Only three of 51 sections remain unsold in the first three stages of the Central Otago District Council’s Dunstan Park subdivision, near Alexandra.

The final stage comprising 20 sections, most of which are 291sqm in size, are yet to be released, council executive manager of planning and environment, Louise van der Voort, said.

The residential development has been undertaken as a public-private joint venture and covers 5.5ha between Dunstan Road and Molyneux Estate.

Titles were issued for stage one in January, Louise says, and stage two comprising 16 sections had just been completed, with titles expected within the next few weeks.

Stage three and four were progressing, with completion of stage three expected in the next few months.

The council-owned 5.5ha block just outside Alexandra lies adjacent to the Otago Central Rail Trail.

To maximise profit and reduce risks to ratepayers, the council originally entered a joint venture project to develop the land with Queenstown-based company AC/JV Holdings.

This arrangement had since changed following the death of AC/JV Holdings partner, Clark Proctor, in 2020.

“The Dunstan Park development was continued by the remaining partner, Alistair Hey, under the company name of Imagine Property Services,” she said.

It was for community boards to decide whether similar arrangements would be undertaken in future, but there were “clear benefits”.

“The strengths of working with a development partner are that council has less upfront development costs, there is increased profit to council and therefore to rate payers, and also the risks are minimised as council has an experienced development partner.”