PHILIPSBURG — More than a thousand people from French and Dutch St. Maarten toured the first phase Valley View Condos development by St. Maarten Concrete NV, which according to the Company’s CEO Franklin David “solidifies the need for good quality homes for the people of this country.”
The tours of the facility conducted in groups of two and three continued throughout the weekend with Saturday being the busiest period.
The full complement of Mortgage lenders from the Republic Bank and its top brass including Senior Team Lead Corporate and Commercial Banking Whitfield Vlaun and Country Manager and General Managing Director for the Republic Bank Sterl Lyons and were on hand to answer questions and provide financing information for prospective buyers throughout the evening. The developer required all visitors to wear facemasks and sanitize before entering the facility.
According to a release issued Sunday by St. Maarten Concrete, “Since St. Maarten was devastated by Hurricane Irma in 2017; St. Maarten Concrete Company has tried to find ways to contribute to the redevelopment of the country. Besides our high quality and low-cost concrete supplied to its customers on both sides of the island, we wanted to do our part to contribute to the growing need for have a diverse housing market that caters to everyone.”
David said it is essential to ensure that while the housing market offered diversity, “we should not reserve good quality homes only for specific demographics. “People work hard in this country, and everyone deserves to come home to a beautiful and safe home that they can be proud of, and not have to worry about substandard material that may not be able to withstand strong winds,” said David.
He said, “It was amazing to see the high turnout for this project, and it gives me great joy to see their reaction.” David, whose video of the facility went viral when the Company released it just days before the open house, said he was happy to give something that was high quality to people that they would be able to enjoy for the rest of their life.
A significant consideration for the developer in offering homes to residents was the comfort of residents after a storm. “I saw many people going to wells to fetch water in buckets and homes were without electricity for months. This is why it was important to me that I build something self-sufficient and hurricane safe.
Valley View Condos comes with a large cistern that can sustain the complex for more than three weeks and an automatic transfer system designed to switch from NV GEBE water lines to filtered and treated cistern water once it senses a loss of water pressure.
The two and three-bedroom homes has become a site for residents in St. Peters/South Reward area who can see the well-lit facility on display snuggled into the hillside at Valley Estate.
Prospective homeowners got explanation of some of the complex features including the state of the art bio-rock wastewater treatment system, fibre to the homes with 50MB speed provided by local Internet provider TelEm, and a large Diesel Standby Generator to power the entire facility when completed.
The broad open space design concept of the living area and bedrooms were a hit amongst the visitors, who marvelled at the use of space and the privacy that the facility provides. The selection of top quality Whirlpool appliances for the kitchen were also unique touches that were not expected by many. The second phase of the project will commence in 2021.
