The mortgagee in this case is a private lender as opposed to a bank.
On Friday, in response to Hawke’s Bay Today queries, Colville claimed funding had been secured through another of his projects, which meant he was confident he would be able to keep the property on Linden Close and meet his obligations with the lender.
He expected the sale process would still run its course, rather than be withdrawn.
Colville wants to develop 20 homes on the site.
The property up for sale. Photo / HBRC
The real estate agent behind the sale confirmed the property remained on sale, as at Monday, and he had not received any instructions from the lender’s solicitors suggesting the mortgagee sale be withdrawn.
Linden Estate winery, which is separately owned and operated, is not impacted or involved in the sale in any way.
The 39ha property at 16 Linden Close is being marketed as a development opportunity.
“[It is a] fantastic property for 20 magnificent house sites which we were ready to develop when [Cyclone] Gabrielle came along,” Colville said, referring to the February 2023 disaster.
To date, no consents have been issued to subdivide the property into separate residential lots for those future homes.
Colville said he was going through the consenting process, and the current zoning (rural residential zone) allowed for over 20 homes to be built on the site.
During Cyclone Gabrielle, lower sections of Esk Valley were badly flooded, including State Highway 5 from which the property is accessed.
Colville said financial issues from one of his developments, a 37-lot subdivision at Tangoio Beach which was red zoned (placed in Category 3) after the cyclone, had caused flow-on effects.
A court process is ongoing over whether some of those lots, which did not receive a Category 3 red zone buyout, should be eligible for a council buyout.
“It’s this financial impact that has caused the pressure from the mortgagee,” Colville said.
He said there had been strong interest from other developers to purchase the Linden Close property.
A real estate blurb, for the property sale, stated the main driveway and some building platforms had been formed or “part formed”.
“Spectacular views across the property with most potential sites facing north or east [and] fantastic location just minutes from Napier city and the airport,” the blurb read.
Colville purchased the property from the owner of Linden Estate in late 2021.
Property records show it sold for $4.9 million at the time.
A consent was issued by the Hastings District Council in 2022 for earthworks and for seven building platforms to be constructed, but that did not include subdivision consents.