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62 63 T wenty years ago, the 40-some, low-lying coral islands and cays that make up the Turks and Caicos, or TCI, for short, had few paved roads and services. But since then, this British Overseas Territory in the northern West Indies, just a two-hour flight from Miami, has been experienc- ing some boom times. In fact, in 2016, TCI was the fastest-growing tourist destination in the Caribbean– just under a half million people visited a country of about 35,000. And many of the visitors who have streamed to TCI over the last two decades have been of the rich and famous variety, which created the need for high-end resorts – something that the contractors of TCI have been more than happy and eager to build for them.When some of the glit- terati decided they wanted to stay in their own homes when they returned peripatetically, it also created the need for custom-made luxury villas. That second particular niche in TCI’s construction indus- try was going unfulfilled, according to Paul Chaplin, Director of the Norstar Group, a Providenciales-based builder and general contracting company with commercial, resi- NORSTAR GROUP LTD. QUALITY HIGH-END HOMES AT A GLANCE NORSTAR GROUP LTD. WHAT: A builder of luxury custom homes WHERE: Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands WEBSITE: www.norstargroup.tc dential, and industrial clients. “There was a void in a certain sector of the construction market in the Turks and Caicos,” he explains. “There were a lot of people building resorts, but there was a shortfall of capable contractors building luxury, residen- tial villas. So, we moved straight into the custom homes and villa markets, and that is really our core business.” Norstar Group was originally formed in 2004, by Steve Owen and Arthur Jones. Chaplin joined them a year later, and today the company is run by five partners and has a complement of 20 direct employees, with project teams added as nec- essary. “We have grown the