Peter Thiel’s luxury New Zealand lodge opposed by environmental group
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Palantir Technologies chairman and co-founder of PayPal, Billionaire Peter Thiel at a Tokyo news conference on November 18, 2019,
Kiyoshi Oha/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Local environmental groups have criticized Peter Thiel’s South Island proposal for a luxury lodge.
The PayPal PalantirThe co-founder of the company, who has benefited from early investments in FacebookHe wants to construct the lodge on his 193-hectare (477 acres) property on Lake Wanaka near Queenstown.
Thiel acquired the estate as a 2015 purchase. a reported $13.5 million through an Auckland-headquartered company he owns called Second Star Limited.
Information about the developmentIn August, Kengo Kuma and Associates submitted a plan application for the construction of the.
These photos showcase several buildings designed to blend with the surrounding landscape. You can find a small private house built on a hillside and a luxury lodge large enough to accommodate up to 24 guests. A separate meditation pod is available, along with several water features. There is also an unfinished back-of house building.
In a six-page response to Queenstown Lakes District Council, this month the Upper Clutha Environmental Society stated that it was against the whole application.
The letter states that the Society does not believe the applicant has meaningfully avoided, mitigated, or remediated adverse effects. It then goes on to state that the proposed development was inappropriate.
According to the environmental group, the building will create an eye-sore in the natural environment and it is unlikely that the project can pass the council’s “reasonably difficult” inspection.
CNBC did not receive a response from Thiel immediately to our request for comment.
Kengo Kuma and Associates claimed that the company’s objective was to create an “organic architecture that blends into the landscape and respects indigenous natural resources.” Jo Fyfe from John Edmonds and Associates said Jo Fyfe was responsible for assessing the environment and recommending that buildings be placed in a way that is “thoughtful”.
Visual impact
One of the “owners’ cabins” features a spa with a pool, theatre lounge, office, three bedrooms, and a pool. While the other cabins have a pool and spa as well as a library and 10 guest bedrooms that offer uninterrupted views towards Lake Wanaka, the Southern Alps, and the spa is also available.
To highlight the visual impact of the development, the campaign group opposed to the development noted that “the row of buildings proposed … extend across a wide visual catchment of the subject site; the buildings stretch for 330m.”
The associated parking lots, roads and pathways will also detract views of the outstanding natural landscape. [hectares]The site will be dug in earthworks of 36 800 m3, it says.
According to the group, aspects of the proposed development can be seen from Lake Wanaka or from a few public tracks. The group argued that many buildings will spread laterally on the site and make it difficult for people to drive, ride, walk, paddle or boat in high-traffic public areas.
This luxurious lodge will have 10 bedrooms.
The society however stated that the plan application described “ecological enhancements and biodiversity enhancements”.
The application also stated that there could be economic benefits for the region if tourist units are built in the way described.
It added that the beneficial effects would not “significantly reduce” the negative effects of the development.
Kiwi citizenship
2017 saw the revelation that Thiel was granted citizenship by New Zealand, but Thiel’s love of Aotearoa (the Maori term for the country), goes back a lot further.
This serial entrepreneur was first to New Zealand in 1995 when he visited the country.n he was 28, according to an in-depth investigation by The New Zealand Herald
Also, he is a big fan of the film “The Lord of the Rings”, which was made in New Zealand. Five of his companies have been listed. names inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels
New Zealand, which is located in an isolated area from some of the most populous areas in the world has seen a rise in popularity among high-net-worth individuals. Billionaire GoogleLarry Page was Larry Page’s co-founder granted residencyThe year’s beginning
Home to around 5 million people, the country has become linked with “preppers” — those who try to prepare for catastrophic events that may pose a threat to humanity.
The Reports had suggestedThiel stated that he was going to create an apocalypse-proof bunker in his home. Although some buildings look like they are built into hillside hillsides it is not clear if any of these structures will be used as bunkers.
January 2017, was the debut of the Prepper Movement. an article in The New YorkerThe article titled “Doomsday preparation for the super-rich” revealed that New Zealand is in essence a haven for rich preppers. It is remote and geopolitically stable. It could be self-sufficient for water, food and energy, if necessary.
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