shania.funurl.com

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JUST LOOK WHAT $25 MILLION GETS YOU

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The Otago Daily Times
By Marjorie Cook
April 14, 2007

Wanaka: Shania Twain’s house and stables are slowly taking shape in her mountain valley hideaway near Wanaka not that anybody is allowed to talk about it.

The multimillion-dollar mansion has sparked a lot of gossip since the annual Motatapu Icebreaker event on March 10, when thousands of mountain bikers and runners could see work was well under way.

But few people, except the tradespeople employed on the project, have had the chance to get close to the cedar and stone buildings with shingle roofs.

Motatapu Icebreaker competitors all signed an agreement with the event organiser not to approach or photograph any buildings on Motatapu Station.

Confidentiality agreements with employees are also in place, and most workers have been reluctant to discuss their jobs with the media.

Wanaka builder Tony Quirk is the building contractor on site but he could not be contacted yesterday.

CivicCorp building inspector Alex Russell said yesterday he visited the site two days ago and saw that work on the house and stables was “pretty well on”.

“They the builders were hoping to be finished by December,” Mr Russell said.

The main dwelling (not including two linked guest cottages and a garage) covered about 900sq m and the stables were bigger, Mr Russell said.

Despite the secrecy on the ground, New Zealand’s resource management laws require records to be kept by local authorities.

Architects’ drawings of the house and stables, resource consent documents and the various consent conditions Twain and her family must comply with are on the public record.

People familiar with the real estate industry have estimated a top-notch Wanaka home could cost up to $4000 per square metre to build, putting the value of Twain’s home (not including the stables and ancillary buildings) at about $3.6 million.

Add that to the $21.4 million she and husband Mutt Lange paid for Motatapu and Mt Soho stations and their investment easily hits $25 million. It is widely accepted the 41-year-old Canadian-born country rock singer and her music-producer husband seem comfortable in their new community, where they spend up to six months a year. Those who have seen her say they leave her alone. The day after the Motatapu Icebreaker, the famous couple had lunch together at Ardmore St cafe, according to a regular customer.

The singer is also believed to have jump-started a car for a labourer working on her construction site.

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