By Connie Adair
In 1997, Mike Ryan saw a sign. Literally.
Mike Ryan
Standing in the lobby of an old Holiday Inn in Grand Cayman, he thought the property was perfect for development. Sadly, it was too small for the project he had in mind. Then he looked up. A sign said the 130-acre site across the street was for sale.
He contacted the planning department and although it took almost 10 years to overcome various obstacles to build, The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman opened in late 2005. Four phases of the development are now complete, but there are a dozen more to come before Dragon Bay, a 360-acre sea-to-sea residential and resort community, is complete.
The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman spans 144 acres from Seven Mile Beach to the North Sound on one of the Caribbean’s most prosperous islands. The $600-million resort has 365 guest rooms and suites, a spa, five restaurants and the island’s largest ballroom. The Residences, along with privately owned vacation houses, The DeckHouses, and a waterfront community dubbed Secret Harbour, are anchored by the hotel and together form the foundation of Dragon Bay.
“Canadians have long been a crucial part of the market, ahead of the Americans,” says developer Ryan. “There are two direct flights, the island is welcoming and safe – the safest in the Caribbean – and with (a variety of nationalities) it’s diverse.”
The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton
Along with those features, The Ritz brand and the proven success of the four existing phases makes buying here a great opportunity and because there are so many phases yet to come, buying now is a great chance to “get in on the ground floor,” Ryan says. “We have a long-standing referral program for Realtors. It’s easy to register, easy to get here and easy to get paid.”
Realtors receive a two-per-cent referral fee.
Clients will enjoy the resort’s Endless Service program, which includes a fleet of luxury automobiles and 36-foot motor yachts available for use when people are in residence. A restaurant by chef Eric Ripert of New York restaurant Le Bernardin; a tennis centre by coach Nick Bollettieri; an Ambassadors of the Environment family program by Jean-Michel Cousteau; and a Greg Norman-designed nine-hole golf course are among the highlights.
Ryan’s inspirations for Dragon Bay are culled from a collection of experiences and places he has visited. He was born in Hamilton, Ont. While other kids were relaxing, 14-year-old Ryan had his own construction business in the Georgian Bay area. He hired other teens to paint houses and do minor repairs. At 17, he left Canada and headed to Europe. “Hamilton was a great place to grow up in the ’60s and ’70s. It was safe and enough of a city with culture, but the opportunity was not there. I was keen to go out and see the world,” he says.
He took a flight to Amsterdam – the destination with the cheapest ticket offered by CP Air that day – and worked as a chambermaid. There, his 6′ 2″ stature came in handy. “I could stand on one side of the bed and make both sides,” he says. His hard work soon made an impression on the owner, and the then-bearded but under-aged Ryan, looking older than his years, was soon running the bar and raking in more money than the establishment had made before.
“Instead of sitting around, I like to build something, make money and meet people. I like creating and making things happen,” says Ryan, who studied medieval literature and philosophy at McGill University and had a big hand in organizing concerts there.
Along the way, Ryan has chalked up experience – as a pilot, an entrepreneur, a sailor and a securities broker, as well as a seasoned traveller.
He was later drawn back into construction and development. “I would see an empty field and (want to) make something of it,” he says.
He developed a 588-acre site on Cicique del Mar peninsula and planned two major resorts and private homes. The project ran into financial trouble, but as luck would have it, that’s when The Ritz-Carlton approached him to create a project that would bear their brand name.
The DeckHouses
Ryan had worked as a general manager with Mont Ste. Anne in Quebec. The 256-room hotel has 100 chalets and extensive ski and golf facilities. It was then that he realized the potential of developing private residential communities of second and vacation homes along with a full-service luxury resort.
Travels to Venice, Singapore, the Greek Islands and Parry Sound in Muskoka, where he says it was interesting to see how people travel by water, were inspirations for the design of the DeckHouses.
Reminiscent of the canal architecture of Venice, The DeckHouses offer seamless outdoor and indoor living, oriented to the water and in most cases access to boating. Homes consist of 19 five-bedroom, five-bathroom single-family homes with wrap-around decking and an infinity pool. Each home is on a private island. The DeckHouses, priced from $4.4-million, are in the heart of the resort and are connected by waterways.
Secret Harbour homes, inspired by European marina villages, start in the $1-million range. The 125 one to four-bedroom residences are also surrounded by water.
The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton offers 69 oceanfront homes.
Cayman Island, a British overseas territory, is a one-hour flight southwest of Florida. There is no legal restriction on ownership of real estate by foreigners. Grand Cayman has no sales tax, no income tax, no capital gains, no property tax and no inheritance tax. Local banks will generally lend between about 50 and 75 per cent of the property value to non-Caymanians, says a company news release.
For more information about Dragon Bay, visit www.dragonbayrealty.com. A portal allows Realtors to find additional information and incentives to sell DeckHouses and other residential offerings at The Ritz-Carlton.
