28-06-2025
- Business
- 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."
