$125m retail complex gets approval

An artist`s impression of the Five Mile Frankton Flats retail complex due for construction in the latter part of this year. Image supplied.

Developers behind the $125 million Five Mile shopping and entertainment complex on the Frankton Flats are confident building will start later this year after they were granted master plan resource consent approval.

Elusive Auckland developer Tony Gapes said the $70 million phase one design, centred on a 4200sqm Countdown supermarket and 10 large-format stores, would continue to be refined through the development process and construction would begin in "the latter part of this year."

The 7.8ha site is at the notorious "Hendo's Hole" - originally intended as a massive underground carpark left behind when troubled Christchurch developer Dave Henderson abandoned plans for a 10,000-home Tuscan village - dubbed Five Mile - backed by the failed Hanover Finance.

Sticking with the name, Mr Gapes' Queenstown Gateway company bought the property from receivers in late 2009 for $21 million.

Mr Gapes said the "architectural aesthetic" of Five Mile was "a response to the design principles of form, colour and texture relating to the natural landscape including the jagged profile of the Remarkables against the skyline and varying colours and shadows within the mass of the Remarkables.

Angled rooflines in step profile combined with slanted forms would "create a jagged profile or silhouette against the sky and the horizon as well as shadows on adjacent building forms and the ground," he said.

Although he would not confirm specific tenants, Mr Gapes said leasing had begun.

"We are fielding strong inquiries and currently working with a number of national and Australasian tenants. Progressive [Enterprises] are a key anchor tenant with their full-format Countdown store," he said.

Five Mile will feature a multiplex cinema, however Mr Gapes said he had "not committed to a cinema brand at this stage," and would not be drawn on whether the cinema would be 3-D capable.

Previously Mr Gapes has confirmed he was in negotiations with cinema operators for the 38,000sqm complex's proposed six movie screens.

Competing with nearby Remarkables Park, Mr Gapes 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.

- matt.stewart@odt.co.nz