Taupō hotel developer selling site and resource consent

A key site in the heart of Taupō's CBD is up for sale, including resource consent plans for a seven-storey hotel.

Plans for a hotel in downtown Taupō are up in the air as the developer looks to off-load the land.

The 1102 square metre site on Tūwharetoa St, in the heart of the town’s hospitality district, has consent for what would be Taupō's tallest commercial building.

It was a long process for the developer Cypress Capital, with the original proposal for an eight-storey hotel turned down at a resource consent hearing because of the height and rules limiting buildings to three storeys.

It was eventually given the go-ahead in the Environment Court in 2020, with Cypress agreeing to reduce the height of the hotel from eight storeys to six.

It would also include two basement levels for car parking, a rooftop bar, spa and pool.

The site is now listed for sale by Bayleys and would go to auction on March 13, unless sold prior. It has a rating valuation of $2.05 million, however is likely worth significantly more than that given the investment in the resource consent and the prime location.

The northern elevation of a proposed hotel on Tūwharetoa St in Taupō.

Bayleys commercial and industrial salesman Gary Harwood said the site had only been on the market for a couple of weeks but they have had a “satisfying” number of inquiries.

“It has got the consent for a hotel but that is not the only thing you could do there ... there is a multitude of options. It’s got the consent so all that hard work has been done so if someone is looking for a place to build a hotel that is nice and easy for them to slot in but if they didn’t want to build a hotel then, hey, there is a whole lot of things they could put there as well.”

He said the majority of interest so far had been from potential hotel developers but there has been interest from others as well.

The resource consent expires in 2030 if it has not been built by then.

“If you are looking for bare land there is not a lot of options out there in the CBD. Bare land is very, very rare to come on the market.

“For something with the town-centre convenience of walking around town, with the boat harbour and all the shops, it’s the only option really.”

He said Cypress Capital was originally going to develop the hotel.

“He just has other projects in mind and other things to do with his time now.”

There are few other sizeable 4-5 star hotels in Taupō, with the closest being the Hilton Lake Taupō, several kilometres from the CBD.

Other hotel developments were in the pipeline for a site on the corner of Ruapehu St and Roberts St and the Taupō District Council sold its old administration building site on Lake Terrace in a confidential deal to a potential hotel developer.

It is not known whether either of those developments was going ahead but the town relies heavily on motel and private holiday rentals for frequent large events, which now includes a round of the Repco Supercars Championship in April.

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