National

Demo Begins on Historic Downtown Building to Make Way for New Court Complex

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The Rodney E. Bain building is coming down brick by brick to pave the way for the construction of a state-of-the-art supreme court judicial complex.

Published

1 hour ago

March 30, 2026

Delvardo Emmanuel

NASSAU , BAHAMAS – Crews began the demolition of an historic building, located in the heart of Downtown Nassau on Sunday night.

The demolition is to allow way for a modern judicial complex.

Our Delvardo Emmanuel was there as heavy equipment tore down the multi-story building that marked the end of an era.

The Rodney E. Bain building was once a hub for government operations.

The building is coming down brick by brick to pave the way for the construction of a state-of-the-art supreme court judicial complex.

Demolition began at the site on Sunday night.

The Registrar of the Supreme Court, Renaldo Toote told us that this moment represents both closure, and a new beginning.

Renaldo Toote – Registrar, Supreme Court

“ As you can see behind me, this is the start of the demolition of the Rodney Bain building. The contract was awarded to earthworks limited and so on scene right now we have the contractor. He has his team, his consultancy team here as well. With him, we have the project manager. We also have the environmental specialists here, as well as to make sure that this bill is properly demolished.All safety precautions were put in place. “

The building was named after renowned educator, Rodney Bain, who spent more than five decades advancing education in The Bahamas.

As the Director of Education, he played a key role in major planning and development within the ministry.

Bain passed away in 1980.

Attorney General, Ryan Pinder, told the Senate last June that the court complex will be built on the site of 50 and 52 Shirley Street and the Rodney Bain building will span from Parliament Street to Charlotte Street.

Renaldo Toote – Registrar, Supreme Court

“ That judicial complex is aimed to satisfy all of the needs of the judiciary. We’ve heard over the past several years from this Chief Justice, Ian Winder, and even his predecessors to Brian Murray about some of the issues and the woes that face the judiciary and trying to perform its duties and its function.”

Long-standing issues from leaking roofs, to safety concerns that have impacted the judiciary’s ability to function at its best, he said that the goal is to create a space that better supports both the judiciary and the public.

Renaldo Toote – Registrar, Supreme Court

“ The Court of Appeal is going to be inside this building as well of the Supreme Court. We intend to ensure that we have a cell block for prisoners that’s coming in from The Bahamas Department of Corrections that’s gonna be housed there. So we considered all multi-facets of this building when we, when this building was designed.”

Demolition is expected to take between six to eight weeks.

A groundbreaking ceremony is set for Tuesday, where more details about the project, and the history of the Rodney Bain building , will be shared.