Plans for $200m hotel complex

The man behind a so far unsuccessful bid for a five-star hotel in Dunedin's Moray Pl has moved his attention to Queenstown.

Tekapo businessman Anthony Tosswill is involved in part of a $200million hotel complex with more than 550 rooms, the latest mega development planned for Queenstown.

The developers - a syndicate of New Zealand and overseas investors - want to build a five-star hotel, a four-star hotel and a residential apartment building at Remarkables Park.

Mr Tosswill, who could not be contacted last night, is the director of the company behind the apartment building.

An Environment Court appeal over his Dunedin five-star hotel planned for a site across the road from the Dunedin Town Hall was withdrawn last month, but he indicated at the time he was not giving up on the project.

The investors in the Queenstown project have already bought the 10,910sqm site from Remarkables Park Ltd's Porter brothers - Alistair, John and Neville - and submitted a resource consent application to Queenstown's council.

On the corner of Red Oaks Dr and Mountain Ash Dr, the development would be three minutes' walk from the Porters' planned conference centre.

''In the past, there was some criticism that we didn't have enough hotels at Remarkables Park to support a convention centre,'' Alastair Porter said.

''This puts it beyond question.''

This latest proposal follows three Remarkables Park developments promoted by Auckland-based Safari Group.

They are the 54-room Ramada hotel, which opened two years ago; the new Wyndham Garden's 75 serviced and 55 residential apartments; and the proposed Ramada Kawarau River, with 87 hotel and 99 residential apartments.

At the southern end of the syndicate's new proposal is a 152-room five-star hotel topped by an entertainment and viewing solarium on the seventh floor.

The hotel may also include hot pools.

The middle building, with multi-coloured halogen lights, is a 257-room four-star hotel with 32 extra rooms for staff accommodation.

The northern-end six-level building, with oak shutters and a roof garden, comprises 144 serviced apartments.

It is designed by Christchurch architect Thom Craig.

There was provision for more than 200 basement car parks across the complex, along with bus drop-offs outside the hotels.

Auckland real estate broker Buzz Scown, who introduced the consortium to the Porters, said ''we've got a number of the larger international hotel brands waiting to jump in and manage it''.

A novelty for New Zealand, he said, was the proposed modular construction, whereby the rooms would be built offshore and shipped over and trucked on to the site.

''Everything can be built off-site under one roof rather than trying to have 1000 subcontractors on-site.

''It doesn't cheapen the quality. In fact it improves the quality.''

Mr Scown said once the foundations and groundworks were completed, the buildings could be completed in a matter of months.

He would not divulge his clients' names.

-By Philip Chandler