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1. Public forum on building height restrictions

2. Cultural hub to lift property prices

3. Kiwi developer secures Sha Tin site for $555m

4. KCRC to consider option of station in Canton Road

5. Tower plan may fall from Mega to minor

1. Public forum on building height restrictions
Hong Kong Government, 25 June 2004

The Planning Department will hold a public forum this Saturday (June 26) to collect views on the recommended building height restrictions for Kwun Tong and Kowloon Bay Business Areas. Members of the public are invited to attend.

The forum, which is part of the two-month consultation exercise launched by the Planning Department from May 13, will be held at the Christian Family Service Centre, 3 Tsui Ping Road, Kwun Tong at 9.30am. Registration will start at 9.15am.

"The building height restriction proposals were prompted by the recommendations of the study on "Urban Design Guidelines for Hong Kong" completed in 2003," a Planning Department spokesman said.

"There was general public consensus on the need to preserve public views to the ridgelines and peaks around the harbour."

The spokesman added that in view of the considerable redevelopment pressures facing these two business areas, there is a need to update the planning framework, including control on building heights, to guide the areas' transformation.

"While preservation of views to ridgelines is one of the primary considerations, local area context has also been taken into account when the building height restriction proposals are formulated. The objective is to maintain visually compatible height profile in the wider setting."

"All comments received will be carefully considered before any appropriate height limits are incorporated into the statutory plans," the spokesman stressed.

Details of the proposals are presented in a consultation digest posted at the Planning Department's website at www.info.gov.hk/planning. Hard copies of the digest are available at the following locations:

(1) Public Enquiry Service Counter, Kwun Tong District Office, LG/F, Kwun Tong District Branch Offices Building, 6 Tung Yan Street, Kowloon;

(2) Planning Information Enquiry Counter, 17/F, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road, North Point;

(3) Kowloon District Planning Office, 14/F, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road, North Point.

2. Cultural hub to lift property prices
Eli Lau, The Standard 25 June 2004

The HK$24 billion cultural hub project is expected to lift property prices in Kowloon, according to Midland Realty (Holdings).

A survey by the agency found 90 per cent of those interviewed expected the controversial project to boost the property prices nearby, while 74 per cent said it would stimulate home sales in the district.

The survey was conducted last week, shortly after the government announced a total of five consortiums had submitted bids for the project.

About 61 per cent of respondents estimated that property projects within the cultural hub could be priced at HK$8,001 to HK$10,000 per sq ft.

``It indicates that people have high expectations of the mega development,'' Midland regional sales director Eric Cheung said.

Meanwhile, the agency reported a total of 8,137 property deals in Kowloon for the first-half of 2004, up 61 per cent compared with the same period last year.

The surge was despite a transaction slowdown since the second quarter due to a price correction in the market. ``The transactions were mainly at Serenity Place and Tseung Kwan O Plaza,'' Cheung said.

Tseung Kwan O was designated a New Territories new town under government planning, but industry players generally considered the properties there as part of Kowloon supply due to its location. ``The overwhelming response reflects that there is still adequate demand to take up new flats,'' Cheung said.

The number of backlog units in Kowloon has significantly dropped from a peak 12,500 last March to 4,609 last month, Midland said. Properties in West Kowloon were well received by homebuyers with the backlog falling by 74 per cent to 1,248.

For the secondary market, Midland has recorded 1,238 second-hand flat deals in West Kowloon for the first half this year, rising from 385 in the same period last year.

``The West Kowloon cultural project is expected to become a landmark in the district and boost property values around it,'' Cheung said. ``I expect to see about a 10 to 15 per cent price rise for the full year in the Kowloon district.''

The 40-hectare waterfront site at the southern tip of the West Kowloon reclamation will be developed into an integrated arts, cultural and entertainment district.

Under the selected design, by Norman Foster and partners, 39 per cent of the 695,000 square metres site will be designated for arts and culture, while 17 per cent will be developed into office space, 16 per cent for residential use, 21 per cent for retail and the rest for community use.

3. Kiwi developer secures Sha Tin site for $555m
Raymond Wang, The Standard 25 June 2004

Locally listed SEA Holdings' New Zealand affiliate Trans Tasman Properties (TTP) has outbid top Hong Kong developers to secure a Sha Tin site for HK$555 million.

The site was recently put up for private tender by Dairy Farm International Holdings through Jones Lang LaSalle. At least five companies - among them Cheung Kong (Holdings), Sun Hung Kai Properties, Henderson Land Development and a consortium that included Sino Land - were invited to submit bids.

Dairy Farm, a unit of Jardine Matheson Group, announced yesterday that it has agreed to sell its non-core asset in Fo Tan and expects the deal to be completed by the end of next month.

Sources said the offering prices of local developers were around HK$320 million or HK$400 per square foot, far below the winning bid of HK$555 million or nearly HK$700 psf. The 552,581 square-foot site has been rezoned to allow residential and commercial development, which may generate a total gross floor area of about 800,000 sqft.

TTP, which is 61 per cent owned by SEA, said it has yet to decide how to develop the site, but expects to complete the work within six years.

It expects to settle the purchase on July 30, using cash and debt funding.

Last week, TTP said it had agreed to sell commercial and retail properties in Takapuna, Auckland, for about HK$146.5 million.

The proceeds will be used to repay bank loans and for internal working capital. Net rental income from those properties amounted to HK$11.7 million last year, representing a yield of 8 per cent based on their HK$146.5 million book value at the end of 2003.

4. KCRC to consider option of station in Canton Road
JOSEPH LO, SCMP 25 June 2004

The KCRC and the government will re-examine the feasibility of building a station in Canton Road following outrage that plans for the proposed Kowloon Southern Link rail line overlook one of the city's busiest tourist and shopping areas.

The about-face by the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation also came after representatives of Wharf (Holdings) told members of Legco's transport panel yesterday that its latest proposal for the station would cost a fraction of the $3 billion price of the KCRC's original plan.

The property company's chief manager for external relations, Frankie Yick Chi-ming, told legislators and district councillors that the latest proposal would cost 15 to 20 per cent of the earlier estimate.

KCRC and Wharf have been at odds over the building of a station in Canton Road along the Kowloon Southern Link, a 3.8km passenger rail line linking the West Rail terminus at Nam Cheong station with the East Rail's Tsim Sha Tsui East station, now under construction.

The rail line, expected to cost about $8.3 billion, will be completed by 2009 if work starts next year.

Retailers in Canton Road and district councillors for the area had expected the KCRC to put a station on the busy street, a main commercial, tourism and entertainment point.

But when the scheme was gazetted in March, only the West Kowloon station was included.

Henry Chan Man-yu, chairman of the Yau Tsim Mong District Council, said he was perplexed by the omission, given the street's importance. "The more I listen, the more confused I am," Mr Chan said.

Legislator Abraham Razack said: "Government has to take a stronger stance ... and force the KCRC to build the [Canton Road] station".

Wharf's new plan involves building a station in 50,000 sq ft of space now occupied by the underground car park of the World Finance Centre, part of Wharf's Harbour City development on Canton Road.

The new study, which will look at the economic benefits of the station and the technical feasibility of Wharf's plan, is set for completion by mid-September, when it will be presented to legislators.

The latest proposal stands in marked contrast to the KCRC's original request that Wharf demolish the office tower and replace it with a development that would include the Canton Road station in the design.

Mr Yick said the new cost-estimate was based on land costs and the likely impact of construction on its property holdings.

The KCRC's move to omit the station from the plan has been seen as a tactic to lower the line's development costs and push Wharf, Canton Road's largest landlord, to foot more of the bill for a station from which it stands to benefit.

The Canton Road Association, which mainly comprises Wharf and retailers in its properties, early this month urged the transport panel to investigate.

5. Tower plan may fall from Mega to minor
CHLOE LAI, SCMP 25 June 2004

The Mega Tower hotel project in Wan Chai may face a new hurdle as the Town Planning Board will decide today whether to approve a request to cap the height of any future development on Kennedy Road to 40 storeys.

A group of Kennedy Road residents filed the request and asked the board to take into account the street's development density. At present, the south side of the road is a low-density residential area.

But the section of Kennedy Road close to the Hopewell Centre allows high-density commercial development as it is within a comprehensive redevelopment area, which faces no restrictions.

Hopewell Holdings plans to build what could be the city's biggest hotel in the redevelopment zone at 60 storeys high. But the developer owns only half of the site; the rest is government land.

Hopewell boss Gordon Wu Ying-sheung wants to build the twin-tower hotel at a 147,000 sq ft site bordering Ship Street and Kennedy Road.

Many residents, and Wan Chai District Council, strongly oppose the plan. The board rejected it in April. They said the plan was incompatible with the neighbourhood's character, would cause traffic congestion, kill too many trees and damage the aesthetics.

Sir Gordon has filed an appeal against the board's decision. He has also threatened to reactivate a plan to use the site to build what would be Hong Kong's tallest skyscraper, at 97 storeys - a project the board approved 10 years ago and is still considered valid.

Roger Emmerton, a longtime resident and neighbourhood representative, described Hopewell's project as ridiculous.

He said he respected Sir Gordon's property rights but added: "We want to preserve the low-density character of the area."

Sir Gordon was unavailable for comment yesterday.