A multi-generational community precinct has been announced today for Remarkables Park, Queenstown’s fast-growing commercial, visitor accommodation and residential district.
Remarkables Park Limited said detailed plans had been finalised for a centrally-located community precinct to include a medical clinic, retirement village, a major new Salvation Army centre, a community centre, adjacent recreation park, and a further kindergarten and student tuition building.
The community precinct is immediately south of Wakatipu High School and extends from Red Oaks Drive through to Mountain Ash Drive.
Remarkables Park Ltd executive chairman Alastair Porter said the geographically-central approximately 4.5 hectare precinct was within the urban boundaries of the Shotover and Kawarau bridges. Its close proximity to the bulk of the Queenstown population made it a "socially and economically desirable" location.
The multi-storey Queenstown Clinic is designed to house a wide range of facilities including a General Practice doctors, a pharmacy, café, physio and sports rehabilitation facilities, Skin Institute Queenstown, a dental surgery, ophthalmology centre, and patient visitor accommodation.
The Pacific Radiology MRI unit, currently housed in a nearby relocatable building, will be able to move into the ground floor of the Queenstown Clinic.
The top floor of the clinic has been designed to accommodate a private hospital facility. Following a decision by Southern Cross to build outside the urban boundaries, Remarkables Park Ltd says it is in discussion with other parties for this facility.
Alastair says that, as a large scale developer with centrally-located land outside the airport’s noise boundaries, RPL believed it was also a "responsible approach" to hold land aside within the planned community precinct for future consideration for hospital expansion facilities to service Queenstown in the long term.
A large, vertical retirement village with space for up to five tower blocks, all with exceptional views, is planned as part of the community precinct. It will feature a pool, exercise facilities and other desirable retirement amenities.
The approved two-storey Salvation Army building will house a large shop, offices, meeting rooms and a congregation area downstairs, with more office and administration space upstairs. Building is expected to start in 2020.
The clinic is ready to go to the Queenstown Lakes District Council Design Review Board in October and the retirement village, kindergarten and tuition centre are all in design stages.
"It’s important to note that this precinct is designed as a cluster of co-located key community facilities in an area that is already fully-zoned for this purpose," says Alastair.
"In the case of a major civil defence emergency it’s also in very close proximity to the airport, fire services, the existing hospital, the Events Centre, the High School and Remarkables Primary School, and close to where the conference centre is being built."
A Queenstown Trails Trust bike and walking trail bordering the north side of the community precinct will connect the precinct to Remarkables Park’s Market Street, and to the Kawarau riverbank trails and further high-density residential to the north.
Alastair has been working on the Queenstown Clinic and community centre plans with Skin Institute Queenstown director Dr Hans Raetz.
"We’ve been working on this for a long time and I’m delighted that we are finally at the stage where it is ready to go," said Dr Raetz.
"It’s the perfect location, extremely centrally located, and great to be clustering medical facilities alongside other major community hubs such as schools, a community centre and other care organisations, high-density residential and the Remarkables Park Town Centre."
