New look proposed for old station site
A MODERN commercial development has been proposed to replace Wanaka’s former police station on Helwick St.
The station was demolished last week, five years after it was closed when police moved to new premises on Ballantyne Rd.
The Crown sold the closed station to Wanaka businessman Steve Norman and his company, Gem Lake Ltd, in 2014.
Mr Norman had leased out the station since, while a plan was formed on what to do with the site.
In March, Gem Lake applied for resource consent to construct two commercial buildings on the narrow 986m2 site, to be called The Precinct.
The application said the two buildings would be located on the side boundaries of the property with a pedestrian laneway located between them.
The ground floor of both buildings would contain a mix of retail and hospitality businesses, and two office spaces would be located on the first floor of the southern building.
An open terrace would sit above the northern building businesses, allowing space for fairweather hospitality use.
A courtyard would also be located at the rear of the site, likely to be part of a cafe or restaurant.
The application is being considered by the Queenstown Lakes District Council.
Prior to submitting the appli cation, Gem Lake approached Wanaka’s urban design panel for feedback on the proposal.
Panel chairman Rafe MacLean said the panel expressed concern the building was ‘‘quite different in aesthetic than the rest of the street’’ but acknowledged the rest of the street would likely catch up as older buildings were replaced.
He said the panel supported the proposal overall and was ‘‘impressed by the weight given to the pedestrian, and the consideration of the scaling of the building in the streetscape’’.