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1. $6m mansion bid doomed to failure

2. Developers jostle for Stubbs Road mansion

3. Walled village revives land swap proposal

4. High bids seen for Kowloon site

1. $6m mansion bid doomed to failure
Emily Tang, The Standard 9 June 2004

A bid by a conservation group to save one of Hong Kong's most distinguished historic mansions falls far short of what the house will probably sell for, making it highly likely that it will be demolished.

Even the Conservancy Association said it is only hoping that some of the property's features will be preserved in whatever is built on the site.

Four developers are said to have bid for King Yin Lei mansion on Stubbs Road, which among other things was the site of the filming of the 1955 movie Love is a Many Splendored Thing starring the American actress Jennifer Jones as an unlikely Eurasian doctor, and Soldier of Fortune, filmed in the same year and starring Clark Gable and Susan Hayward.

The Conservancy Association, headed by chief executive Lister Chung, said the association has attempted to save the building with a HK$6 million tender offer, although it is expected to be sold for as much as HK$400 million.

Cheung said the association holds out little hope of winning the tender since it is not a property developer.

He said the aim of the bid is to raise the property's profile among the Hong Kong public and to encourage developers to retain its characteristics.

Owned by Stephen Yow, only its second owner, the building, which has a floor area of 25,000 square feet, sits on a site of more than 50,000 square feet with a panoramic view of Victoria Harbour.

The three-storey building combines a spectacular mix of mid 20th-century Chinese and Western architectural styles. Yow decided to sell the property in mid-April.

The Conservancy Association has nominated the building for preserved monument status under the Review of Built Heritage Conservation Policy.

The association's bid, which was submitted yesterday, rests on persuading each Hong Kong citizen to donate a dollar. ``I have already received a call from a child saying he wants to donate one dollar to us,'' Cheung said.

The association said it will contact the developer after the tender result is announced.

Cheung said the group wants to negotiate with the winning developer in an attempt to preserve the mansion.

Tenders for the 68-year-old Stubbs Road Mansion, as it is known, closed yesterday but CB Richard Ellis has not released any information concerning the numbers or names of companies who submitted bids.

Four tenders had been received by yesterday morning, including the one from the association and two others. According to Cheung, one of the tenders is from Cheung Kong (Holdings).

2. Developers jostle for Stubbs Road mansion
ERNEST KONG, SCMP 9 June 2004

Top developers - said to include Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong (Holdings) - closed in on the King Yin Lei mansion yesterday, as fears mounted that the historic Stubbs Road building could be demolished.

According to a source close to the deal, more than five bids had been submitted when tenders for the mansion closed, amid a battle by conservationists to have it declared a monument.

The source said the highest bid was close to the $500 million expectation of the owner, 72-year-old snack food tycoon Stephen Yow Mok-shing.

Sun Hung Kai Properties is understood to have submitted a tender, but the company did not reply to inquiries yesterday.

Market sources said Cheung Kong was among the bidders for the 25,000 sq ft mansion that overlooks Happy Valley.

The Conservancy Association, which has been fighting for the preservation of the 68-year-old, red-brick Chinese-style residence, submitted a symbolic $6 million bid, but a lawyer for the seller said the offer was considered invalid.

"We were just trying to make a statement, I am happy enough that they let us put our bid in the tender box," Conservancy Association chief executive Lister Cheung Lai-ping said.

The Antiquities Advisory Board has said its members unanimously agree that the mansion - described as a model example of a mixed-style, pre-war residence - should be preserved.

Its chairman, Edward Ho Sing-tin, has said that if any buyer moved to pull down the mansion, the board would declare it a proposed monument as a temporary measure to protect it for 12 months before deciding whether to make it a permanent monument.

3. Walled village revives land swap proposal
PEGGY SITO, SCMP 9 June 2004

The inhabitants of a 640-year-old walled village in Wong Tai Sin are planning to resubmit a proposal to the government to save their historical homes through a land swap.

The proposition, which the villagers believe has been strengthened by Hong Kong's robust economic outlook and improvements in the property market, includes turning part of the last indigenous village in Kowloon into a bazaar catering for the growing number of tourists to the city.

It also proposes that the government give Cheung Kong (Holdings) a public site next door to the village in exchange for property the developer owns within the walls.

The villagers agreed to the proposal at a meeting late last month and will present it to the government and Cheung Kong once the details have been finalised, probably next month.

Cheung Kong began acquiring sites in Nga Tsin Wai walled village 18 years ago by buying villagers' homes.

To date, it owns about 70 per cent of the village.

The developer has plans to turn the 49,914 square foot site on which the village stands into a new residential and commercial project. But no timetable for the development has been given as 30 per cent of the villagers have refused to give up their homes.

"The proposal will be a win-win solution for all parties," said Lam Man-fai, a councillor for the disttrict of Wong Tai Sin who has helped the villagers in their battle to save their homes for more than a decade.

He said the bazaar, if approved, would enhance the value of the village and boost the district's economy.

The land exchange proposal, meanwhile, would open an exit for Cheung Kong, which had spent many years in fruitless pursuit of its development plan for the village, he said.

The plan proposes that the government give Cheung Kong a nearby parking lot owned by the Hong Kong Housing Authority in exchange for its interests in the village.

The parking lot is about 50 per cent of the size of the Nga Tsin Wai site, according to a town planner.

Mr Lam said the idea of a land exchange had first been proposed to Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands Michael Suen Ming-yeung in 2002.

However, faced with the pressing problem of reviving an ailing housing market, Mr Suen did not consider Nga Tsin Wai village a priority.

The government also considered the preservation of the village impossible as Cheung Kong had already bought most of its houses and torn them down.

Mr Lam said he hoped the pickup in the Hong Kong property market and concern over a looming supply shortage in the residential sector would improve the villagers' chances of winning government approval.

But government sources said this week the plan would lead to some technical problems as the proposed land exchange involved too many parties.

Cheung Kong was unavailable for comment yesterday.

Village representative Leung Sik-lun said the villagers hoped that the new proposal would open the way to a better future for the historical village.

"As time goes by, the village deteriorates. However, neither the government nor the Urban Renewal Authority offers any help," he said.

The Land Development Corporation, which was replaced by the Urban Renewal Authority in 2001, approved plans to redevelop the village as part of a five-year renewal programme in 1992.

It also agreed that the Tin Hau Temple, which is in the village, would be preserved. The temple is one of Hong Kong's most active, and draws thousands of tourists.

However, the Land Renewal Authority had no timetable to redevelop the area, a spokesman said on Monday.

The walled village, which was established during the era of the Sung Dynasty, has been home to generations of three indigenous families - the Chans, the Ngs and the Lees. Mr Leung said about 50 families comprising 200 people still lived within its walls.

4. High bids seen for Kowloon site
PEGGY SITO, SCMP 9 June 2004

The government auction of a residential site in Kowloon City next Tuesday is expected to attract aggressive bidding from developers already with land banks in the district.

The plot on offer in the second government auction after a 20-month land freeze is a 37,900 square foot site in Sa Po Road. When complete, it will provide a developable area of about 341,000 sqft.

Property consultants said developers would take this opportunity to strengthen their portfolios in urban Kowloon in view of limited new supply in the area being offered by the government in coming years.

They said developers with projects in the district would be willing to pay high prices as strong land auction results would help boost selling prices of their existing projects.

K Wah International Holdings last month submitted a $682.2 million guaranteed bid for the site, now estimated by analysts to sell for $900 million to $1.2 billion.

Ronald Cheung Yat-fai, director of Midland Realty's surveying unit, said: "Chinachem Group bought a nearby site from a government auction in 2002 for just below $1,300 per square foot. That provides the company a costing advantage and should make it a natural bidder for the site."

Chinachem bought the 24,811 sqft site in Sa Po Road in September 2002. Two months later, the government announced the land freeze to prop up the weakened property market.

Potential bidders include Paliburg Holdings or sister company Regal Hotels International. Regal Hotels' Regal Oriental Hotel, opposite the former Kai Tak airport site, is near the auction site.

Other developers with a presence nearby include Cheung Kong (Holdings), which has 70 per cent ownership of units in Nga Tsin Wai walled village in Tung Kwong Road. The company is selling Sky Tower flats in Sung Wong Toi Road.

Kowloon Development, which has Padek Palace in Prince Edward Road West and privately run Lucky Group, which has Genius Court in Fuk Lo Tsun Road, are also tipped as potential bidders.

Analysts based their sales price estimate on a projected 25 per cent to 30 per cent rise in home prices over the next two years.

Completed flats on the auction sites are tipped to be sold at more than $4,800 per square foot.

Flats in Genius Court are selling at an average of $3,800 per square foot.

James Cheung, associate director of Centaline Surveyors, said: "It is not a very attractive site as it is not close to MTR stations, while the size of the site is not big enough for the development of an upmarket project with well-equipped recreational facilities."

After the unexpectedly strong land sale result on May 25, analysts revised up their forecasts, Mr Cheung said.

In the first land sale after the 20-month freeze, Cheung Kong bought a Ma On Shan site for $2.09 billion, and K Wah International bought a smaller site in Sha Tin for $865 million.

The figures were more than 70 per cent above the opening bids.