A developer says he pulled a proposed affordable housing project in Queenstown because it became commercially unviable.
Gerry Oudhoff, part-owner of Bowen Creek Investments Ltd, said yesterday he was weighing up his options and had not ruled out selling the central Queenstown site he bought last year with wife Sharon and business partner James Hennessy.
The decision to pull the plug was down to increased costs and delays getting resource consent for the proposed 32 homes just off Gorge Rd.
To proceed could take another 12-18 months and an additional $300,000-$500,000 price tag, he said.
"There were small margins in the whole project - that is how it was going to be affordable housing. The process took too long, too many reports [required], too much b... at the end of the day. From a commercial point of view, it is just not going to work any more. I have exhausted all the options ... I don't think I will waste any more time on it.''
The final straw was an Otago Regional Council request for a peer review into an engineer's report, looking into natural hazards on the site. He considered it unnecessary.
"The stream [Brewery Creek] is one of the problems. We have had it inspected by a highly respected hydro engineer. Obviously, they didn't believe him or didn't think it was good enough.''
Queenstown Lakes District Council stopped progressing the consent application until the report was complete.
The Bowen Street Cottages site, which sits next to an area where the council has proposed to develop a Special Housing Area, is classified high-density residential.
Mr Oudhoff thinks this could be a consideration for a buyer.
"I don't think it is an option for myself. I am not into that kind of housing.''
