The project, by AC/JV Holdings Ltd, owned by Queenstown men Alistair Hey and Clark Proctor, would provide accommodation for up to 960 people once completed, Mr Hey said.
The initial proposal was to build a seasonal workers' complex, including dormitory-style rooms and shared bathrooms, but all the rooms in the complex had now been redesigned as self-contained rooms with en suites to meet market demand, he said.
The development would now also not only be for seasonal workers, but for others seeking accommodation, Mr Hey said. That change was also to meet market demand, he said.
The new-look development would feature six 40-room accommodation buildings. Each room could provide accommodation for one to four people, Mr Hey said. Other buildings with common areas such as kitchens would also be part of the development.
The development is being built on part of a 7ha area on Cemetery Rd sold to AC/JV Holdings by the Central Otago District Council.
The sale was announced in March last year and was conditional upon ''reasonable progress'' having been made by 18 months after the sale went unconditional, Central Otago District Council property and facilities manager Mike Kerr said. That meant the company was required to have built accommodation for a minimum of 200 people and have a code of compliance for that, plus have the floor slab in place for another 200 people, by March 30 next year.
Mr Kerr said the contract became unconditional on July 31, 2016 and council had then granted an extension of two months because of delays in negotiations with a third party relating to a road adjoining the property.
The deadline for ''reasonable progress'' then became March 30 next year.
Mr Kerr said the company had gained resource consent and Mr Hey said it would lodge its building consent application by the end of next week. The statutory limits for processing building consent applications are within 20 days.
Mr Hey said staff who were working on one of his other developments were ready to be transferred to the accommodation development, and ''we'll be breaking ground by Christmas''.When asked if the development would have met the requirements set out for March 30 next year, Mr Hey said ''we'll be making as fast a progress as we can''. When asked if he was likely to request an extension to the March 30 deadline, Mr Hey said ''we won't know until we're closer to that date''.
Cromwell Community Board (CCB) chairman Neil Gillespie said he had ''some concerns'' about the March 30 deadline being met, but the CCB had not been advised by Mr Hey of any delays so ''my expectation is that those requirements will be met''.
He said if the company requested an extension the CCB would consider that.
The sale price of the land was still confidential at this stage but it had been at market rates, Mr Kerr said. The sale price would be released after settlement date, which is September 30, 2018.
