A proposed central Queenstown apartment building promises to add interest to an established residential area.
Robins Queenstown Ltd, a company linked to the party behind Fernhill’s large Jade Lake complex, has applied for resource consent for a three-level, 9.4 metre-high building at 37 Robins Road.
Using the site’s natural slope, the building’s four levels, and 13.6m high, as viewed from Horne Creek on its eastern boundary — the extra floor allowing for basement parking for 11 vehicles.
The building, replacing an existing house, would consist of 22 residential units, with balconies, ranging from one-bed studios to three-bedders.
The applicant’s also seeking consent for visitor accommodation for each unit, so owners could either live in them or let them out as short- or long-term rentals.
The site’s bounded to the north by Flaming Kiwi Backpackers, is virtually across the road from the Queenstown Primary School playing fields, and is only 200m from the Recreation Ground.
The building’s been designed by Ignite Architects.
The distinctive frontage includes a protruding structure providing balcony space above and a double-height portico ‘front door’ experience.
With a building footprint of 536sqm, it covers 65.4% of the site, or less than the maximum permissible 70% for its zoning.
Most of the rest of the building, especially as viewed from Robins Rd, also fits in with district planning requirements, according to the consent application prepared by Queenstown’s Vivian + Espie Ltd.
The same firm’s produced a landscape plan providing for native planting out front, river stones around the building, climbers on the northern basement facade and riparian planting adjacent to Horne Creek.
The application’s currently undergoing ‘limited notification’, in which seven neighbouring property owners, deemed affected parties, have till Wednesday to file submissions.
