Latest news with #landgrant
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Better harbourfront access among Hong Kong urban renewal body's plans for site
Hong Kong's Urban Renewal Authority (URA) plans to improve pedestrian connectivity and public access to the harbourfront at one of two sites the cash-strapped body has been granted by the government to boost its finances. Authority managing director Wai Chi-sing revealed more details about the plot in To Kwa Wan in his blog on Sunday, two days after the self-financing statutory body was granted the site and another in Tseung Kwan O at a nominal land premium of HK$1,000 (US$127) for 50 years. 'The land grant represents an opportunity to enhance the connectivity and accessibility between the inland areas of To Kwa Wan and its waterfront spaces through urban renewal, injecting more vibrancy into the harbourfront through diverse development,' he said. The land grant is expected to provide extra financial help for the URA, but the body has to review its operating and financing model so that it can undertake redevelopment projects in a financially sustainable manner. It earlier said it would rezone the site on Bailey Street in To Kwa Wan, which is currently a temporary outdoor car park, for residential use. The land parcel has a proposed total gross floor area (GFA) of 68,490 square metres (737,220 sq ft) with a plot ratio of nine, indicating a high development density. A higher ratio indicates increased density. Wai observed that some road sections connecting the inland areas to the harbourfront in the neighbourhood were blocked by schools and temporary car parks.
South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong approves land grants to beleaguered Urban Renewal Authority in rare move
The Hong Kong government has granted two parcels of urban land to the cash-strapped Urban Renewal Authority in a rare move to offer additional financial support for its redevelopment projects, with a condition to review its financing model to ensure sustainability. The sites in Hung Hom and Tseung Kwan O were approved by the government's top decision-making body in principle on Friday, at a nominal premium of HK$1,000 (US$127) for 50 years. The two sites will have to be rezoned for residential use in order for the self-financing statutory authority to 'continue to take forward its commenced redevelopment projects in an orderly manner'. 'Redevelopment projects of a larger scale involve huge acquisition costs. Coupled with the sluggish property market in recent years, the URA's projects have been subject to the 'buy-high-sell-low' situation, thus affecting its cash flow,' Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho said in the government announcement. 'Granting land at a nominal land premium has long been one of the major government support measures for the URA … Granting the two sites to the URA is along the same direction that helps the URA to fulfil its urban renewal mission.' The land grant includes several conditions. The URA must collaborate with the government to refine its operating and financing model, enabling it to undertake urban redevelopment in a financially sustainable manner, 'irrespective of market ups and downs'.
