Development Applications Board backed the conversion of the Harbour Road building to condominiums.

Already seven of the nine proposed townhouses have been sold to Bermudians because of the prime Harbour Road location.

"It has been very successful so far,'' said architect Mr. Fraser Butterworth yesterday.

Harbour Gardens Ltd., the owners of the 1.4-acre plot with pool and tennis courts, is selling the condominiums for between $570,000 and $660,000.

Six of the apartments will be two storeys -- the other three will have three levels, he said.

Externally, the only major differences will be new balcony and window designs.

Mr. Butterworth admitted it had been a challenge converting the existing 20 corridorless bedrooms into nine two and three-bedroomed units.

"The trick was to turn them into fairly good-looking apartments,'' he said.

The building was last used as a hotel last year but has been empty ever since.

Mr. Butterworth expects the new condominiums will be completed by August next year.

Cambridge Beaches parent company Frascati Hotel Company received planning permission for a lounge for late departing guests.

With an increase in European guests with late flights, General manager Mr.

Michael Winfield said the addition was the latest innovative step taken by the hotel to make their guests comfortable.

"We wanted to have premises they could relax in,'' he said.

Shower facilities, beverages and room service will also be available to guests who need a place to go after check-out.

Also yesterday Works & Engineering on behalf of the Bermuda Regiment received permission to excavate part of a hill at Warwick Camp on South Road to make way for a new transport shed.

Over the past eight years, Regiment trucks have been unprotected from the elements and are falling victim to corrosion.

"There is an urgent need for cover,'' a Regiment spokesman said. The Development Application Board also: approved new extensions to the main church, nursery and parking area of the West Pembroke Pentecostal Church on Princess Estate Road; Approved the addition of storage areas and a new upper floor at the Telford Electric building in Warwick; and Refused an application for a six-foot satellite dish by Mr. Andrew Bento.