QLDC may purchase more top property
THE Queenstown Lakes District Council is splashing the cash.
It has announced it is keen to buy a highprofile Ladies Mile property, just weeks after snapping up a Queenstown Bay wharf.
The new site, a 14.6ha prop erty owned by the Walker family, would provide a ‘‘variety of facilities’’, the council said.
Due diligence on the purchase is under way and councillors will fully consider the purchase at an upcoming meeting.
The council has had a busy month with the chequebook, having bought the Butson/Lapsley wharf for an undisclosed sum, rumoured to be $3.8 million or $5 million.
QUEENSTOWN’S council appears to be loosening its purse strings, announcing it is looking to buy a highprofile Ladies Mile property just weeks after snapping up a Queenstown Bay wharf.
In a press release yesterday, the council said the new site would ‘‘provide a variety of facilities for Lake Hayes/Shotover Country residents as well as the wider community’’.
The site, at 516 FranktonLadies Mile, is a 14.6ha property.
It is currently owned by the Walker family.
According to the council’s rating information, the land is valued at $3,600,000 and the improvements — including a fivebedroom, 440sq m copperroofed house, 320sq m of vehicle/aircraft garaging and an inground swimming pool — at $2.81 million, adding up to a capital value of $6.41 million.
In its statement, the council said the site had both ‘‘strategic and tactical value with an array of uses from recreation and community facilities, to education and transport in an area of significant community growth’’.
‘‘QLDC has been regularly exploring land and asset acquisition opportunities that will benefit and respond to existing and future community needs.
‘‘The Ladies Mile property provides a rare opportunity to protect open spaces in the area whilst offering a location for community facilities.’’
Mayor Jim Boult said council officers consulted elected members at the appropriate time and the proposed purchase had been well supported.
Due diligence on the purchase is under way and councillors will fully consider the purchase at an upcoming council meeting.
The council said it was also in discussion with potential partners to explore what facilities could be provided on the site.
Mr Boult said final funding would be determined once the council determined exactly how the site would be used.
‘‘We’re in the final stages of due diligence and whilst I can’t predict the outcome of my fellow elected members’ decisionmaking, I am confident that they will be equally as supportive as I am and will endorse this communityminded purchase.’’
The council said it would not comment further until the process was completed.
Earlier this month, the council confirmed it had bought the Butson/Lapsley wharf for an undisclosed sum, rumoured to be $3.8 million or $5 million, on the basis of its potential use in the future for part of a ferry network infrastructure.