The earth moves for Millbrook West

Media release from Millbrook West
11 March 2008

The earth moves for Millbrook West

Construction of a half billion dollar residential and golf course development at Queenstown’s Millbrook West development is well underway – although many local residents wouldn’t know it.

The development can lay claim to being the largest building site in the Wakatipu Basin with up to 100 workers on site at any one time, and hundreds of tonnes of heavy duty machinery paving the way for the luxury development.

The 91-hectare piece of land located to the west of the existing five-star Millbrook Resort will ultimately comprise 200 home sites and a new nine-hole golf course, designed by New Zealand golf legend Greg Turner.

To date, workers have already bulldozed, dug and redistributed approximately 200,000m3 of earth around the site. They are also in the process of building 10km of roads and pathways, and 3km of traditional hand stacked schist walls which are being painstakingly constructed by a 20-strong team of local artisans from Dennison Stone and Southern Stone & Landscaping.

Local earthmoving firm Horrell Contracting has brought in special equipment from Dunedin for the project, including a 65-tonne digger owned by subcontractor Collis Murdoch, one of the largest such machines working in the region.

The new Coronet Nine course is well underway with four fairways and greens (holes 1, 2, 3 and 8) already built and under management by the ‘grow-in team’. The fourth hole has just been sown, holes 5, 6 and 7 are being shaped, with irrigation and drainage installed ready to be sown by mid autumn.

When complete, the new course will integrate with the existing Bob Charles-designed 18-hole championship course to offer three interchangeable nine-hole courses.

Building platforms for the first 25 Millbrook West sites to sell have already taken shape with site services and access roads currently being constructed, and work is also underway on platforms for the next stage to be released.

The resort’s property and development manager Ben O’Malley says it’s exciting to see the whole project starting to come to fruition.

“Even though you can’t really see much happening from the road or from most of the existing resort, when you drive into the site even I have to admit it’s impressive to see the scale of the development and the work that’s been completed.

“To see the views that we envisaged when we were designing this project actually come to life is extremely satisfying, especially when they’re beyond our own expectations.

“Driving up onto one of the building sites and suddenly seeing a fully manicured golf green and fairway sitting in a sea of earthworks is almost surreal, but it gives you a really good ‘feel’ for the fairway living Millbrook West will offer.

“The building sites are all on sunny, elevated North-facing sites not only with amazing golf course outlooks, but panoramic 360 degree views to Coronet Peak, Cecil Peak, Walter Peak, Bowen Peak, the Crown Range or The Remarkables mountain ranges.

“That’s just one of the many reasons why the first 25 Millbrook West land sites were snapped up in less than three months for just over $31 million.

“Even in these challenging times, with uncertainties in the property market, people are still keen to ‘live the dream’ in a world-class golf course and lifestyle community.”

Work on the first stage of the Millbrook West project started in September and is scheduled to be completed by spring 2008.

ENDS

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