By Torrell Glinton,TRAVIS CARTWRIGHT-CARROLL Managing Editor

Copyright thenassauguardian

The US Embassy’s new $227 million compound on Shirley Street, which opened to the public on September 2, represents the US’ commitment in the country, US Charge d’Affaires Kimberly Furnish recently said.

“We were a little bit on top of each other in our old Queen Street facility and needed more desk space, more work space,” she said during a joint interview with The Nassau Guardian and Tribune on September 10.

“This building is state-of-the-art technology. It’s run on solar power.

“We’re even giving energy back to the neighboring communities. It’s a wonderful thing. It also offers us the opportunity to have a lot more functions with the public.

“So we’ll be opening the doors and using this facility as the heart of what an embassy is meant to do, bringing the public in. Whether we’re doing trade shows, whether we’re having business exchange, community involvement, cultural exchange, this is what this building is meant to do. We went from two conference rooms in the old embassy that were small to 15 here.”

The new compound, which broke ground in 2019, sits on a five acre site. It hosts the “US mission to The Bahamas, that includes officials from the Department of State, the Department of Justice, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of the Treasury”.

It provides nearly 15,000 square feet of working space for embassy staff.

Furnish said, “…What I like to say is, we finally have a new embassy that fits this amazing relationship, right? The Bahamas and the United States have always deserved this building, and it’s for both our countries.”

She added, “We can see the cruise ship and the millions of Americans coming off those ships every day from our windows.

“We’re right next to the police headquarters. We’re right next to the Supreme Court. We are in the heart of it all.”

She noted that the embassy’s old property on Queen Street will probably go up for sale.

The embassy will host a flag raising ceremony today, which will include various members of the community and government.

Last week, former NFL player Herschel Walker, who was nominated as ambassador to The Bahamas, appeared before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee for his nomination hearing.

Yesterday, the committee confirmed his nomination, 11-10.

Before his hearing last week, Furnish was asked about Walker and the importance of an ambassador in The Bahamas.

“We’re very excited about nominee Walker’s hearing and his process,” she said.

“We’ve been following it very closely and cheering him on from here at the embassy. An ambassador is a hugely symbolic and important person in relations between two countries and The Bahamas deserves, like they deserve this beautiful embassy, they deserve an ambassador.

“So we’re working hard to get Mr. Walker here and give The Bahamas that ambassador that they deserve.”