Plans have been unveiled for Mount Cardrona Station’s $10 million cornerstone building, which will become the central point of the new $650m alpine village near Queenstown.
On completion, The Homestead will comprise a restaurant, members’ lounge, gym and workout spaces, meeting rooms, a reception, swimming pool and hot pools.
Being built in three stages, construction of the first is expected to start late next summer, that’ll include the members’ clubroom, gym and reception.
The restaurant will be part of stage two and the pool will be finished in stage three.
It’s part of the larger 400-hectare development — of which more than 350ha has been set aside as open space — on a plateau above the Cardrona Valley being undertaken by Chris Morton and Andrew Spencer.
Morton says the 1350 square metre building, designed by Auckland’s Leuschke Group Architects, will be the ‘‘focal point for owners’’ in the wider development.
‘‘It promises to be a destination in its own right, with resort-like facilities available year-round.’’
The Homestead will comprise a series of four long, low buildings, constructed from raw materials like Corten steel, corrugated iron, unfinished timber, local stone and glass.
Leuschke Group’s Luke Leuschke notes: ‘‘You won’t find paint or plasterboard in this building.
‘‘The challenge was to capture the essence of yesterday, with the needs of today and into the future.’’
Mt Cardrona Station’s working towards the highest-possible 6-star Green rating for The Homestead, which represents world leadership in a building’s performance and environmental impact.
That in mind, thermal performance — keeping the building cool in summer and warm in winter — was high on the design priority list.
Morton, whose son, Tom, moved to Arrowtown with his family last August to project-manage the development, says they’ve also partnered with Queenstown landscape architects Baxter Design and resort trail builder Tom Hey — best known locally for his handiwork designing Queenstown Mountain Bike Club’s trails — who’ll create more than 30km of walking and mountain biking trails across the development site.
The first sections in the 400-home development were released last November.
Since then, a range of land-only sites and house-and-land packages have been snapped up, many buyers hailing from Australia and across New Zealand.
