The buyer is due to settle the transition on Friday, after a year-long lead time.
"There's a loose collection of Chinese developers and he's one of the big ones. They've got land in Newmarket, land on the Shore, land in South Auckland. They're all very closely connected," said the man who met the Remuera buyer.
Colliers brokered the deal but was today not saying anything about the buyer or the settlement date.
Andrew Caughey said last October the Caughey Preston Trust board was pleased with the price achieved which was more than a private valuation done at the end of last year.
Sources last year claimed the sale price for the site, which has entrances off Upland, Ventnor and Lucerne Rds, was more than $100m and that one of the investors is believed to own a medical business.
But today, the price was put at just under $70m and one source said that could be confirmed by a title check in just two days. The price was between $65m and $70m, the source said.
"It will all come out then," he said of the price for the site at 17 Upland Rd.
One Ventnor Rd resident today said there was intense interest in his area about the sale price, the buyer's identity and plans. Some were dreading what they expect to be a massive intensification of the site with residential buildings.
"Some people are selling up," he said.
The Herald reported last year that the mixed housing suburban zone allows for medium-density housing of up to three dwellings per site with a height starting point of two storeys.
The Unitary Plan encourages intensification, particularly around major transport nodes and town centres like Remuera.
The site is also subject to volcanic view shafts rules, protecting view corridors to Auckland's maunga like Ōhinerau/Mt Hobson.'
Colliers said the buyer intended to develop "a comprehensive, master-planned residential project" on the site.
Caughey said last year that when settlement occurs in October of 2021, the trust would have a sizeable amount of money and income with which to work. It also owns 48 per cent of Smith & Caughey Ltd, worth more than $40m, and has substantial investments in stocks, shares and bonds.
"This trust is a perpetual trust so it's not going anywhere and it's going to be doing its work for many, many decades ahead if not forever," Caughey said last year.
The process of closing the rest home three years ago was incredibly hard on long-serving staff. Before it shut, the home employed nearly 200 staff and housed more than 100 residents who had to be rehoused, many going to retirement villages.
