The Motueka farmer has removed the statue of the Clydesdale horse which marked the entrance to the site and says he is ''gutted '' his plans were thwarted by a lack of funding.
''It would've been absolutely sensational,'' he said of the project, which was to include an agridome, a daily farming show and a farm machinery museum.
The venture, launched five years ago, was estimated to cost about $4 million, would have employed up to 15 people and was expected to attract up to 1000 visitors a day.
''My dream was not everyone's dream, I suppose,'' Mr Rowntree said this week.
''I've tried my hardest to get shareholders but it's been hard going. All the big players in Otago wished me well but nobody was prepared to come aboard.''
''It was an all-or-nothing deal, in my opinion. If I couldn't get all the funding, I didn't want to do it in stages. Sometimes you've got to make a stand and if you don't get ahead, you have to move on.''
The racecourse is designated as a recreation reserve by the Central Otago District Council and planning consent was granted for the farm tourism venture in 2010, after being considered by an independent commissioner. Since then Mr Rowntree has been leasing 5.4ha of the racecourse land.
''But now I've asked the council to release me from that lease, and they've agreed,'' he said.
Central Otago deputy mayor and Cromwell Community Board chairman Neil Gillespie said the council and board had done everything they could to ensure the success of the project.
''We made the land available to Lester and leased it to him and his venture would've been a fantastic asset for the area, so it's a real shame it didn't come to fruition,'' he said.
''At the end of the day, he was obviously struggling to get financial support for the project and that had to stack up before he could proceed.''
It was a prime site on a busy state highway, so the opportunity remained for another venture on that site, Mr Gillespie said.
Mr Rowntree thanked Central Otago people for welcoming the idea and was disappointed the heritage show and museum did not come to fruition.
''It's just one of those things ... you can't always finish what you start.''
He had spent about $300,000 on the project so far.
''A lot of the costs are unseen. It now has a hell of a good pop-up irrigation system, that block of land, and a deep well, so the grass will keep growing.''
Mr Rowntree now has a new focus. He and his partner have bought the Otira Hotel and plan to add the Otira village hall and 18 railway houses to their real estate portfolio in three years.
''One door shuts and another opens. Otira for me is a great option. It probably suits my personality, the wild West Coast, and I love the history of the area.''
The horse statue now has pride of place outside the hotel. Mr Rowntree is in the process of moving to Otira. In summer, he plans to take his replica Cobb and Co stagecoach to meet the TranzAlpine train, and offer stagecoach trips to the Otira tunnel entrance.
