Lane Hocking, who lives in the Cardrona Valley and owns the Wanaka and Central Otago franchise for David Reid Homes, is in the process of buying the school from Ngai Tahu Property. The settlement date is May 7.
Ngai Tahu had first right of refusal when the Ministry of Education decided to sell the two blocks of land valued at $300,000 and $3.25 million plus GST.
Mr Hocking declined to say how much he was paying Ngai Tahu for the 1.6ha of land.
''What's been reported in the media is pretty close,'' he said last week.
The development will be called ''Dungarvon'', after one of the streets running past the school, and will be sold as house and land packages.
Mr Hocking expected the site would be subdivided into about 16 sections that would have appeal for those seeking lower-maintenance properties close to the centre of Wanaka.
He had been approached by people in Auckland and Sydney who wanted a property for use in the ski season and the summer but did not want a lot of grounds to maintain.
''People like the idea of the proximity to Wanaka township, and for that I don't envisage someone wanting an acre and a half and lots of lawns.''
Development manager Dan Curley said the Queenstown Lakes District Council district plan allowed for sections down to 450sqm in ''comprehensive'' developments such as Dungarvon.
''We don't think the market's at one per 450, so it's probably somewhere above 450 and possibly around 700[sq m]''.
An urban designer was working on a plan to ensure ''every living space is optimised''.
Mr Hocking said every effort would be made to ensure a lake view for all houses in the subdivision.
''It's not just the convenience which this site offers. People often want to see the lake and the mountains and we want to make sure people get that.''
Mr Hocking believed it was the right time to go ahead with the development.
''We think the demand's there and we're looking for ... a project to get our teeth into.
''It feels like the demand is really good.''
The old school buildings will be removed and Mr Hocking said he was discussing with a couple of community groups the idea of giving them away.
Mr Curley said resource consent had not yet been sought but he did not believe there was anything contentious about the development and he expected building to begin ''most definitely'' next year.
The subdivision of another smaller section of the former school, bought by neighbours, is also under way.
The old school was ''mothballed'' in 2010 when the school, its 430 pupils and staff relocated to a new $21.5 million facility in Scurr Heights.
Mr Hocking holidayed in Wanaka while he was growing up in Dunedin.
He has recently returned to New Zealand permanently, after several years of working in investment banking in London, Sydney, Japan and Hong Kong.
