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1. K Wah to spend $1.5b on flats

2. Designer's ideas rejected, but point is made

1. K Wah to spend $1.5b on flats
Eli Lau, The Standard 27 May, 2004

K Wah International Holdings plans to spend as much as HK$1.5 billion to build about 100 luxury residential units on the Sha Tin site which it won in the government's first land auction this year.

The project, comprising both apartments and detached houses, is expected to be completed by late 2006, KWah Real Estates senior property manager Wilson Chan said yesterday.

On Tuesday, the mid-sized developer outbid rivals including Sun Hung Kai Properties, Cheung Kong (Holdings), New World Development, Nan Fung Development and Chinese Estates to win the second suburban residential lot at Tung Lo Wan Hill Road, Sha Tin, for HK$865 million, or HK$3,317 per square foot.

This was up 85 per cent from the opening bid of HK$469 million or HK$1,800 psf.

KWah Real Estate managing director Alex Lui had expected to pay no more than HK$3,000 psf for the site but was

optimistic the luxury residential project could be sold at favourable prices.

``It is an appealing plot,'' he said. ``After the completion of Route 8 in 2007, residents around Tung Lo Wan Hill Road can directly travel to Tsim Sha Tsui within 20 minutes.''

The developer plans to spend HK$1.3 billion to HK$1.5 billion to build about 100 units on the Sha Tin site which covers 260,782 sq ft, Chan said. ``The project should be developed at the level of those deluxe projects in Kau To Shan - one of the popular top-end luxury residential areas in New Territories.''

KWah has triggered three plots from the application list so far after the government resumed land sales in January.

The developer will bid in the next auction to be held on June 15 for the sale of a plot in Sa Po Road, Kowloon City.

Meanwhile, KWah will raise the sale prices of its Angler's Bay project in Sham Tseng, which was jointly developed by Sino Land Company. The developer yesterday appointed Midland Realty (Holdings) as sole agent for the sale of 10 Angler's Bay flats. The remaining 15 flats would be retained in order to wait for better pricing, Chan said.

The units, measuring 496 to 979 sq ft each, are priced at an average of HK$4,500 psf, representing 8 to 10 per cent rise compared with the pricing offered in March.

Chan said 259 of 284 Sham Tseng flats were sold since the first launch last year, reaping around HK$650 million for the joint venture.

While the developer released another 10 units for sale yesterday. Angler's Bay would be ready for occupation in October.

2. Designer's ideas rejected, but point is made
CHLOE LAI, SCMP 27 May 2004

Peter Cookson Smith's designs envisioned pedestrian-friendly changes that preserved the area's character, without heavy demolition.

Urban planner Peter Cookson Smith knew his ideas would not win the contest to design a future Wedding Card Street, but he submitted them regardless. He was determined to show its essential character could be maintained.

He believed the authority should upgrade and lengthen the life of the buildings instead of demolishing them, beautify the street and make it a pedestrian walkway. Shops would continue to prosper and residents could live in decent housing with good infrastructure.

His design allows for high-rises.

"We can do it naturally," he said. "There can be a mixture of low and tall buildings, old and new. But there is no point pulling everything down and replacing them with skyscrapers."

Not surprisingly, his was not one of the five winning entries. "Wan Chai is a very old and historic district. It reflects what the city looked like in the old days. It is the sort of place that any city in the world would try to preserve. The approach should be different from what we are going to do in Shamshuipo.

"Wedding Card Street, with its vibrant street life, is a place the [rest of the] world would envy and want to have."

The planner and architect said the authority's approach was expensive and would destroy the culture and history of the street. He said it was the wrong way to improve residents' living conditions.

"The residents are rather poor and they can just move to similar accommodation somewhere else. This is not solving any problem," he said.

"I know there isn't much the authority can do because it was set up for redevelopment." he said. Still, it should re-examine its strategy so that its mandate extends beyond demolition and redevelopment, he said.