Rob Neil’s Safari Group has soft-launched a five-level residential complex, Mountain Oak Queenstown Apartments, in Frankton’s Remarkables Park, by the corner of Red Oaks Dr and Pin Oak Dr.
Comprising 141 units, it’s down the road from Safari’s first two local developments — Ramada Remarkables Park and Wyndham Garden — and around the corner from its last local development, La Quinta by Wyndham, which opened in 2020.
Safari also opened Ramada Queenstown Central five years ago.
Mountain Oak was originally conceived as another Wyndham franchise, TRYP Remarkables Park — a high-end hotel/apartment complex.
"It was the project we were meant to move on to straight after [La Quinta] but then Covid happened and put a stop to us," says Safari quantity surveyor David Kirkwood.
He notes the renamed complex won’t now have a hotel component — "it’s just straight residential apartments now" — though owners will be able to let out their units for visitor accommodation.
"In terms of the actual shape of the building and the make-up of the structure, it’s pretty similar to what we had previously."
Two basement levels have been scrapped, however, and carparking will all be on ground level — envisaged are 113 carparks with possibly 26 in bipark stacker formation.
Kirkwood says they already have resource consent but will be seeking amendments to it.
Subject to consents, a two-year build’s likely to start next April or May.
Safari sales and marketing coordinator Sophie McEwen describes the units as "higher-end".
She explains there’ll be eight configurations or typologies — specifically, 16 one-bedders, 20 ‘flexi’ one-bedders (meaning an additional room for an office or storage space), 25 two-bedders, 15 flexi two-bedders, four three-bedders, 54 dual-key units, three top-floor penthouses and four private-entry/walk-in ground-floor apartments.
Prices will range from $639,000 for one-bedders to $2million-plus for the penthouses.
McEwen says there’ll be three ways owners can use their units — those who’ll live in them fulltime, investors who’ll rent them to locals or visitors, and holiday homeowners who’ll rent them for visitor accommodation when they’re not in residence.
She expects Mountain Oak will be formally launched to market around the middle of next month.
Kirkwood adds: "I think once we get this under way, the guys will start looking for another site down there as well, so we can sort of move from this on to another one."
Meanwhile, Safari still has for sale its large central Queenstown development site on the Hallenstein St/York St corner, for which it obtained protracted consent last year for 22 luxury apartments and six townhouses.
