A transtasman consortium has been appointed as the preferred bidder for a key piece of Queenstown land.
Melbourne-based developer Ninety-Four Feet, Auckland-based investment company Augusta Capital and the Britomart Hospitality Group, which brought more than 30 years' experience developing mixed-use precincts, was confirmed as the preferred bidder for the public-owned Lakeview site on Tuesday.
Queenstown Lakes District Council chief executive Mike Theelen said the consortium and the council had now signed a "heads of agreement" and entered negotiations for the development agreement for the 10.4ha site, on an upper terrace near Skyline Gondola's base building.
Development of the site has been discussed by the council for about 16 years.
Lakeview contains 165 council-owned cabins, council records storage sheds, a camping ground, ablution blocks, toy library, other buildings and bare land.
Under the council's master plan, 6ha would remain as community land, including parks and reserves, and 4.4ha would be developed.
Mr Theelen said an area of the site would be retained as tenant accommodation in the "short to medium-term", but high-density residential accommodation would be delivered by the consortium early in the development.
