Skyline gets green light for new $100 million gondola

Skyline Enterprises has just announced that it has resource consent for the ambitious expansion of Queenstown's gondola.

Crux asked Skyline for an estimate of the project cost and received this reply from Chairman Mark Quickfall.

"The estimated budget of the redevelopment project is being revised to include the cost of the car park and other changes we have chosen to make in terms of floor area and design.

We are not in a position be able to provide a budgeted figure at this time as we wish to accelerate the project and continue to trade while we design and build opposed to waiting for a fully costed and tendered project.

We are however moving closer to firming up our estimates working with our Quantity Surveyor. We will be happy to share the detail once the budget estimate has been revised."

Here's the full release.

"Skyline Queenstown has received the green light to proceed with a monumental, multi-million-dollar redevelopment project.  

The Environment Court has granted resource consent approval for Skyline’s ambitious project, which includes an expansion of the upper complex, a new state-of-the-art gondola system and new lower terminal building on Brecon St. Consent to build a five-storey, 449-space car park near the base terminal has also been approved. 

Skyline Queenstown general manager Wayne Rose says they are thrilled with the decision and look forward to developing a world-class facility that New Zealanders can be proud of. 

“This is a fantastic result for the Queenstown community and the New Zealand tourism industry as a whole,” he says. “This project is vital to ensure we cater to the demand of our visitors, as well as providing a premium facility that Queenstown locals can use and enjoy. It will enable us to step into the future not only as one of NZ’s most popular leisure facilities, but as one of the world’s top leisure tourism attractions.”

Skyline Enterprises chairman Mark Quickfall adds: “The resource consent approval is one of the first steps in an exciting development and we would like to acknowledge the efforts our teams have put in to accomplish this. The planners, architects, consultants, legal team, neighbouring businesses – in particular the Kiwi Birdlife Park – as well as the submitters who provided support for the project have all been integral in achieving a successful outcome.”

Skyline Queenstown has been working closely with neighbouring businesses, particularly Kiwi Birdlife Park to minimise disruption to the kiwis and the park throughout the redevelopment.

The redevelopment of Skyline Queenstown – which is home to the iconic Gondola, Luge, viewing deck and mountain biking tracks on Bob’s Peak – will increase the capacity for gondola passengers at the base terminal and improve the overall guest experience with additional services and amenities.

New 10-seat Doppelmayr cabins will be installed, and the new-and-improved complex will also feature a 650-seat restaurant with a flexible configuration for multiple dining options, conference facilities to accommodate more than 700 guests, a new café and additional retail space. Since Skyline’s inception, the primary motivation for visitors to the attraction has been to see the iconic view.  To cater for this popularity, the viewing deck will be significantly increased from 68m² to 430m², offering even more angles to capture what is possibly the most-photographed view in the southern hemisphere.

Detailed planning is already well underway to incorporate the conditions identified in the resource consent approval.  Pre-construction site works will begin in the coming months with the first construction activity scheduled for later this year.

 “The feedback we have received on the redevelopment from the wider Queenstown community, the New Zealand tourism industry and our stakeholders and many customers has been overwhelmingly positive and we are grateful for the support,” adds Rose. “As we move forward with the project, we plan to keep everyone informed, every step of the way.”