Developer Tony Gapes, whose company Queenstown Gateway Ltd bought part of the Five Mile development near Queenstown Airport, says he expects to launch a simpler development at the site than that planned by the previous owners.
"We are still working on plans and ideas for the development, so a lot of factors are still undecided.
"But it will be a mixed use development with retail, commercial and residential elements, which might include a hotel or managed apartment," he said.
"It will definitely be a much simpler and less dense development than the original plans for the site."
The previous owner of the site, Five Mile Holdings Ltd, headed by Christchurch entrepreneur Dave Henderson, had planned a $2 billion town to house 10,000 people along with retail and commercial developments.
But Five Mile Holdings Ltd went into receivership in July 2008, and the site was put up for mortgagee sale in February last year.
Queenstown Gateway Ltd is a new company led by Aucklander Tony Gapes, who is also director of Redwood Group Ltd, which is behind several large projects.
In November 2009, Queenstown Gateway Ltd bought stage one of the Five Mile development, which is a 7.7ha slice of the total 31ha site, including a huge excavated area known locally as "the hole in the ground".
Mr Gapes would not disclose the purchase price, but disputed reports it was $11 million.
"There is a confidentiality clause preventing me from revealing the purchase price.
"But it was substantially higher than $11 million," he said.
Supermarket giant Progressive Enterprises Ltd is involved, lending Queenstown Gateway Ltd part of the purchase funds.
Mr Gapes said Progressive had a natural interest in the site, and it was likely there would be a supermarket such as Countdown at the site, but nothing was confirmed.
Architect Peter Zillman, from the Buchan Group, known for large-scale projects including the Palms shopping centre in Christchurch, will be in charge of the design of the new development.
Workshops are planned for this month, and Mr Gapes hoped they would result in clearer concept plans.
"I would like to get the development under way as soon as possible.
"The timeframe will be subject to council consents and leases, but I hope we can start the construction phase this year," he said.
Expressions of interest had been sought from potential retail tenants through the real estate agent Colliers International.
Mr Gapes said there had been a lot of interest from companies over the past month, and those retailers would be taken into account in the design phase.
