Australian entrepreneur Karl Jameson traded a 3.7ha part of his Chantecler property, off Queenstown’s Lower Shotover Rd, with Christchurch developer Lilly Cooper’s shopping mall, The Colombo.
The novel swap happened late last year.
In 2023, Mr Jameson bought the entire 12ha Chantecler property off Maureen and Mike Henry for a reported New Zealand record $45.5million, in an off-market deal negotiated by Queenstown real estate agent Hamish Walker.
The property included a French-inspired homestead and surrounding Chantecler garden.
It is this part of the property Mr Jameson has swapped with Ms Cooper.
Mike Henry, who developed the Lower Shotover Rd garden over the course of almost 20 years and also turned a former Oamaru stone bungalow into a four-bedroom homestead, said Ms Cooper and Mr Jameson visited him late last year.
‘‘We didn’t know it was her, we were of the impression she was an interior decorator coming along.’’
Mr Henry said he was ‘‘absolutely’’ delighted she was prepared to take the garden on.
‘‘She asked me ‘how much would it cost to maintain the garden?’
‘‘I said, ‘at least $150,000’, so I think she’s got a budget in her head.
Mr Henry said Mr Jameson on this visit also paid over the final settlement, having part-settled in 2024.
‘‘He paid us and she paid him and he paid her.’’
Ms Cooper last week told The Press newspaper she had been keen to move to Queenstown for some time, and felt Mr Jameson was the right buyer for the mall.
‘‘I feel like I had done everything I could there.
‘‘I needed to sell it and move on.’’
Meanwhile, this property swap is not the only deal Mr Jameson has done on his original Chantecler purchase — last June he on-sold 6.1ha to Simplicity Living Ltd, which is planning to build 600 build-to-rent units, for $44,139,875, but this probably includes infrastructure costs.
However, the Australian still retains one local trophy property — a six-bedroom Queenstown Hill mansion, Stelvio, which was on the market for $35m in 2023 and is reportedly rented out for $30,000 a night.
