Real estate agency Keller Williams Bermuda has saved a stately old Bermuda home from the wrecking ball.

The firm began turning Charleswood, the Bermuda Red Cross headquarters at 11 Berry Hill Road in Paget, into their new office space in August.

The building needed extensive upgrading and the charity was considering demolition.

“I thought that would be a shame,” said the firm’s principal operator Albert Moura.

“The building is 120-years-old. It has 11ft ceilings and the walls are at least a foot thick. It is a nice building. I sent a contractor in to have a look at it. He said the structure and the roof was in great condition, which is important.”

Having expanded from eight to 28 agents in the past six years, the realtor was feeling squeezed, next door at 9 Berry Hill Road.

Mr Moura said: “We are very, very busy.”

A critical shortage in rental stock means new units at KW Bermuda are often snapped up before even being advertised.

“On the sales side it takes a week to two weeks to sell a property, if the price is right,” he said.

Mr Moura looked around for somewhere to build a bespoke office, but did not have far to go. Neighbours, the Bermuda Red Cross, helped them remain in the same neighbourhood.

“It is not directly in the city but it is very central,” he said. “Our agents can easily go east or west to appointments.”

The real estate broker initially had plans drawn up for a new building in the same area.

“However, when I looked at the cost of building from scratch it was just too high,” Mr Moura said.

The Royal Gazette last week reported that the cost of building had climbed from about $300 per square foot to $700 per square foot in the past 16 years.

When Mr Moura settled for the Charleswood property, there was a need to redo all the electrical work and plumbing and put a new floor in on the upper level.

“It was still way more cost effective to renovate,” he said.

So the realtor swapped property with the Bermuda Red Cross. The Mouras bought Charleswood and began renovation work, while the charity moved into the KW Bermuda office. For now they are sharing space.

“I sold the Red Cross all our furniture, so they have moved into a furnished place,” Mr Moura said.

He wanted to create a real estate office that could compete with the comfort of home. KW Bermuda agents had grown used to working remotely.

“The idea is to get agents to come back into the office,” Mr Moura said. “I would not say there is necessarily more productivity in the office. Most of the really productive work is done out in the field. However, agents start to talk to each other as soon as they walk in the door. They collaborate on what they are doing. We lost some of that since Covid-19.”

Mr Moura intends to keep the building’s charming historic façade.

“On the inside, it will be a functioning, modern office space that will have elements of a house,” he said. “On the ground floor, it will have a full kitchen with café tables. Just off of that there will be a lounge area.”

Their offices will be upstairs. KW Bermuda is also rebuilding Charleswood’s porches, extending the lower one by several feet.

Work on the project began in August and the hope is to have it done by March.

“We have had a few hiccups and have had to make some modifications as with most projects,” he said. “Other than that, we have had pretty smooth sailing.”