A market square and shared-living apartments are just a few of the developments that can be expected in the space around Sir Tim Wallis Dr, with some construction set to start by the end of the year.
Having been inspired by Saturday markets in larger cities across the country, Mr Dippie felt a space for the Wānaka community to bring their food, art, crafts and more was exactly what was needed.
The designs are being fine-tuned and should be completed by the end of the year, meaning construction can begin next year and doors would open in 2027.
"We’re going to have to get cracking next year," Mr Dippie said. "We’ll have to do it really well; it’s going to have to be a great place to be."
So far the space was confirmed to have some ethnic food on offer and a covered space for weekly markets or potentially even night markets.
He was also interested in having fresh produce and connecting directly with growers or inspiring people to build a business out of their passions.
"It could be used for a whole lot of different things," Mr Dippie said. "People could come and sell local produce, so it could encourage people to start their own little businesses, making things, or growing things."
Aside from the market square, bringing a boutique brewery on board was also in the developers’ sights.
The vision was to keep the town square as community-led as possible with fewer big names and more local businesses.
"I don’t think they will be big names. I think they’ll be little names ... a collection of small-scale things."
Construction on the bulk retail section of the town square, which included five new retailers, was set to begin late this year. Although Mr Dippie declined to say what retailers would be going in, he did confirm there would be some existing Wānaka businesses and some new names.
Further west of Sir Tim Wallis Dr, Mr Dippie had residential plans for the empty land.
Not far from the MetLife retirement village being built, the developer is hoping to build apartment-style accommodation with shared facilities.
"Wānaka hasn’t had a lot of apartments built to date," he said. "It’s had some high-end ones around the lake, but I guess it’s embracing the future with a different style of living for people that want to live in Three Parks with all the facilities around them and being close to everything."
He added this could be a place for seasonal workers, young couples or even retirees who do not want a large space.
One of the factors holding Mr Dippie back from getting started on what he said was an "inevitable progression" was the height restrictions and the Queenstown Lakes District Urban Intensification Plan.
Willowridge presented at a hearing held two weeks ago, arguing that height restrictions in Three Parks should be raised to 16.5m or more and were in support of more intensification.
"We’ve got big green fields, residential land ... we’re looking at master-planning the entire residential area, taking advantage of height and density," general manager of property and planning Alison Devlin said.
Furniture giant Smiths City was placed on voluntary administration recently resulting in several stores across the country closing down, including the Wānaka location.
Replacing Smiths are Furniture Central and Beds R Us. Owner Paul Fenn said he had been looking to open in Three Parks for about two years and had started negotiations with Smiths City a few months ago in order to take over their lease.
The franchisee also owns a store in Gisborne but moved to Wānaka four years ago and fell in love with the region.
"It’s a beautiful place to be," he said. "We’ve still had our business up north, but we’ve been spending kind of half that time down here and half up north, so just been looking to get into business down here."
The store opened its doors last weekend.
