important in the City of Hamilton and the Town of St George.
The objection letter also noted the lack of any proposed use for the site after demolition.
“Exploring the future potential and knowing the owner’s actual intentions for 93 Front Street could have facilitated preservation for at least some of the historical building, especially its highly visible southern façade, which is linked to the architecture and history of immediately adjacent 95 Front Street,” the charity said.
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