I've used a pretty fair amount of cypress--probably over 2000 B.F.
I'm currently paying about $1.20 B.F. for air-dried 4/4 6" and 8" wide cypress rough lumber.
Pecky Cypress is great looking wood --- in boards. And, the price is reasonable.
The wood is soft--sort of like redwood. I don't see that as a deal breaker.
I've made a couple of pens from old growth sinker cypress. It looks similar to heart pine albeit usually lighter in color.
However, as a pen, I expect it'll lose a lot of its character.
Some great boards don't look like much when taken from something that's 8" X 8' down to 5/8" X 5".
If it were me, I'd start with the minimum quantity to see how it looks.