Cook Tourist Company, took up the option. He formed the Tongariro Park Tourist Company with a vision to build what was at the time known as The Chateau, alongside the original Whakapapa ski huts, on a land lease of 63 acres. To raise capital for the undertaking the company was floated on the sharemarket, where it was poorly subscribed. The company signed a lease with the government on 9 November 1928, a condition of which was that the building had to be erected by 31 March 1930 (barely 17 months away) and that it "cost not less than £40,000 or more than £60,000". Despite only £30,000 of shares being taken up, Wigley let a contract in late 1928 to Fletcher Construction Company, which also involved Fletchers buying 15,000 of shares in the Tongariro Park Tourist Company. The Chateau was designed by Timaru-based Herbert Hall (1880–1939), architect to the Mount Cook Tourist Company, who modelled his design on the Canadian Resort of Lake Louise. Influenced by the hotels built by the Canadian Pacific Railway, such as the Château Frontenac, he designed a neo-Georgian structure of four stories and basement. The style of the building was not European, despite its name, but American Colonial Revival, a variant of the Georgian Revival style popular between the wars. It is possibly the only building in New Zealand made of reinforced concrete but designed to resemble a traditional Georgian brick building. The foundation stone was laid on 10 January 1929. Fletchers used a workforce of 120 carpenters and labourers, offering an incentive of free accommodation and a free suit to workers who stayed until the completion of the project. Most of the labourers were recruited from the Waikune Prison, which was the closest neighbour to the construction site. The building was open for guests by 1 August 1929, even though it was still unfurnished. It was officially opened on 13 November 1929 with Fletcher Construction still owed £28,000. The hotel was lavishly appointed, with panoramic window views, hot and cold running water in every room, and custom-made high-quality furniture. Most of the staff were recruited from overseas. The innovative heating system used enormous boiling-water tanks in the basement and pumped hot water up five storeys; originally coal or oil heated, it was switched to electricity and still operates today. The total cost was £88,000 (well over the contract price) of which the hotel had cost