1 Market area to get $3.8b facelift
Una So, The Standard 20 July 2007

Hong Kong's oldest wet market district is to undergo a HK$3.8 billion facelift, provided the Urban Renewal Authority can convince its residents to move out.

The 57,240-square-foot area, in the Central-Mid-Levels district, is bounded by Peel Street, Graham Street, Gage Street, Wellington Street, Gutzlaff Street and Staveley Street, and includes a 140-year-old wet market. It will make way for an avenue of three-story shophouses, along with high-rise residential blocks, a hotel and an office tower.

Within the area there are 360 property interests in 37 old buildings, 470 households of 1,120 people and 78 shops.

The estimated cost breakdown is HK$1.8 billion for compensation and rehousing and HK$1.97 billion for construction and expenses.

Seven surveying companies will examine the buildings, with property purchases beginning three months later.

In two years, proprietors and tenants will be compensated according to market value. Construction is estimated to take three to four years.

Most buildings within the project boundary were built in the mid-50s and early-60s and are in poor condition with shabby walls and leaky pipes.

Kan Ki, one of the affected proprietors who has lived in the district since 1967, said more than 80 percent of the residents have been waiting for the project for 10 years since it was first announced.

In a tiny flat on the fifth floor of 23 Gutzlaff Street, a disabled 84-year-old called Ng put a price tag of HK$6 million on his property.

"I'm not moving! I have been living here for a few decades. If you give me enough money then I'll move," he said.

The revamped Graham Street will become Old Shop Street. Three prewar three-story buildings will be preserved, as will the facade of the 130-year-old building that currently houses the 80-year-old Wing Woo Grocery.

The authority's planning and design director Michael Ma Siu-chi said it was planned to attract some old industries such as tailoring to become part of Old Shop Street.

Under the plan, the wet market will be equipped with a better electricity and water supply, though about 70 stalls will have to relocate either up or down the street if they want to continue business.

Wing Woo Grocery is where Kwan Moon-chiu, 74, and his wife have spent most of their lives.

The prewar-style grocery has become so famous it is a tourist attraction and the subject of a Trade Development Council commercial.

Kwan said he was notified only two weeks ago about the demolition.

"The amount they offered is far from enough. We wish the government would understand and offer us more," Kwan said.

Owners of the close to 70 small street stalls selling fruits, pastry and flowers want to move within the district and, if possible, to return when the upgrade has been completed.

"Of course I'll miss it," said fruit seller Chan Yuk-kin.

The 82-year-old Lee Dai has been selling vegetables for 62 years. She said that even though she will miss her neighbors and friends, she would prefer to retire after getting the compensation and spend time with her grandchildren.

A woman called Yau, who owns a secondhand store, feared she may not be able to find such an ideal location to sell her wares, which have been mentioned in foreign magazines.

Central and Western District councillor Kam Nan-wai feared the district would change drastically in the shadow of high-rise blocks.

"I wonder if the area can handle the higher population density and additional traffic that will come with the project. It may not necessarily improve the people's living quality," he said.

Patsy Cheng Man-wah, of the heritage advocacy group See Network, said the whole revamp was little more than a real-estate project.

She said the most important elements in heritage conservation - culture and people's lives - had been abandoned, leaving empty refurbished buildings.

She said the plan showed no concern for the tens of thousands of people living in Central and Mid-Levels who rely on the wet market for supplies.

She questioned the ability of the existing stall owners to pay the hefty entrance fee to be part of the new project.

John Batten of the Central and Western Concern Group, who lives in the area, said the project is only going to make the area even more congested than before.

Lee Ho-yin, director of Hong Kong University's architectural conservation program, said the authority is still following the old ways of redevelopment without really consulting stakeholders.

He also questioned the confusing role of the URA.

"How can it on one hand be concerned with the public's interest in re- developments and on the other have a commercial interest to make money?" he said

"It comes with mixed messages."

Joseph Lee King-chi, district development director, said it was the authority's responsibility to launch the project while taking therisk of the future property market into account.

More than 90 URA employees were sent out to conduct a three-day registration for affected residents and stall owners.

Eight briefings will be held for proprietors and tenants next week to explain the project.