Cricket Square unveils Pavilion East

By Stuart Wilson

A large cross-section of Cayman’s business community, along with government officials gathered for the ‘topping out’ celebration for Pavilion East (Phase 7) at Cricket Square in George Town on Thursday, 14th March.

In building/construction, ‘topping out’ (sometimes referred to as topping off) is a builders’ rite traditionally held when the last beam (or its equivalent) is placed atop a structure during its construction.

During Thursday’s ceremony, Chief Operating Officer for Orchid Development, Mr. Jeremy Superfine told the audience that the project was progressive in design but kept the legacy of George Town intact and spoke about the general theme of Cricket Square being welcoming and family oriented.

“The structure will be LEED Gold Certified and will feature solar, rain water systems and other requirements in keeping with environmentally friendly guidelines and requirements, and we are working closely with the George Town Revitalisation team to facilitate pedestrians and cyclists,” said Mr. Superfine.

To become LEED Gold certified, buildings have to meet exacting standards for energy use, lighting, water and material use, as well as incorporate a variety of sustainable strategies.

“Cricket Square not only provides office space but it also has a community vibe, with restaurants, holistic wellness programmes and amenities such as gym and much more,” Mr. Superfine noted.

He added that the developers of the project have also invested 1.5 million dollars into placing CUC cabling below ground to support George Town and the tenancy of the building.

Anchor tenants include the Monetary Authority, the Pensions Board, Carey Olson, and the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange.

Other Cricket Square tenants will include the Department of International Tax and Bank of America.

Plans are also in the works to build a multi-storey car park, which will be supported by a sustainable transport plan.

“Avoiding having too many cars, encouraging carpooling, as well as satellite parking and making electric shuttle service available is an important part of continuing to improve the experience in George Town,” remarked Mr. Superfine, who said the building is on track to be fully functional with tenants by 2025.

Regarding the efforts of the Pavilion developers and their commitment to working with the overarching plans for the Capital, George Town Manager and Revitalisation Coordinator, Mr. Colin Lumsden noted:

“We have to be consultative. Lending our brand of urban development is the easy part of the job. Making sure our neighbours are all on the same page has been easy to do with Cricket Square. They have been great partners.”

He added that George Town’s parking problems would not be solved with parking but transport instead and Cricket Square are helping with mobility options.

Architect for the project and all of the buildings in Cricket Square, Mr. William Steward of Chalmers Gibbs noted that the first building, The Pavilion, was built in 1994 and since then the project has ‘progressed nicely’.

“The first building we designed and built was demolished to make way for this one. The way the development has grown has been really organic and responsive and there is a lot more variety because of that. We have been able to be creative and think outside the box,” said Mr. Steward. 

Mr. Superfine expounded by adding that William Steward and his team at the architectural firm, “have an eye for design and elegance and they have been a key part of creating a beautiful environment for tenants and visitors.

Member of Parliament and Minster for Tourism the Honourable Kenneth Bryan, who was also present at the event, said he was ecstatic about the new building coming online and explained what it meant for George Town.

“We are pleased, particularly because this is a Caymanian family who have been the visionaries of this project coming to life and we are also glad to continue seeing investment in the heart of George Town,” noted Mr. Bryan, who added that this was an extension of the One George Town Plan, which will see hundreds of millions of dollars of development invested into the Islands’ Capital in the form of residential, shopping and business facilities.

“I am very proud to see investors stepping up to support the development of Central George Town and we can do more from the Government side, working more closely with developers and partners with various projects; particularly Caymanians.

“We have a long way to go but I am happy to see the growth,” he said.

The groundbreaking for phase 7 of Pavilion East took place 18 months ago, and with the project nearing completion and occupancy, plans are now in the works to begin phase 8 of Pavilion West, which will include 20,000 square feet of floor space, and an expansive open floor plan.

That building is expected to be an 8 to 10 storey structure.

Financing for the Pavilion project has included banks such as CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank, Cayman National, Butterfield, RBC and Scotiabank.

“These banks hold high standards and the strength of our financial sector, a stable government and Cayman’s great reputation as a business centre around the world has been an important factor in their support,” said Mr. Superfine.