Developer's Queenstown worker accommodation - in pods
A Brisbane based property developer has started to rent worker accommodation in Queenstown - but based on small sleeping pods with up to eight people in one room.
The Engage Group owns the 4,800 square metre Upper Village hospitality hub at the base of Queenstown's gondola, but trading conditions have been challenging with a gastro pub on the site closing last year only weeks after opening.
Other retail operators have also found trading tough at the site. One casualty was Mark Wahlberg's Queenstown hamburger outlet.

The Upper Village hospitality and retail hub has faced challenging trading conditions. Will pod-style worker accommodation be the answer?
Now some of the former retail space is being rented as worker accommodation with between six and eight capsule-style pods in each room. An ad for the accommodation details a planned 52 residents on site, with ski and bike storage, a manager on site, in-house laundry and multiple common areas.
Crux has asked the developers for pricing and details of existing clients. Today's ad says that 50% of the pods have already been rented out.
Each pod has two LED downlights, USB charge points, heating and ventilation ducts, insulation, shelving and a 110 mm mattress.
We'll publish more details as soon as they are received.

