Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe said on Monday that Bolam House on George and King Streets has been purchased at a cost of $4.2 million to accommodate its new ministerial headquarters.
The destruction of the ministry's headquarters in the Sept. 4, 2001 Bay Street fire, has resulted in staff being scattered in various locations, with some having to work out of their homes.
Bolam house is presently occupied by Lloyd's TSB Bank and Trust Bahamas Ltd., which is expected to close in early June.
The bank's closure οΎ— after 50 years of operation, was foreshadowed in October 2002, when the principals, in a press release to The Guardian, advised that following a review of the organisation's overseas private banking operations, bank officials determined that in order to remain competitive in current economic conditions, they would consolidate a number of small accounts into other parts of the group offering similar services on a larger scale.
Mr. Wilchcombe told the Guardian in a telephone interview that the purchase of the building has been completed, and some 300 ministry employees are expected to move in in early July.
He said that since fire gutted the Bay Street building, staff have been relocated to some 13 different locations for over a year.
"We were trying to find a building that would allow all staff to work in the same area that allows for great organisation and better communication," the Tourism Minister said. "We are very happy with the fact that a building did become available. We put in a bid and negotiated a price and we therefore hope to settle and be in it by July."
Being relocated near Bay Street would again prove to be beneficial for the Ministry of Tourism, Mr. Wilchcombe said, and as Bolam House was renovated several years ago, minimal work remains to be done.
"This facility will facilitate the entire Ministry of Tourism staff, and I think this is excellent," Mr. Wilchcombe said.
He said that the original asking price for the four-storey building, complete with a basement, was $5.5 million, but, "We were able to negotiate the $4.2 million, of which we're very satisfied with."
Apart from being able to fully accommodate all of the ministry's staff and equipment, "we also have that valuable asset of the Bay Street area," Mr. Wilchcombe said.
With reference to the government's plans to open a state-of-the-art straw market on Bay Street, Mr. Wilchcombe said that the new Tourism Ministry location may not necessarily be permanent.
"Hopefully, in the future and several years from now," he said, "the Ministry can consider a different facility, maybe somewhere else, depending on how we develop tourism, because as tourism develops, you must think about other divisions down the road; but right now, our immediate needs would require to have a facility that allows us to work cooperatively and work together where all the divisions of the ministry could be under one roof. We think that for the short and medium term, it would be very adequate for us."
Additional information on the Ministry of Tourism's new headquarters is expected to be announced during the government's budget communication in the House of Assembly on Wednesday of next week, the Tourism boss said.
General Manager of Lloyd's TSB Bank, Graham Johns, told The Guardian Monday that with the purchase of Bolam House, the Ministry of Tourism will get "a lovely building that is very well located."
He said that past, regular maintenance should ensure that the building is in excellent condition when bank employees vacate it on June 30.
In the Supreme Court on Thursday, May 1, Cordney Gardiner was found guilty by a nine-to-three jury verdict, of setting the Sept. 6, 2001 fire which destroyed the Straw Market and Ministry of Tourism building, in addition to devastating several other Bay Street structures.
After an extremely emotional court outburst, Gardiner, who faces a prison term of up to 20 years, was remanded to Sandilands Hospital.
He is expected to return to court for sentencing on June 30.
By Tamara McKenzie, The Nassau Guardian
