Tony Gapes
Five Mile developer Tony Gapes said yesterday he was
"hopeful" work on the proposed $125 million Frankton Flats
shopping and entertainment complex would begin in the New Year.
In an email interview yesterday with the Otago Daily Times,
Mr Gapes also said his company, Queenstown Gateway Ltd, would
begin negotiations "shortly" with mainstream cinema operators
to see which chain will operate the 38,000sq m complex's
proposed six movie screens.
New Zealand's major movie chains include Hoyts, Amalgamated
Cinemas and Skycity Cinemas, and Reading Cinemas, which runs
a three-screen complex in central Queenstown.
Five Mile is the name of the Tuscan-style village abandoned
after developer David Henderson's Hanover Finance-backed Five
Mile Holdings Ltd went into receivership in July 2008.
Queenstown Gateway bought stage one (78,000sq m) of the
failed project in November last year for $12 million and
acquired stage two (234,000sq m) in August for $27 million.
Mr Gapes said the 38,000sq m Grants Rd complex will hold on
to the Five Mile name for now.
"... but we are investigating branding the whole area since
we have picked up Stage 2 recently," he said.
"Large format" retailers had expressed interest in the
complex, but Mr Gapes would not confirm what national and
multinational chains might be coming or what percentage of
retail sites had been leased.
However, he said he was confident there was a market for the
project.
"Yes, the current level of interest suggests that there
definitely is a market - a lot of retailers are looking at
the potential growth of Queenstown and the limited
opportunities to get into a well-located retail centre," he
said.
"We are not ready to come out and name tenants but there has
been a lot of interest from tenants that have been looking at
Queenstown for last few years."
The project is underpinned by a forecast surge in tourists
coming to the resort, which is projected to rise from 1.7
million visitors per year to 1.91 million by 2015.
To service the growth, Queenstown Airport is spending $30
million expanding domestic and transtasman air links to the
Wakatipu basin.
matt.stewart@odt.co.nz
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