The 5889 square metre parcel, spread over three titles on Frankton Rd, opposite Frankton Marina, was originally bought by farmer Robert Grant in 1913.
Subsequently owned by his descendants, it has sat vacant for 108 years.
The Grant family went on to be pioneers in the early development of Queenstown’s Frankton Flats, but the prime plot, perched on the hillside above Frankton Rd, with outstanding views to the Remarkables, has never been developed.
On the market for $3 million including GST, the sale — at an undisclosed price — was finalised last week.
At this stage the developer, who doesn’t want to be named, is working through ideas for the land, but hasn’t made any firm decisions.
Grant family trustees and siblings Bruce Grant and Tineke Enright are using sale proceeds to put towards ongoing development of their Country Lane boutique and artisan-style retail hub on a larger parcel of the original farmland at Hansen Rd.
The bulk of the interest in the Frankton Rd land for sale came from development companies based in New Zealand’s larger cities, but mainly from Auckland.
Due to the surprise lockdown in August, it was impossible for the Auckland-based purchasers to visit the site, so listing agents David Poppleton and Peter Nelson, of Harcourts Queenstown, adapted their sales approach.
"We used a raft of new communication technologies to help give them a genuine sense of the scope of the land and the opportunities it presented," Poppleton says.
"We devoted all our time and energy to making sure they had access to substantially more than the usual amount of sources of information in order to give them enough confidence to commit to the purchase.
"Although we’ve had mostly closed borders for 19 months that’s restricted our Australian friends from buying, Kiwis had still been able to move around the country to view their purchase.
“Right now Aucklanders, who are our biggest buying demographic, can’t do that.
"This Covid effect on the Queenstown real estate market is something that we’ve had to adapt to in recent months, and is now very much integral to our selling approach.
"In this particular case we were delighted to achieve a superb result for our vendors."
The land originally went to market in May, with time allowed to give buyers the opportunity to seek independent advice on the use of the land.
Poppleton and Nelson describe it as a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to buy a large section with plenty of potential in an "outstanding location", always believing it would appeal to a developer keen to build units.
Grant and Enright say they’re "very happy" with the result, which is enabling them to progress with opening four new businesses at Country Lane, housed in refurbished cabins, formerly located in Queenstown’s Lakeview campground.
The new businesses, Sam Mayell pottery and prints, The Borrowed Botanicals, Sugary Patisserie and Cocos Cabin, will open in the next three weeks, joining a range of others, including Buzzstop Honey Centre and Sugar Trading, operating from the site since 2009.
