A prime piece of multimillion-dollar land on Rotorua's famous Fenton St motel strip is being cleared but details of what will be built there remain under wraps.
The land, between Gwendoline and Sophia Sts, was formerly the site of the Gwendoline Court Motel and two houses.
The land, and the block where the Silver Oaks Resort is, on the corner of Sophia Fenton Sts, was sold in June last year.
The former Gwendoline Court Motel being demolished. Photo / Stephen Parker
The property's new owner is Te Arawa Group Holdings Ltd, the commercial arm of Te Pumautanga o Te Arawa Trust. The trust was set up after a Treaty of Waitangi settlement.
Te Arawa Group now owns both blocks from Gwendoline St to Wylie St as it already owned the land where the Wylie Court motel sits.
A spokeswoman told the Rotorua Daily Post they were "clearing the land to make it nicer".
She said she couldn't reveal much at the moment, only that the group was "working on the master plans" to develop the sites.
"This may take a while as TAGH wants to ensure that what we develop on these sites will be an asset to our shareholders and community that everyone will be proud of."
Locals said they were thrilled to see action in the area, even if it wasn't yet known what was going to be built there.
The land on Fenton St between Gwendoline St and Sophia St is now gated and a construction crew is demolishing the Gwendoline Court and the houses.
Gwendoline St resident Carlo Canto, who has lived in a flat that borders the construction site for the past four years, said it was exciting to see what was happening.
The buildings had long been "shoddy" and rundown, he said.
The former Gwendoline Court Motel being demolished. Photo / Stephen Parker
He had heard the new owners would be planting grass in the meantime, which he said was great for residents.
He said the Gwendoline Court motel had been closed for more than two months and he noticed people had moved out of the houses several weeks ago.
Silver Fern Accommodation and Spa manager Paul Huck hoped whatever was built there would be another motel and not a shopping complex or attraction development.
"Shopping already stacks up, there's enough shops around. Another motel would be good because there's always room for more. The growth in the area is spectacular. We've just had the biggest four months we've ever had," Huck said.
