Three Parks’ development continues to build its own momentum, revealing a range of new commercial, recreational, light industrial, and residential opportunities with regularity.

From its first construction in 2018, Three Parks’ multi-zoned development plans - spread over 160ha of greenfields sites - have attracted diversity.

Hard to miss are the big projects Mitre 10 MEGA, the Recreation Centre and sports fields, New World supermarket and Te Kura O Take Kārara primary school, but there are also numerous smaller commercial operations including cafes, service stations, trade services, a veterinary practice, automotive parts, sports stores, a florist, funeral home, self-storage, gym and laundromat.

Willowridge Developments is responsible for Three Parks and its managing director Allan Dippie said he was pleased the variety of new businesses and enterprises establishing there was starting to make it a real destination for Upper Clutha locals. 

He’s received positive feedback from locals - “even people that don’t like change much are loving the convenience of it”.

“This is making our community more independent as more and more goods and services can be sourced locally.”

In the development pipeline

Three Parks’ central retail area alone will provide more retail space than the Five Mile shops in Frankton.

Operations which opened recently include Bike It Now, Mountain Warehouse and Site Trampoline (which develops athletes’ progression in freestyle sports), and construction of The Warehouse, which will share its building on Sir Cliff Skeggs Drive with Noel Leeming, is well underway. 

Smith’s City will be the anchor tenant in this building under construction by Wānaka company CDL Building.

Cranes and heavy machinery are also busy on an adjacent site, along Sir Tim Wallis Drive, erecting the framework for Smith’s City.

Smith’s City is one of several local businesses, including Silver Sixpence Beauty, Fluid Recruitment, The Flower Studio, Three Parks Storage and House of Travel, which have reached capacity at their current premises and are relocating to Three Parks, Allan said.

Smith’s City is on a fast track construction programme by Wānaka’s CDL Building company and is expected to open in April/May 2023 and The Warehouse is scheduled for completion around October 2023, he said.

On the drawing board

Beyond the retail projects, there are a number of other commercial, residential and community-based developments still working through the resource consent process.

Willowridge Developments is currently designing an extensive apartment complex which will be located along the rear boundary of the Recreation Centre’s sports fields, Allan said.

“These are three-storey, dual-key [one apartment divided into two self-contained dwellings] units ideal to house and support Three Parks’ ever increasing workforce,” he said.

In April this year, Metlifecare announced its development of a new $200M retirement village which will be located on 5.4ha between the New World supermarket and the Wānaka Golf Club’s back nine holes, with access off Sir Cliff Skeggs Drive, which will become a primary arterial route connecting Ballantyne Road with Riverbank Road.

See also: $200M retirement village announced for Three Parks 

Allan said the development of the new Mount Iron Resort complex is in its final stage of achieving resource consent. The resort (adjacent to Mitre 10 MEGA) was announced in May this year and includes a hotel, backpackers, townhouses, apartments, shops and a winery.

See also: Resort complex planned for Three Parks

The Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) has plans to develop the 20ha former oxidation ponds, off Ballantyne Road, into new sports facilities.

Mountain Warehouse is the anchor tenant in a multi-tenanted building which includes a beauty specialist, a house building firm, a travel agency and a personnel recruitment office.

“This is going to be an amazing facility for Wānaka and we are working closely with the QLDC to ensure it’s very accessible and well connected to the Recreation Centre and also out to Riverbank Road,” Allan said.

The creation of a direct transport connection between Wānaka’s town centre and Three Parks (via Sir Cliff Skeggs Drive) is another QLDC project underway. 

Named Project Bean (after the innovative bean shaped roundabout which will be developed at the intersection of Ballantyne and Golf Course Roads), this roundabout will provide a shortcut into Three Parks, accessible not only by general traffic but also by public and active transport.

“A much smaller (but an equally important) community project we are giving some thought to at the moment is the creation of some community Petanque courts for the local club,” Allan said.

Willowridge is also considering a community request for a secure dog training area.

“All community suggestions are most welcome,” he said.

Three Parks has provided a huge number of new jobs as well as work for local tradies and construction businesses, including concrete laying, roadworks, crane and other heavy machinery operators, landscapers, architects and so on.

CDL Building, which was established in Wānaka in 2005, has scored a number of larger commercial building projects in Three Parks and another Wānaka business, Summit Civil Ltd, was awarded the contract for the retirement village. 

Three Parks has the capacity to cater for many more large and small scale development projects; perhaps an early childhood education centre, a public transport hub, an arts or entertainment centre… maybe even, Allan said, a drone delivery base. 

PHOTOS: Wānaka App