Plans for a new church at Frankton include a sports field, indoor court, hostel, playground and more than 30 residential units.
Wakatipu Community Presbyterian Church has submitted building plans to the Queenstown Lakes District Council for a development on an 8ha site on State Highway 6, by the new Glenda Dr roundabout.
Church officials declined to comment yesterday.
However, the application outlines plans for a 1265sqm church with auditorium, 70-seat chapel and 15-metre tall steeple.
Two new manses and recreational facilities, including the football pitch and indoor court, are also on the cards for the church.
The application stated: ''The church will be intentionally prominent and will be highly visible from views along the road.
''Prominence in this context is considered to be a positive from an urban design perspective.''
The development's second phase would include: ''Two more manses, 13 residential units (separately saleable), 14 retirement units, a visitor accommodation hostel, children's playground, community gardens ... and additional car and bus parking.''
The Wakatipu Community Presbyterian Church has three churches in Wakatipu: St Andrew's in Queenstown, St Margaret's at Frankton and historic St John's, Arrowtown.
The move was prompted by a lack of space, the application said.
There has been rapid growth on the Frankton Flats in recent years, including the Five Mile shopping centre, and more large-scale commercial and residential plans across Grant Rd.
''The church congregations and community groups [including Girl Guides, Buddy programme and Autism Southland] are outgrowing the existing buildings, and the church serves a mixed international congregation and wider community that has different requirements to a traditional church space and meetings,'' the application said.
The new development would help ease Queenstown's housing woes, the church added.
