Business View Caribbean l Feb 2023

63 64 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 10, ISSUE 2 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 10, ISSUE 2 CG CONSTRUCT ION & CONSULTANCY The Covid pandemic that started in late 2019 devastated many businesses, especially in the hospitality industry. Although many holiday destinations were severely impacted, Barbuda’s luxury real estate market remained remarkably resilient, buoyed mainly by the deep pockets of investors. “In terms of the amount of work, we were not affected at all,” Smith confesses. “What we saw later were supply chain issues, which affected material supplies and inevitably delayed multiple ongoing projects.” “Prices also rose sharply, with the cost of shipping a 40-foot container from the US rising from $7000 to $21,000. Fortunately, we have always implemented a cost-plus model, where we partner with clients, build trust and share all the construction costs with them, plus our management fee.” “This way, we don’t need to price risk into the contract, as happens with fixed-price contracts that are highly inflated to cater for unforeseen eventualities. We provide a transparent view of all costs, passing them on to the customer, which we did during the pandemic. “We continue to persuade clients that this is Seeing that smile on someone’s face as they walk into their house and knowing you’ve built them their dream is enough motivation for me. under every house. The entire structure is made of fully reinforced concrete with internal cavities that are fully insulated. Roofs are solid concrete pitched roofs with a faux internal tray ceiling covered with concrete wood shingle effect tiles over the pitched concrete roof. Externally, the properties are all clad in cedar - either cedar shingle or cedar clapboard, with first-class swimming pools with all the electronic equipment you would expect in a modern-day swimming pool. “One of the brands we work with when building state-of-the-art swimming pools is Hayward,” Smith says. “They supply high-tech features like controlling pool heat from your phone, adding more bubbles in the jacuzzi via a tablet, and so on.” These high-tech features extend into the typically five thousand square feet double- story house, with everything electronically controlled, including central air conditioning. Besides technology, CG Construction & Consultancy’s properties also feature high-end cabinetry and finishes from Earth Elements in the United States. Building in the Caribbean comes with unique challenges, especially regarding weather and storm-proofing. For Smith and the CG Construction & Consultancy team, these requirements are handled by the storming proofing standards set by the Miami-Dade County Council. “Miami Dade County Council standards are the general code we use for hurricane protection,” Smith says. “All windows have storm panels or roller shutters, and the roofs are solid concrete with exterior cladding.” Supporting these efforts are vendors the company works with, including All Source in Florida, who handle all shipping requirements from the US to Barbuda, Earth Elements for cabinetry and hard surfaces, Hayward for pools, and Savvy for home automation.