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- $30b Kwun Tong city center revamp begins
- Redevelopment of town centre kicks off with survey
1. $30b Kwun Tong city center revamp begins
Raymond Wang, The Standard 31 March 2007
The Urban Renewal Authority has kicked off its biggest-ever project - the long-awaited HK$30 billion redevelopment of Kwun Tong town center.
The URA started a three-day so- called "freezing survey" Friday of the estimated 4,500 residents of the area who will be offered compensation and rehoused.
Compensating owners and rehousing affected residents is expected to cost the URA at least HK$13 billion, representing nearly 44 percent of the total redevelopment cost.
The remaining cost of the proposed residential-commercial project includes construction costs and other fees.
Regeneration of Kwun Tong town center on the 5.3-hectare site bounded by Hong Ning Road , Mut Wah Street , Hip Wo Street and Yue Man Square was first announced in 1998, when the URA was still called the Land Development Corp.
Completed in the early 1960s, the existing 24 blocks of buildings have a total of 1,860 residential units and 300 shops.
URA district development director Joseph Lee King-chi said in a media briefing Friday that an application for the redevelopment project will be made to the Town Planning Board in about three weeks' time.
He said the URA has carried out four rounds of public consultation in the past two years, gathering a large number of public views and suggestions.
"We are incorporating a lot of the suggestions into the final plan and design, which will be ready for submission soon," he added. He said the project would pose a formidable challenge to the URA in all as pects of urban renewal.
"Our greatest concern is to ensure that the residents' and shop operators' rights to compensation and rehousing are fairly looked after and, at the same time, that every effort is made to help them overcome any family or personal problems that may occur."
"We also have to ensure that, as a town center providing daily necessities of life, such as transport and medical services, to the 600,000 people of Kwun Tong, the place will go on functioning throughout the acquisition and redevelopment period," Lee added.
The URA will host briefing sessions for residents and shop operators to explain to them what will happen in the weeks and months ahead with regard to the statutory process of town planning approval, before acquisition can begin.
Surveyors said the URA will also start inviting private developers to take part in the project if it gains planning approval and completes land purchasing, rehousing and compensation.
The Christian Family Service Centre, meanwhile, has taken up the task of establishing an urban renewal social services team to provide help and support for affected residents.
CFSC has a four-member team working full-time for the residents, CFSC director Kwok Lit-tung said at the URA press conference.
2. Redevelopment of town centre kicks off with survey
CHLOE LAI , SCMP 31 March 2007
Hui Siu-ping says he will only believe the redevelopment is going ahead when it actually begins.
A three-day detailed survey of 4,500 people residing in Kwun Tong's town centre began yesterday, marking the commencement of a redevelopment project first announced nearly 10 years ago.
Urban Renewal Authority district development director Joseph Lee King-chi said the biggest redevelopment project the authority had ever handled posed a formidable challenge for the agency.
Information gathered through the survey will form the basis of a compensation offer.
People moving into the redevelopment zone after the survey will not be compensated.
But residents will still have to wait at least 18 months to receive compensation, which will only be made after the Town Planning Board and the Executive Council approve the redevelopment plan.
Mr Lee did not give an estimate of when demolition would begin. The 5.3-hectare project will involve 24 buildings, 1,640 property rights, 1,860 families and 300 shops. It includes Yuet Wah Street bus terminal and the area bordered by Hip Wo Street , Mut Wah Street , Hong Ning Road and Kwun Tong Road .
It was announced in early 1998 by the Land Development Corporation.
The project was passed to the authority when it was set up three years later, following the dissolution of the corporation.
The project has attracted a number of property buyers aiming to gain compensation and the authority estimates the total cost of redevelopment to be HK$30 billion, with compensation alone costing HK$13 billion. It will take more than a decade to complete.
Democratic Party legislator Fred Li Wah-ming, a member of the authority's management board, disclosed that the renewal agency would concede to resident demands to be offered compensation simultaneously, despite the fact that the redevelopment scheme would take place in phases.
"Up to this stage, the financial analysis shows we will lose money in the project. Fortunately, the authority has been making a profit in all previous projects. We should have money to handle this one," he said.
He also was optimistic about the authority's cash flow despite having to offer compensation to all residents simultaneously. "First, we will only be making the offer next year. When we make offers, there will be a negotiation process with each family - the length of negotiation varies because people will react differently. It usually takes 18 months to two years."
The first demolition is expected to take place in 2010.
He said the authority had made an unprecedented decision on the transitional arrangements, allowing residents time to find a new home after reaching the compensation agreement. They could also rent their units from the new landlord.
But cage-dweller Hui Siu-ping, 65, says he doesn't have any great expectations about the development plan.
"I have been living here since 1989. Over the years, I have heard at least 10 times that there will be redevelopment here, but none of them came true. I don't have many expectations and I have no opinion," Mr Hui said. Mr Hui is one of 10 tenants living in a 500 sq ft bed space apartment in a seven-storey building in Yue Man Square . He retired four years ago and now relies on social welfare. He pays HK$700 a month for the three-deck bed, sleeping on the middle deck and keeping his belongings on the other two decks.
The Democratic Party's Mr Li remained tight-lipped on which part of the project would be demolished first and redeveloped.
A design dubbed "City of Tomorrow ", a 70-storey office and hotel tower, was selected as the redevelopment model in November after a two-month public consultation.
Architectural firm Wong & Ouyang refined the model on the basis of views gathered during a consultation. The major criticism of the design was its high redevelopment density.
The authority refused to disclose whether it had lowered the density when it submitted the plan to the Town Planning Board for approval three weeks later.
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