The Pegasus Town display centre, in Addington, seemed quiet on Sunday afternoon but Wanaka businessman Bob Robertson was in no way feeling disheartened.
Free helicopter flights had attracted lookers and potential buyers to attend the launch of the latest sections and apartments at the Pegasus Town development, about 25km north of Christchurch on State Highway 1.
The town, being built for 7000 residents, is due to have its above-ground construction started in February of next year and completed in 2010. The development includes a retail centre with 107 operators and a school.
There are 300 people working on site at present and once the development is completed, he expects 1400 jobs will be created.
A championship golf course is being built, along with a yacht club, a beach with artificial waves and a wetland area with 650,000 plants, all on what was once farmland and sand dunes.
The launch of the latest sections was to give a sign of confidence to the markets and previous purchasers in what was now becoming a difficult market, Mr Robertson told the Otago Daily Times in an interview.
The sale on Sunday of five apartments at $1.5 million each, eight $450,000 sections and two others around $700,000 met his expectations, which had been lowered as the global credit crunch took hold.
"I would have been disappointed with anything less. Without the global meltdown, I would have expected to sell double what we did and probably added on $100,000 a section".
Before Sunday, Mr Robertson and his team had sold $185 million of property at Pegasus, $122 million on the first launch day.
Since then, some properties had changed hands at a substantial premium, while other buyers had changed their minds and were seeking to quit their holdings. But that was business, he said.
Mr Robertson's Infinity Group has 10 or 12 $100 million developments under way, but Pegasus alone would be worth more at about $2 billion when finished, more than the other developments combined.
A dispute with his project director, and a subsequent parting of the ways, had left Mr Robertson overseeing daily progress at Pegasus. He spent about 50% of his time on the development.
When a new project director was hired, his time would reduce to about 30% as he returned to the other developments.
Asked about the response to people buying something off a plan and paying money for something they would not have for two or more years, Mr Robertson quickly pointed out that buyers could go and stand on their section at Pegasus and they could also see the model and detailed plans of each stage.
And the development was fully funded by the Bank of Scotland for such things as land development, the plants on the wetland and the lakes. Finance for the above-ground buildings was being arranged separately.
"Our reputation is sound for delivering what we say we will deliver. We draw pretty pictures in Wanaka and then deliver more than people expect. The same will happen here.''
Mr Robertson said as each stage was developed, it was improved. The lake was being enhanced, a $250,000 bridge across the lake had turned into a $1 million bridge and the hot pools had become a major feature of the development.
The models would remain on display as a way of buyers holding Mr Robertson to account.
"We have a great sense of accomplishment and pride right down from ourselves, the contractors and the people painting the fence. They can all see the vision.
"It's something we can all be proud of. It is nice to do things well and, at the level we are working out, the incentive to just make money has long gone. Making money is a by-product of the process; you don't want to make a loss on these things but it has become more than the money to me.''
Mr Robertson has reached agreement with the Ministry of Education on building a school at Pegasus and he was confident he could convince 107 retailers, banks and other operators to become established on the site.
He would not reveal his plans but said it was a process he followed. Marketing was not about luck or guesswork; it was a science that was often overlooked.
"I am confident the 107 operators that we choose to invite will be all there on the day we open.''
He praised the Waimakariri District Council for the professional way in which its staff were dealing with the development. He had considered making Pegasus a private town but negotiations with the council changed his mind.
For Mr Robertson, April 20 looms as his next major milestone. He hopes to have enough sections sold then to start the next stage of the development.
