Lack of funding jeopardises future of historic Victoria Barracks
Asia Society plans to redevelop site despite having only half of the $200m budget
Fears were expressed yesterday that preservation of the historic remnants of Victoria Barracks could be sacrificed after the project received only half the expected funding.
The Asia Society received only $102.5 million from the Jockey Club for its project to turn the site of the former British Army explosives magazine in Admiralty into a learning centre, gallery and museum. They had estimated $200 million.
The Conservancy Association, which has been critical of the deal under which the society will lease the site for $1 a year for five years, said the government would have to monitor the work closely.
'Now they are going ahead with $102.5 million. Without the other half of the funding, it is highly likely they will scale down the redevelopment and cut budget on heritage preservation,' the association's chief executive, Lister Cheung Lai-ping, said.
But the Asia Society Hong Kong Centre said it would complete the project as planned and was committed to raising the funds to do so.
The Home Affairs Department also brushed aside the concerns, saying the society would submit a conservation plan and the Antiquities and Monuments Office would monitor its implementation.
Plans for the 7,800-square-metre site, which includes structures ranging from 70 to 150 years old, include a new main building with a six-metre-high reception hall, linked to the old buildings via a covered footbridge. The site, off Justice Drive, has been given a Grade I rating by the Antiquities and Monuments Office, meaning its preservation is of highest priority.
Ms Cheung of the Conservancy Association also expressed worries that the public would lose access to the old structures.
'While it has agreed to preserve the structures, things may change gradually. Take the example of the former Stanley police station. It was first converted into a restaurant and now it has become a supermarket so no one will remember its history any more,' she said.
She said an overseas institution such as the United States-based Asia Society should have sought funding from its home country rather than the Jockey Club.
A spokeswoman for the Asia Society said the group's primary concern was 'to creatively adapt [the old buildings] to be useful, safe and accessible to the public'.
'The Asia Society is committed to raising the funds necessary to complete the project and is confident that it will be able to do so,' she said. A Jockey Club spokeswoman said the redevelopment would benefit Hong Kong in many ways and it was club policy to allocate funds to locally registered institutions such as the Asia Society.
'The recovery of this important heritage site, which is now in an abandoned state, will enhance citizens' knowledge of history.'
The Asia Society Hong Kong Centre is chaired by Ronnie Chan Chi-chung, chairman of Hang Lung Properties.
