NCB Group broke ground on Thursday, 1 August for its newest residential community — Cypress Pointe North in Crystal Harbour.

Participating in the ceremony along with NCB shareholders Naul Bodden, Ian Wight and Matthew Wight were Hon Kurt Tibbetts, Minister of Planning, Lands, Agriculture, Housing & Infrastructure, Hon Moses Kirkconnell, Minister of District Administration, Tourism and Transport, MLA Joey Hew and Chief Officer Stran Bodden. Representatives of NCB’s financial partner, Butterfield Bank included Mike McWatt, Deputy Managing Director and Executive Vice-President; Graeme Skinner, Senior Manager, Head of Corporate Banking, Bruce John, Senior Manager, Head of Private Banking, Paul Elliott, Senior Manager, Head of Personal Lending and Perry Rombough, Manager of Corporate Banking.

Cypress Pointe North will comprise 38 residences – 10 luxury villas, 12 semi-detached homes, eight three-bedroom condominiums and eight one bedroom condominiums. Residents will have access to amenities including a clubhouse with a fully equipped gym, outdoor entertaining and grilling area, pool, hot tub, tennis court and marina. The vision behind the project has come from many years of development experience within NCB Group and an internal goal to create a community that is not only sustainable and energy efficient but also one that fosters a sense of community amongst neighbours and showcases the innovative construction industry in Cayman.

“As a company, we continue to embrace building techniques and designs that enhance the performance of homes through energy efficient technologies. With almost 350 days of sunlight it would be remiss of us as builders to not take advantage of solar power,” said Matthew Wight, Managing Director of NCB Group. “Based on the positive response and pre-construction sales we’ve received to date, it solidifies our belief that buyers are looking for homes that are well designed, energy efficient and sustainable, resulting in a substantial reduction in utility costs and a solid long-term investment,” he added.

“The Cayman Islands Government is pleased to support projects such as this that exhibit environmental leadership,” said Minister Tibbetts. “This new community will be an inspiration to the development industry, not just here in Cayman but throughout the Caribbean, as will the foresight and leadership of NCB Group – a company that is led by Caymanian businessmen who are committed to the Cayman Islands and its future,” he added.

Cypress Pointe North was designed by Bancroft Design Group to seamlessly blend environmental sustainability with outstanding luxury. Each residence will be generating their electricity through solar panels and cooling their homes with geothermal technology. Lighting throughout the homes will be LED and all appliances will be energy efficient. Interior temperatures will be controlled and maintained through the use of double glazed windows and ICF foam insulated concrete walls and solid concrete roofs. These construction techniques and materials when combined with state-of-the-art Hambro flooring and a building elevation of 8ft above sea level, create an unparalleled residence that provides homeowners with a sense of security.

In addition to every residence in Cypress Pointe North integrating a grid-tied solar energy system, solar will also be used to offset the common area maintenance fees reducing electrical expenses for the building’s exterior and street lighting as well as pool pump filtering and the Clubhouse’s electrical usage. “The use of renewable energy systems in Cypress Pointe North increases the appraised value of these homes whilst substantially reducing electricity bills and dependence on fossil fuels. Not only will homeowners save money, but they help protect the environment by reducing their carbon footprint,” stated Jim Knapp, owner of Endless Energy – the solar providers for the project.

NCB’s geothermal division – GeoComfort Cayman is providing the geothermal cooling technology for the project. Relatively new to the Cayman Islands, these systems efficiently remove heat from the home via a closed water loop which circulates through the island’s cooler ground temperatures. This method of transferring heat requires 30-50% less electricity than conventional systems and significantly decreases utility costs for homeowners. Additionally, the life cycle of geothermal systems is three to four times longer than conventional a/c systems and it provides hot water for residential use.

The first phase of construction of Cypress Pointe North will be completed by November 2014 and the entire development will be built over three to four years.

PHOTO: Groundbreaking for Cypress Pointe North: (L-r)– Graeme Skinner (Butterfield Bank), Ian Wight (NCB Group), Matthew Wight (NCB Group), Naul Bodden (NCB Group), Hon Moses Kirkconnell, Chief Officer Stran Bodden, Perry Rombough (Butterfield Bank), Mike McWatt (Butterfield Bank), MLA Joey Hew, Paul Elliott (Butterfield), Hon. Minister Kurt Tibbetts, Michael Pratt (Planning), Haroon Pandohie (Planning) and Bruce John (Butterfield Bank)

To download the Cypress Pointe North Brochure. Please go to: http://www.ncbdev.ky/upload/documents/project/10/Cypress%20Pointe%20North%20Brochure.pdf