Front Street still attractive to tenants
Office space may be on the increase in Bermuda as more companies leave the Island, move premises or look to get the best deal for their money, but one piece of prime real estate in the middle of town has had no shortage of takers since going on the market at the start of this year.The 2,377 square foot (sq ft) second floor and 2,582 sq ft third floor of 73 Front Street located in a central position above Winner’s Edge cycle shop with private balconies overlooking Hamilton Harbour - one of their key selling points - have attracted no fewer than 10 sets of enquiries after being vacated on January 1.Herb Crisson, of Crisson & Company Ltd., which is leasing out the space confirmed that the interested parties were all based in Bermuda.He said that the space would appeal to prospective tenants seeking bigger office space at a competitive rent, with the flexibility of sub-dividing it for those who were after a smaller area.“It is right in the middle of Front Street and it gets a lot of interest because people just like to be in the thick of it,” he said.“That building has always been very easy to rent anyway but we have kept the rents very competitive and one thing that we do in order to make it more attractive is to have no additional service fees.”Mr Crisson said that the building had been fully occupied for the past 15 years, in contrast to a lot of the newer space that had come online as well as some of the vacant retail lots on Front Street.“This is a classic Front Street building and it has been here for a long time and substantial renovations have been carried out to maintain it over the years,” he said.Of the latest properties to hit the market, Sir John Swan’s 141 Front Street and the SE Pearman Building on Par-la-Ville Road are slowly starting to fill up, while the Swan Building on Victoria Street is currently advertising more than 7,000 sq ft of furnished office space including parking for rent and Gibbons Management Services Ltd have almost 4,000 sq ft of space available in Jardine House, Reid Street.Most of the current space available is centred around City Hall, with a combined 17,000 sq ft in Craig Appin House, more than 9,000 sq ft in Cumberland House, more than 8,000 sq ft in the Argus Building and more than 4,000 sq ft in Victoria Hall. Mintflower Place on Par-la-Ville Road has more than 11,500 sq ft of space available and the Armoury Building on Reid Street 1,570 sq ft.