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1. 3 HKP seeking pre-lease consent on Kowloon Station commercial units

1. 3 HKP seeking pre-lease consent on Kowloon Station commercial units
KENNETH KO and SOPHIA WONG, SCMP 9 April 2003

Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) and MTR Corp are seeking government consent to pre-lease the office and hotel portions of their massive mixed commercial development at Kowloon Station.

The joint-venture partners recently submitted an application seeking approval for the move, even though the office and hotel premises are not scheduled for completion until between 2007 and 2009.

The move to secure consent to lease several years ahead of the scheduled completion date has fuelled speculation about the motive of the developers and whether potential deals are on the boil.

MTRC property director Thomas Ho Hang-kwong said the application should complement the marketing plan for the project. He gave no details of the plan.

The office and hotel portions are part of phases five to seven of the Kowloon Station development. They include a 102-storey commercial tower, designed by New York-based architects Kohn Pedersen Fox. The tower will house the world's tallest hotel and provide 2.5 million square feet of office space.

The 480-metre office-hotel tower is the phase-seven development of the 12 million sq ft Kowloon Station project, now named Union Square, at the southern tip of the West Kowloon reclamation area overlooking Victoria Harbour.

Phases five and six combine to provide two 64-storey towers. One will include a hotel and serviced apartments while the other a hotel, serviced apartments and flats. There will be a total of about 1.02 million sq ft for hotel use.

Victor Lui Ting, executive director of SHKP subsidiary Sun Hung Kai Real Estate Agency, said recently that phases five and six of Kowloon Station would provide about 1,000 serviced units for sale and 200 to 300 serviced units for lease. But they would not be ready until next year or later, he said.

SHKP is also undertaking the phase three twin-tower residential development in Kowloon Station, through a joint venture with MTRC.

Hang Lung Properties is building three residential towers comprising 1,122 units called The Harbourside, in phase four of the Kowloon Station project.

A consortium led by Wharf (Holdings) is developing the five-block Sorrento residential project, comprising 2,126 units, in phase two of the station development. It is partly completed.

The station's phase one residential development, The Waterfront, was completed and developed by a Wing Tai Asia-led consortium.

Union Square will also provide a shopping mall of almost one million sq ft, which will be owned and run by MTRC.