- Three new-build homes in Queenstown-Lakes’ Ayrburn estate are on the market for up to $40m.
- The houses, designed by Jessie Sutherland, feature up to nine bedrooms and extensive luxury amenities.
- Buyers can purchase the sections alone for $9m to $12m and commission their own designs.
Three new-build homes in Queenstown-Lakes’ Ayrburn estate have hit the market, looking for buyers willing to spend up to $40 million.
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The trophy homes are the first residential projects in the $200m food and wine precinct set in the restored stone buildings of a 160-year-old farm near Arrowtown.
The price tags for the three planned houses are among the highest for a listed property, and aren’t that far off the New Zealand record – the $45.5m paid for Chantecler, a French-style mansion on nearby Lower Shotover Road.
The three properties have been designed by Cromwell-based architect Jessie Sutherland. Artwork / Supplied
Winton chief executive Chris Meehan: “I consider Ayrburn the best part of the most expensive street in New Zealand.” Photo / Supplied
Property developers Winton are behind the release of the properties and the whole Ayrburn project. Chief executive Chris Meehan told OneRoof that the custom-designed houses were in good company, and also offered buyers good value.
“It sounds ridiculous, but there are a lot of houses that have been built or are being built that cost a lot more than our properties. There’d be half a dozen within walking distance of Ayrburn that have cost north of $100m,” he said.
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Meehan, who made his name in Sydney real estate, said Cromwell-based architect Jessie Sutherland had carefully crafted the three planned homes, which are named after local landmarks.
Crown Peak offers buyers nine bedrooms, nine bathrooms, and 844sqm of interior space. Mount Soho comes with eight bedrooms, eight bathrooms, an underground bar and theatre, and 905sqm of total interior space, while Coronet has eight bedrooms, nine bathrooms, an underground bar and theatre, and 916sqm of total interior space.
Each home comes with landscaped gardens and courtyards, access to Ayrburn’s exclusive hospitality precinct, and views of the Remarkables and Coronet Peak. They are expected to be ready by 2027, Meehan said.
Meehan says houses have been designed in a pavilion style, with separate areas for family living, guests and staff. Artwork / Supplied
The landscaping makes the most of the setting and the surrounding mountains. Photo / Supplied
He noted that the building costs for houses of this calibre were $30,000 per square metre, with similar landscaping easily costing $5m.
“I consider Ayrburn the best part of the most expensive street in New Zealand.”
Buyers can also opt to buy the sections for between $9m and $12m and commission their own architecture. The plots range from 8560sqm to 1176sqm in size, and work has already started on earthworks and landscaping.
“A piece of land in that sort of location is worth about $10m. That’s the benchmark,” Meehan said.
Billy’s, a high-end Chinese restaurant in the exclusive Ayrburn hospitality precinct. Photo / Jason Dorday
Meehan started work on Ayrburn eight years ago with landscape architect George Watts, transforming what had been paddocks and a stream into a crowd-pulling complex. He tapped Sutherland to design the buildings, including his own home.
“You look at the first sketches, and that’s pretty much what we’ve done,” he said. He told OneRoof that getting Ayrburn off the ground was an eight-year battle with the council and Environment Court.
“Everyone goes there and loves it now, including some of those who opposed it in the first place. But I guess they didn’t see the vision that we saw.”
Meehan said he frequently had to fend off requests from friends and agents to sell his own house in the estate.
“The answer has always been a firm no, because I love it. I really enjoy that Central Otago vernacular, so my house was designed that way. People turn up and say ‘give me one of those’, so in some sense that’s what I’ve done with Ayr Residences,” he said, adding that he was flattered that high-end buyers were now adding proximity to Ayrburn as part of their brief when house-hunting.
“If you’ve got a nice house in Queenstown, you’re never short of visitors, so I’ve designed the houses in a pavilion style so that the family has the main house where you entertain, but there are other separate guest houses.
“And then there are staff quarters because when you have a house that size, you want to have staff, a chef or nanny, to look after the place. It’s a bit like a stationary super yacht.”
Meehan said he had been ready to bring the houses to market for over six months, but held off for the Government’s relaxation of the foreign buyer rules. American and European buyers, he said, want to buy turnkey. They will also appreciate that the grounds and buildings will be taken care of by Ayrburn’s staff.
“If you’re a foreigner, now is a pretty good time to buy.”
- Ayr Residences are for sale with Bayleys agents Sarena Glass and Jimmy Allen
