Thiel’s plan for a luxury lodge
American billionaire Peter Thiel wants to build a luxury lodge near Wa¯ naka.
Plans lodged with the Queenstown Lakes District Council show a series of buildings set into the rural landscape on a
193-hectare site owned by Thiel at Damper’s Bay, near Wa¯ naka.
The lodge has been designed by Tokyo Olympic Stadium architect Kengo Kuma and Associates.
It proposes to accommodate 24 guests in
10 rooms and six in an owner’s pod. Facilities include a small meditation pod, library, theatre lounge and spa rooms.
‘‘The lodge is designed in a manner that integrates the building forms into the context of the landscape and the site whilst providing each guest room with uninterrupted north-facing views towards Lake Wa¯naka and the Southern Alps,’’ the resource consent application says.
It is about 9 kilometres from central Wa¯naka along Wa¯naka-Mount Aspiring Rd.
‘‘The lodge location provides the benefits of relative proximity to Wa¯ naka and the shopping, dining and cultural experiences that are available, whilst also providing guests with a sense of remoteness.’’
Up to 15 staff would be at the site at peak times, but none would live on site.
The buildings were to be curved horizontally and vertically to blend into the landscape.
All the buildings included green roofs that extended to the ground at each end.
The roofs would be planted with the same range of plants (and occasional rocks) that grow in the surrounding area.
The buildings would be ‘‘reasonably difficult’’ to see from public places and not be visible from any neighbouring residences.
The proposal includes substantial ecological works, including the retention of native forest, fencing to keep pests and stock out, and the restoration of wetlands alongside a substantial area of farmland.
A tourism report submitted with the application says the proposed lodge would add needed accommodation at the premium end of the market and would support government and tourism strategies of targeting high-quality and high-value visitors.
It would employ up to 30 people in wellpaid jobs, it says.
The proposal has to be publicly notified. Thiel made his fortune as the founder of PayPal and as an early investor in Facebook.
In 2017 it was revealed he had gained New Zealand citizenship and purchased the Damper Bay property through his company, Second Star Limited, in April 2015, for $13.5 million.
He is selling a house in Queenstown, which is subject to a legal challenge by American millionaire and GoPro vice president Brian McGee.