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1. Property giants unveil vision for cultural hub

2. Assurance given on Ho Man Tin housing

3. Antiquities board rules on Victoria Prison site

1. Property giants unveil vision for cultural hub
CHLOE LAI, SCMP 9 November 2004

The massive West Kowloon Cultural District project will generate economic benefits of $216 billion over a 50-year period, according to a key contender for the rights to develop the site.

Dynamic Star International says the project will create 29,000 jobs during construction and 8,500 permanent jobs afterwards.

The Cheung Kong (Holdings)-Sun Hung Kai Properties joint venture made the predictions yesterday as it published details of its proposals in two hard-covered books.

Under the Dynamic team proposal, there will be three zones - an eastern gateway, a retail and entertainment spine and a cultural headland. Arts and cultural facilities will occupy 315,860 square metres. About 20,000 square metres will be reserved for government offices and a community centre.

The rest will be profit-making developments to support the cultural facilities. Residential blocks will occupy 671,580 square metres; office and retail properties will cover 232,255 square metres; hotels 74,420 square metres.

They also promised to give the city a prime urban park with almost 30 hectares of landscaped open space and piazzas.

The soaring, curved canopy that was a key feature of architect Lord Foster's prize-winning design for the cultural district is envisaged as a climate modifier, incorporating solar panels for water, heating and electricity, as well as providing ventilation.

It will also collect 20,000 cubic metres of rainwater each year for use within the development and to irrigate the park.

Dynamic's proposal, the last to be unveiled, is more comprehensive than those of its competitors - Swire Properties, Henderson Land, and a consortium of Sino Land, Wharf (Holdings) and Chinese Estates Holdings. They largely focus on the general artistic impression and the name of their chief architect.

The government wants to turn the reclaimed land near Kowloon Station into a regional cultural hub. The winning bid will have the right to develop and manage the site for 30 years, prompting fears it will be a developer's colony.

Dynamic estimates the number of visitors in 2014 will be 50 million, generating spending of $6 billion in real terms.

Under the Dynamic plan, the arts and cultural facilities will be governed by an independent foundation. It will comprise members elected from the community and the local arts and cultural sector.

The joint venture promised "the principles of democracy, transparency and accountability will be enshrined in the mode of governance of the district".

The constructions represent a plot ratio of 3.285, a higher density than the Henderson Land proposal of 2.5. The bidder says the canopy, imitating a flying dragon, will incorporate environment-friendly features and contribute to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.

2. Assurance given on Ho Man Tin housing
CHLOE LAI, SCMP 9 November 2004

The government has denied speculation that it plans to wipe out public housing in Ho Man Tin and turn it into an exclusive neighbourhood.

The Housing Department said yesterday it had not changed its plan to build subsidised public flats in the district, noted for its high-priced developments.

"We don't have details on how the public housing estates will be built, but they will be built. There isn't any plan to return the site to the government," a spokeswoman said.

She said the department had no intention of moving out of its current headquarters, which sit on the corner of a 4.8-hectare site of the former Ho Man Tin Estate.

The department demolished the estate last year and said it planned to build another housing estate on the site.

Speculation that it might instead be handed back to the government for auction was spurred after Cheung Kong (Holdings) paid $2 billion more than predicted for the former police officers' quarters site in Ho Man Tin. The $9.42 billion price was the highest fetched in an auction since 1997.

3. Antiquities board rules on Victoria Prison site
CARRIE CHAN, SCMP 9 November 2004

Preserving a building at the entrance of Victoria Prison on the ground of "collective memory" has been ruled out because it does not match the architectural style of the surrounding heritage area.

The Antiquities Advisory Board, which announced the ruling yesterday, said it would be consulted on the developer's heritage conservation plan, but the assessment would be completed by the government's Antiquities and Monuments Office.

The weighting of heritage conservation in the tendering exercise is still unknown.

In the case of Tsim Sha Tsui's Marine Police Headquarters, the office assessed the heritage conservation plan of each bidder but their evaluation only made up 25 per cent of the total score.

Patrick Lau Sau-shing, who chairs the board's historical buildings and structures committee, said none of the members opposed pulling down the building at the entrance to Victoria Prison.

"The building had in fact been modified in the 1950s," he said. "The original building constructed in 1913 has been dismantled. The building, made up of concrete walls, is incompatible with other structures made of masonry."

The designer of the redevelopment of the Central Police Station precinct would have more room for a creative plan if the building could be torn down, Professor Lau said.

The public had been too impulsive in using "collective memory" as a ground for preservation.

"That's why I proposed the government organise an open day which allows the public to understand why certain parts should be preserved, and why certain parts should not," he said.

The Antiquities and Monuments Office's executive secretary, Louis Ng Chi-wah, said the winner of the project could decide whether to dismantle the building, depending on their plan.

"The site is almost the only area where they can build new structures. We think if there is a good plan, old and new structures can blend in well," he said.