Rates the new buildings (8)
I believe the answer is:
theatres
'buildings' is the definition.
(theatre is a kind of building)
'rates the new' is the wordplay.
'new' indicates an anagram.
'rates'+'the'='ratesthe'
'ratesthe' with letters rearranged gives 'THEATRES'.
(Other definitions for theatres that I've seen before include "Fields of operations" , "They're for surgery, drama and lectures" , "Areas of operations" , "operational locations" , "Scenes of important events, like playhouses" .)