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1. Developer expects $10b mega project to achieve landmark status

1. Developer expects $10b mega project to achieve landmark status
Eli Lau, SCMP 23 June 2003

Twenty years after Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) launched its milestone Sha Tin New Town Plaza, the developer is confident its latest mega-project - Yoho Town in Yuen Long - will become another landmark.

While the Sha Tin residential-retail project has become a hub in the New Territories, the company's subsidiary SHKP Real Estate Agency is confident the HK$10 billion Yoho Town will be well received, even though its location does not fit the mould of a traditional prime urban site.

``I have no intention to play down the location of the project during the promotion campaign,'' agency executive director Alfred So said. ``Instead, I would say Yoho Town is established on the hinterland of China with various cross-border transportation available such as Route 3, KCRC's Light Rail and the soon-to-be-launched West Rail.''

So's remarks came after market watchers said the company had deliberately avoided publicising the project's location, in Yuen Lung Street, Yuen Long.

Yoho Town is a crucial investment undertaking for SHKP as it is Hong Kong's first ``brand building'' property project, emphasising quality of life, culture, creativity, global vision, and health and fitness.
``Hong Kong's property market has changed a lot over the past few years and we have to explore other possibilities rather than repeating the same practices,'' So said.

``Apart from the developers themselves, you hardly find any property brands in Hong Kong.''

The first phase of Yoho Town comprises 1,404 flats in five blocks, ranging from 500 sq ft to 800 sq ft. About 70 per cent are two-bedroom and the rest have three bedrooms.

Global corporates such as Microsoft subsidiary MSN, coffee retailer Starbucks, catering conglomerate Maxim's, music production house EMI, Hang Seng Bank and electronics maker Samsung will provide daily services to residents.

Celebrity figures including gourmet columnist Craig Au-yeung, fashion designer Johanna Ho and model Almen Wong have been retained as spokesmen to spread the message about the ``new lifestyle concept for the young generation''.

Although the developer has no specific target market, So predicted buyers predominantly would come from the middle class.

He said the company would continue to upgrade facilities and keep investing capital in Yoho Town's property management even after the last flats were sold.

Although no price details have been released, market watchers believe Cheung Kong (Holdings') Caribbean Coast project at Tung Chung will be a comparable rival when both are launched next month.

The Yoho Town project is a 10-year undertaking by SHKP and will have about 7,000 flats and 30,000 residents when completed.