A rundown commercial building on Pitts Bay Road in Pembroke is to be knocked down.

Daina Outerbridge, a director of the company that owns the Outerbridge Building, said: “It is absolutely going to be demolished.

“The building is past its sell-by date and it is haemorrhaging money.”

The owners applied to the Department of Planning in March for permission to demolish the building.

Ms Outerbridge said planning had requested further details about the demolition plan.

She added: “If all goes well, if it gets permission, we hope to pull the trigger [on demolition] in late fall.”

Ms Outerbridge addressed rumours that the property was available for purchase.

She said: “It is not for sale, we are only tearing it down because it is haemorrhaging money.

“We pay land tax on all the empty office spaces, and the Corporation of Hamilton charges $1,000 a month to use the sewers.

“It’s one-quarter full, but we’ve got to pay all the fees for the building.”

Tenants have slowly been moving out of the property since being told last December that they must vacate the premises.

The charity, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bermuda, is to leave at the end of this month, Ms Outerbridge said.

Bouchêe, the popular French bistro, is to close on September 10.

Ms Outerbridge said the building dated from the 1950s and was the first office location in Bermuda for AIG, the international insurance giants.

A cycle livery shop was located in the building at 75 Pitts Bay Road in its early days, she added.