KEY POINTS:
Victorious America's Cup skipper Brad Butterworth, might be described as a man willing to move mountains to get what he wants.
Or, at least, a small hill...
Waiheke Island residents have watched with mounting interest the development of Butterworth's beachfront property at Oneroa, where some impressive earthmoving has been taking place in recent weeks.
"The whole of Waiheke is probably agape," said one of his neighbours, Gary Clatworthy.
He said "half the hillside" appeared to have been dug out to make way for the $1.3 million dream home.
The home will have three bedrooms plus a study, two bathrooms, and a pool and spa pool.
Clatworthy said he had no objection to the project, but he was astonished at the scale of the earthworks on the 954sq m section.
He said five diggers had been working on it at one stage.
"It's an enormous hole. They've dropped very long piles with steel down them and concreted right around the perimeter. It's bloody big."
Clatworthy said he had initially refused to sign off on the proposal because he was concerned about its size.
He understood it had since been redesigned.
"The plans must have been compliant. Even if we didn't like it we wouldn't have any say. I have been down to the council to look at it but, like any layman, I'm not good at interpreting."
Another neighbour refused to comment on the project, advising the Herald on Sunday to "talk to Brad about it". Butterworth is understood to be in Switzerland, but was spotted in the Auckland suburb of Parnell earlier last week.
However, he might have more time to enjoy his new Waiheke Island home in future now that the 2009 America's Cup has been postponed after a legal challenge from the Oracle syndicate.
The competition could be pushed back to 2010 or 2011 as a result.
