Village people hail ground breaking
Twenty years after developers bought land immediately south of Kingston township for a subdivision, the first dirt has just been broken.
To the delight of, to date, 87 section buyers, the construction of Kingston Village has begun.
Those purchasers — mostly families and first-home buyers — bought sections from just $299,000 in two releases that sold out each sales morning.
Ranging from 350 square metres to 715sqm, the sections are among 217 granted consent, so far, of about 750 allowed under the Kingston Village Special Zone.
Titles on these first lots are expected by next winter, by when about 20,000 cubic metres of soil will have been shifted.
Beyond the sections themselves, Kingston Village Ltd (KVL) — comprising Goodman brothers Patrick, Greg and Craig, whose late father, Sir Patrick Goodman, was a renowned food industrialist — is planning a commercial centre, new parks and recreation, provision for a primary school and a childcare centre.
Another attraction's the subdivision's proximity to the Lake Whakatipu waterfront.
Among the first people to sign up for a section were couple Beth Lyons and Chris Heald, from North Wales and Yorkshire, who've lived in Queenstown for eight years and teach at Remarkables and Shotover Primary, respectively.
While grateful they're living in a shared ownership home thanks to the local community housing trust, teacher salaries meant their mortgage budget had only stretched to looking at freehold properties in Cromwell.
They arrived at 9am on the dot on the first open day to look at the land and meet the Bayleys team, and, two hours after heading home were "fairly dead set" on buying, eventually securing their site on the first sales day.
"We were so impressed with how close it was to the lake, the awesome views, the fact we won't feel as crammed in as we would with other suburbs, and the price," Lyons says.
"We felt relieved, excited and grateful, and after talking to different building companies we've got plans drawn up for a three- to four-bed home, and we can't wait for titles to come through.
"For us, the big bonuses are it's sunny and an easy commute to work along the lake, but for two people from the UK it's not going to feel much like a commute."
Kingston residents Laura and Dan Koot, who have two toddlers, are also happy buyers after living seven years in the township.
"Dan has his own building company and builds here locally, so it made sense to get in behind this incredible opportunity," Laura says.
"As a working mum it's hard when there's no daycare here and we have to drive to Frankton for all appointments, so we fully support the provision of more services."
KVL senior development manager Nicola Tristram hails the first sod-turning as "a significant milestone".
"A lot of work has been done to get to this point.
"Kingston has a fascinating history, and our hope is to see the community embracing another phase of growth, offering a lakeside lifestyle that's increasingly rare in Queenstown."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Otago Daily Times
Village people hail ground breaking
Twenty years after developers bought land immediately south of Kingston township for a subdivision, the first dirt has just been broken. To the delight of, to date, 87 section buyers, the construction of Kingston Village has begun. Those purchasers — mostly families and first-home buyers — bought sections from just $299,000 in two releases that sold out each sales morning. Ranging from 350 square metres to 715sqm, the sections are among 217 granted consent, so far, of about 750 allowed under the Kingston Village Special Zone. Titles on these first lots are expected by next winter, by when about 20,000 cubic metres of soil will have been shifted. Beyond the sections themselves, Kingston Village Ltd (KVL) — comprising Goodman brothers Patrick, Greg and Craig, whose late father, Sir Patrick Goodman, was a renowned food industrialist — is planning a commercial centre, new parks and recreation, provision for a primary school and a childcare centre. Another attraction's the subdivision's proximity to the Lake Whakatipu waterfront. Among the first people to sign up for a section were couple Beth Lyons and Chris Heald, from North Wales and Yorkshire, who've lived in Queenstown for eight years and teach at Remarkables and Shotover Primary, respectively. While grateful they're living in a shared ownership home thanks to the local community housing trust, teacher salaries meant their mortgage budget had only stretched to looking at freehold properties in Cromwell. They arrived at 9am on the dot on the first open day to look at the land and meet the Bayleys team, and, two hours after heading home were "fairly dead set" on buying, eventually securing their site on the first sales day. "We were so impressed with how close it was to the lake, the awesome views, the fact we won't feel as crammed in as we would with other suburbs, and the price," Lyons says. "We felt relieved, excited and grateful, and after talking to different building companies we've got plans drawn up for a three- to four-bed home, and we can't wait for titles to come through. "For us, the big bonuses are it's sunny and an easy commute to work along the lake, but for two people from the UK it's not going to feel much like a commute." Kingston residents Laura and Dan Koot, who have two toddlers, are also happy buyers after living seven years in the township. "Dan has his own building company and builds here locally, so it made sense to get in behind this incredible opportunity," Laura says. "As a working mum it's hard when there's no daycare here and we have to drive to Frankton for all appointments, so we fully support the provision of more services." KVL senior development manager Nicola Tristram hails the first sod-turning as "a significant milestone". "A lot of work has been done to get to this point. "Kingston has a fascinating history, and our hope is to see the community embracing another phase of growth, offering a lakeside lifestyle that's increasingly rare in Queenstown."
RNZ News
27-05-2025
- RNZ News
'We want to get Queenstown moving again' - cable car companies target resort town
Whoosh as visualised on a central street in Queenstown. Photo: Supplied A cable car race is underway in Queenstown, as two different companies unveil their schemes to connect the resort town by high-wire. Whoosh and Southern Infrastructure Ltd have revealed blueprints of their proposed transport networks this week. Kiwi-owned Whoosh has been developing self-driving cabins to go on an elevated cable network , which riders would be able to book on an app. Whoosh_chief_executive_Chris_Allington. Photo: RNZ / Katie Todd Today at the Electrify Queenstown conference, Whoosh chief executive Chris Allington from the engineering firm Holmes Solutions revealed a map of where the six-part network could go. The network could link Frankton to Shotover Country to the Remarkables Ski Hill, but he said Whoosh was keen to adapt its plans to feedback from Queenstown locals. He said the first two kilometres or so - a pilot project around Remarkables Park - could be operational as soon as next year. "This isn't fiction, this isn't fake, this isn't an animation, this is actually coming. And it's coming fast," he told the crowd. Whoosh's vision for Queenstown. Photo: Supplied Work would begin this year, and it was just a matter of "dotting i's and crossing t's" and obtaining resource consent for the buildings, he said. Allington did not put a date on the wider network, besides saying Whoosh's modular design made it very quick to build. "It's not like we need to finish it all before any of it can open... it will just keep getting extended and keep rolling across in the direction, in the places, that Queenstown wants it to go," he said. So far, the network had a ballpark cost estimate of $250 million, he said. Whoosh was funded by shareholders and private equity from offshore, and Allington said he believed the price tag was achievable. "The funny thing is, it's actually easier to fund the big project than a small one, particularly stuff like this. It's clean, it's green, it's sustainable. There's lots of funding sources available for that," he said. But hot on Whoosh's heels was another initiative from Southern Infrastructure Ltd. Southern Infrastructure chief executive Ross Copland. Photo: RNZ / Katie Todd Chief executive Ross Copland described the company as less of an innovator, and more of a problem solver for the town's traffic woes. "We're not a supplier, so we don't have a particular technology. We're an infrastructure developer that's looking to solve a transport problem in Queenstown. We've looked really closely at all the options - our preference at this stage is a ropeway," he said. Southern Infrastructure planned to build an electric, high-speed urban gondola network around Queenstown, at a cost of about $200 million. It revealed a map of its planned network straddling seven stations, from Arthur's Point, to Queenstown central, to Ladies Mile, with stopoffs at Queenstown Airport and the Frankton bus hub. Queenstown Cable Car's indicative map. Photo: Supplied Copland said it was the sum of years of careful analysis of height limits, existing infrastructure, geotechnical stability and significant ecological areas. "It's almost a direct route into Queenstown, but importantly it bypasses a lot of those residential areas where the visual effects would be quite significant," he said. "We think it's a project that's consentable and also quite efficient." The project had backing from rich-lister Rod Drury, and support from one of the world's biggest ski lift companies, Doppelmayr. Copland admitted the company's goal of launching by the end of 2028 was "aggressive", but said the need was urgent. "There's a couple of different ways the project can be funded. We'd love to see it brought in as part of the public transport funding models so that people in the region, whether their visitors or locals, can have quite a seamless experience moving between bus, ferry and the cable. But that relies on a whole lot of decisions that are outside of our control, so local government central government will have a really key role in deciding," he said. "If that if that doesn't happen, then the funding model will be through, effectively, ticket prices, that will be paid by residents and visitors. The modelling we've done shows really strong growth and really strong uptake by passengers. So we think that under either of those scenarios, it's still a commercially viable project." Doppelmayr NZ chief executive Gareth Hayman. Photo: RNZ / Katie Todd Doppelmayr New Zealand chief executive Gareth Hayman hoped locals would see cable transit as a tried and tested option. "A gondola is not that scary at all. It's been, in use for the last 25 years within public transport networks. It's proven, it's tested, we understand what we need to do and we're here to make it happen," he said. Asked if Whoosh and Southern Infrastructure Ltd were competitors or allies, Allington said each was trying different methods to ease traffic congestion in Queenstown. "I think we're all trying to achieve the same thing. We want to get Queenstown moving again. We want to do that in a sustainable way," he said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
19-05-2025
- NZ Herald
Young Grower of the Year 2025: Lydia Goodman wins Central Otago regional title
After moving to New Zealand, she shifted from cattle and crops to cherries, discovering a love for horticulture. 'I literally fell into it when I was a backpacker in Wānaka. 'My working visa was about to expire, it was post-Covid, and the industry was crying out for workers.' Goodman snapped up the Government's offer of Supplementary Seasonal Employer (SSE) visas and started work in a cherry orchard in Tarras. 'I just loved it, the outdoors work and the passion and leadership in the industry. 'I have been here ever since.' Now Goodman has five years of experience managing teams in orchard and packhouse operations and holds Level 3 and 4 Certificates in Fruit Production. She entered the Young Grower competition to develop her technical skills, build connections with like-minded professionals, and challenge herself. 'It was a great experience completing seven modules across the day, along with two practical components, and a speech in the evening. 'The big one for me was pruning a tree in front of two big names in the field.' Goodman, who manages a team of 12 RSE workers, as well as being a manager in the pack house, said she loved the outdoor work and the passion and leadership in the industry. 'One of the best things is teaching the team how to do their job, and seeing the passion develop as they learn and understand things like the physiology of a tree. 'That really fuels me.' Her ambition is to become a Central Otago cherry grower. Runners up were Jared Loewen from Roxburgh, who is redeveloping his family's orchard, Stone House Gardens, to improve productivity and sustainability; and Mackenzie Maaka from Cromwell, who is studying Level 4 Horticultural Fruit Production at a polytechnic. The Young Grower of the Year competition celebrates the success of young people in the industry and encourages others to consider a career in horticulture. Local organisers host and run the regional competitions independently, with Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) hosting the final in a different part of the country each year. Entry is open to both commercial fruit and vegetable growers from across the regions, up to the age of 30. HortNZ chief executive Kate Scott said the competitions played an important role in highlighting the wide variety of career opportunities in the industry. 'The regional Young Grower competitions and the national Young Grower of the Year final could not happen without the commitment of so many industry professionals across the country who give up their time to help organise them,' Scott said. 'Thanks to their dedication, we can celebrate the skilled young people we have pursuing careers in the sector and raise awareness of those career opportunities to others.'
