A cafe-bar and corner shop are set to be the next addition to the Lake Hayes Estate.
It is envisaged the facilities will be built on land owned by the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust, which is also waiting for Government funding so it can continue its affordable-housing scheme.
The Lake Hayes Community Association supports the addition to the township.
Community association chairman Kevin Burdon said: "Having a local shop and a place like a cafe for the locals to meet up is the No 1 priority for our community."
Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust chief executive Julie Scott said she had heard from half-a-dozen interested companies since she called for expressions of interest in February.
"It has not yet been decided whether the cafe, bar and shop will be one integrated unit or if the shop will be separate.
It is also still undecided if the trust will do the construction and lease the buildings to an operator or simply lease the land for someone to build and operate the facilities."
Ms Scott said she hoped construction of the new facilities would begin within the next six months.
"The locals have expressed their wishes to have these facilities.
I imagine it as a place to do the shopping for essentials, and a place to meet up for a cup of coffee during the day or to watch a rugby game in the evening."
Mr Burdon said there had been talk of having a shop and cafes on the corner of Hope Ave and Onslow Rd since the subdivision's early days.
"I could not say how much those facilities will be used, but they are definitely much sought-after, and the community association will be encouraging the residents to use them when they are eventually open, as we know we will have to use them or lose them," Mr Burdon said.
The trust owns 1.43ha of land at Lake Hayes Estate, and completed the building of five three-bedroom houses last year as stage 1 of the proposed development.
The commercial area containing the shop and cafe-bar will comprise part of stage 2, during which more houses will be built, too.
Ms Scott said: "We have consent for up to 20 homes.
But we are still in the design phase and might split the construction up into several phases.
A building contractor has not been chosen, as we will send the project out for tender once we know what funding we have."
The trust had applied to the Government's Housing Innovation Fund for funding to continue to help families buy houses through the shared ownership programme, in which the trust funds up to 40% of the purchase price depending on the family's financial situation.
On Thursday, it was announced the trust had been granted $500,000 from the Government fund, about half of what the trust had sought.
Trust chairman David Cole said: "We are extremely pleased the Housing New Zealand Corporation has recognised the success of our shared ownership programme and is willing to continue to support its growth in the district.
This grant for 2010 will enable us to assist up to another 10 first-home buyers into properties."
He said the trust had also applied to the Housing Innovation Fund.
Ms Scott said: "We are prioritising getting the commercial part of stage 2 started, but hope to start building the houses in six to eight months' time.
Hopefully, the trust can help the next families into a new Lake Hayes Estate home early next year."
So far, the trust has supported 32 families into their own homes in the Queenstown Lakes District.
A total of 350 households have registered their interest in the shared ownership programme.
