Customers will be able to look forward to a whole new shopping experience soon as Washington Mall Phase III nears the final stages of its completion.

The project, which is expected to be finished on December 31 followed by a two to three-month period of tenant fit outs, will comprise 62,000 square feet of office space on four floors and 25,000 square feet of retail space on two levels. There will also be five penthouse apartments, with parking limited to residential tenants only and onsite loading bays for two trucks.

On Friday, Steve Wagner, architect from Linberg and Simmons, Mike Henri, works manager at BCM McAlpine, Alan Burland, president of BCM McAlpine, and Paul Slaughter of Washington Properties Ltd. braved the harsh weather conditions to carry out the traditional Bermudian roof wetting ceremony with a bottle of rum.

The first tenants who have committed to taking retail space include Kafu Hair & Art Gallery, The Booth and Daisy & Mac, while a letter of intent has been signed for the top floor of offices, with another floor under offer.

Mr. Slaughter said there were a number of challenges encountered along the way, not least the initial one posed by the building's design, which came from the owner's requirement that the project be potentially constructed in phases on the three separate lots.

"This had its greatest challenges with the services/core components of the building," he said.

"This requirement manifested itself into the 'tripartite' design of a glazed centre section flanked by two masonry sections with each section corresponding to the three lot lines.

"As the scheme developed, it became evident that the project would advance as a whole but by that time, the current three-part design had been settled on and regarded for how well it maintained the streetscape's rhythm.

"Otherwise, the intent was to provide a modern building that maintained classical elements of base and attic with a well articulated roofline and that knit itself well into the street fabric of Church Street."

He said one of the more difficult issues to resolve during design and then construction was the many existing levels the building needed to tie into due to its connection with the existing Washington Mall complex on four levels, an existing Right of Way ramp to the west and an open-air courtyard to the south, meaning that the design could not be developed in isolation and was very much is knitted into its context three-dimensionally.

Among the key environmentally-friendly features of the building are energy efficient glazing, energy recovery ventilation on the exhaust air vents, which conserves on air conditioning, ground water economising of the HVAC system, waterless urinals in the men's washrooms, and a generator which features a critical grade exhaust system designed with environmental consultants to minimise pollutants

Meanwhile the mall atrium and stair will be the architectural highlight of the building, featuring a dramatic seven-storey interior space with natural lighting and two levels of shopping which open onto it with elegant curvilinear storefronts.

A curved glass and stone stair also lies beneath the atrium, connecting the two mall levels, in what is set to be potentially one of the most impressive interior spaces in Bermuda.