Two government buildings in Hamilton will be demolished to make way for a planned new arbitration centre.The House of Assembly heard that the Allenhurst building, formerly Hamilton Police Station, and the Valerie T. Scott building, which houses the Information Commissioner’s Office, are too rundown to be repaired.They will be replaced by the Ottiwell Simmons Arbitration Centre, which will be built through a public-private partnership.Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch, the Minister of Public Works, told MPs that a structural survey of the Allenhurst building revealed that there had been significant deterioration and structural cracks to the external walls.He said the adjoining Valerie T. Scott building was suffering problems with air quality, dampness and mould.Colonel Burch said: “In light of the current state of both buildings, it is now not economical to refurbish either building and the engineers within the ministry have recommended it would be expedient to demolish them both to make way for the new arbitration centre.”The ICO office will be relocated “as soon as practicable”.The family of Valerie T. Scott, the first Bermudian Registrar-General, have been informed that the Government will find another suitable means of honouring her service to Bermuda.Colonel Burch added that Crisson Construction had won the contract to demolish the derelict stretch of Longbird Bridge. Crisson submitted the lowest bid of $249,000 for the project.• To read Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch’s ministerial statement in full, click on the PDF under “Related Media”