Shovels went into the ground Tuesday on a new Supreme Court complex on Staten Island -- the borough's first new court house in 75 years.

“The halls of justice, justice as you are revered institutions. But I think it's fair to say that for too long here on Staten Island have needed modernization,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

A new 182,720 square foot courthouse will house supreme court, criminal court and jury assembly, replacing cramped spaces in separate buildings on Bay Street and Targee Street. The courthouse will be built on a municipal lot, concerning residents who say parking in St. George is hard enough.

Borough President James Molinaro said the inconvenience will be temporary:

“During the transition period, the city has rented the lot on the corner of Stuyvesant Place on Hyatt Street. We're looking at another location on Bay Street. You're allowed to park at the ferry terminal, so we're doing the best we can,” said Molinaro.

The borough president's office is also in talks with the city's Economic Development Corporation to possibly rent space at the old Coast Guard base for additional parking. When construction is finished, there will be 730 parking spots, instead of the existing 558.

“Number one, we're trying to stagger it. Number two, there's no question it's gonna have a bad effect, but if you ever wanna build, somebody’s gonna be inconvenienced,” said Bloomberg.

The new complex will cost $220 million making it the borough's largest capital investment for a building ever. The buildings will also be environmentally friendly, with solar panels and three green roofs. Six civil courtrooms and eight criminal courtrooms will be built inside, and a memorial will be built to hold human remains found on the site dating from the late 1700’s.

With shovels already in the ground, construction is expected to be complete in 2012.