First stage of Gibbston Valley Resort housing put on ice
Covid’s stymied part of a planned housing development in Gibbston, included in the massive $750 million, 400-hectare Gibbston Valley Resort.
Gibbston Valley Winery CEO Greg Hunt tells Mountain Scene the developers made the ‘‘practical’’ and ‘‘pragmatic’’ decision to cancel the contracts on the 28 properties in The Vines residential housing development about a month ago.
Launched just before Christmas, 2020, Hunt says sales went ‘‘exceptionally well’’ when the sections hit the market — one was snapped up by ex-Black Caps captain Brendon McCullum, while rugby identity Glen Jackson put his name on a two-bedder while in a quarantine hotel — so contracts were entered early, ‘‘then Covid hit’’.
‘‘Who could have ever predicted [what would happen]?
‘‘We costed everything pre-Covid … it just meant that over time, costs just kept rising.
‘‘I held out as long as I could, but then we had a couple of cost increases which came through about six weeks ago and it just put it, really, to the point where we couldn’t get funding.
‘‘No one will fund when you’re building at a loss, so it was a pragmatic decision.’’
Hunt says all but one purchaser in The Vines — which was to have comprised two-, three- and four-bedroom homes, priced, initially, from $1.2 million — has their deposit back.
Four or five, including McCullum, have conditional contracts in The Reserve, comprising 33 sections, each about 2000 square metres, priced from about $1.5m, opposite the concert venue.
One of the first purchasers there was Sir John Key.
‘‘We haven’t walked away, we’ve offered these people the … opportunity at The Reserve, and have offered to look after them at The
Lodge if they come down.
‘‘We’re not walking away and going, ‘screw you, we’re just going to cancel contracts’.’’
Remainder of development still forging ahead
The next cab off the rank, though, is The Rockery, also opposite the concert venue.
Titles on those 13 sections, ranging from about 1200sqm to 1800sqm, are expected in October, with work pegged to start next year.
Hunt says they’re also developing the ‘Gibbston Valley design studio’, through which purchasers can access a ‘‘concierge service’’ which provides them with concept designs for their sections with a cost estimate, factoring in escalation.
‘‘Where we got caught at The Vines is we costed it before Covid, so now people are understanding and they’re building it into the cost.’’
As part of that, Hunt says, the developers will find a builder and manage the process.
Alternatively, purchasers can just buy the land and build later.
Meantime, the Greg Turner-designed nine-hole golf course and the Condon Scott-designed clubhouse will both be underway this spring.
‘‘From there, we’ll put the underpass in and we’ll go across and start the Vintner’s Village and the development around the concert site,’’ Hunt says.
He’s expecting development of the underpass to start at the end of 2024 and, in 2025, work to start on the 2500sqm of commercial space on the same side of the highway as the concert venue, to include a wellness facility, conference and incentive facility, garden centre, cafe and artisan shops.
‘‘It’ll not only be appealing for our owners and guests … but also to the local community.
‘‘At the moment, if you live in Gibbston, the closest place to get a bottle of milk is Arrowtown.’’
But, The Vines will be resurrected at some point.
‘‘Sometimes, you’ve just got to take a breath and go, ‘OK, this is not the area we should be concentrating on now, there are factors outside our control … let’s concentrate on the areas that we can control, let’s get those done, let the world settle down, get supply lines right [and] get labour back into the country’.
‘‘That’s another factor — we’re just short of people.’’
