1 Hollywood Road site likely to be kept off application list
UnaSo, The Standard 19 February 2008

The Development Bureau aims to leave the former police married quarters in Hollywood Road out of the list of sites to be sold by application.

Instead, the site is likely be used for government and community facilities and much needed public space, according to a report to be submitted to the Legislative Council's heritage conservation panel.

The 6,000-square-meter site descends from Staunton Street to Hollywood Road comprising two blocks of ex-police married quarters and a clubhouse for Junior Police Call.

It is currently zoned as Residential (A), and was removed from the List of Sites for Sale by Application announced in February 2007.

In revitalizing the site, the bureau proposed retaining the existing walls and the trees growing on them, the granite steps and the original granite plinths and pillars of the fenced wall.

The site will become part of an area to be developed for heritage tourism, such as the Central Police Station compound, Man Mo Temple and the Kom Tong Hall's Dr Sun Yat- sen museum. One proposal is to keep both blocks while the other is to demolish both.

Another proposal, which the bureau considers has the most flexibility, is to retain the upper block and demolish the lower one.

Another idea is to refurbish the JPC clubhouse into an exhibition gallery, tracing the history of one of Hong Kong's first schools.

The bureau will begin a three-month public engagement exercise on the future use of the site. The historic site was where the colony's first government institution used to stand.

The Central School, set up in 1862 on Gough Street, was attended by the founder of modern China, Sun Yat-sen.

Katty Law Ngar-ning from Central and Western Concern Group said the bureau should state clearly its commitment to preserve the site for community use.

"I will be very happy if the site is returned to public use," she said.

Law hoped the government would listen to the community over the next months and that with its massive surplus, there was no need to allow it to fall into the hands of developers.

The group applied to the Town Planning Board in January last year to change the land use to open space, government and community use, but this is now on hold because of an archaeological study.

2 Action urged to change use of industrial buildings
Helen Wu, SCMP 19 February 2008

The Urban Renewal Authority was urged yesterday to take on the extra task of redeveloping old industrial areas to meet growing demand for office and hotel buildings.

The proposal, by the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, also called for the relaxation of land use restrictions so that more industrial buildings could be converted into office blocks and hotels.

Legislator Chan Kam-lam said old and largely vacant industrial buildings were in need of redevelopment but applications for the change of land use were often difficult.

"Factories in Kwun Tong, To Kwa Wan and San Po Kong are awaiting redevelopment," he said. "Some applications seeking to transform the factories into office use have been rejected because of the restrictions imposed by the fire safety ordinance.

"Divided ownership is also an obstacle to redevelopment of these old factories, as it requires the consent of 90 per cent of owners."

According to the government's statistics, about 7.2 per cent of all industrial buildings were vacant in 2006. More than half were in Kwun Tong, Kwai Tsing and Tsuen Wan.

Wong Tai Sin district councillor Joe Lai Wing-ho, also of the DAB, said the URA should expand its scope to include the redevelopment of old industrial buildings.