New downtown hotel approved - in photos

A new landmark Queenstown hotel has been given the green light by fast-track planners.

The 173 guest room luxury hotel will rise six storeys above Man Street downtown, sitting atop of the existing Man Street multi-storey carpark.

Sir John Davies' family company Trojan Holdings Limited (THL), which also owns NZSki, is behind the project, in partnership with Sydney firm Katdan (NZ) Pty Limited, founded by the renowned hotel developer, the late David Baffsky.

Sir John's son Michael Davies is an executive director of THL, while David Baffsky's son Daniel continues his work.

Their partnership - Queenstown Hotel (NZ) Limited Partnership - applied for resource consent under the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Act 2020.

And on Wednesday, an independent panel approved the application, subject to conditions.

That's despite landowners to the north of Man Street, toward the hill, being "firmly opposed" to the proposal as it will block exiting views. Those landowners include Centuria Property Holdings and Safari Reviews Limited - who have hotels under development behind the site of this hotel.

But the panel found the development was permitted within the framework of council's town centre zone, with certain conditions, including a 'western viewing shaft' and small public viewing platform, accessed 24/7.

"We have no doubt that the neighbors on the north side of Man Street will be disappointed by our decision. All we can say about that is the objectives and policies of the Town Centre zone do provide a consenting pathway and the policies that guide that process are firmly focused on the public realm," panel chair Phil Page concluded. 

Here's a selection of the final approved renders: