Quirky landmark to be torn down and replaced by glitzy mall
After standing sentinel at one of Tsim Sha Tsui's busiest intersections for 39 years, the Tung Ying Building at Nathan Road is set to be bulldozed for a flashy new shopping centre.
A source at Chinese Estates Holdings, which bought the 17-storey property from the Hotung family in 2002, said the decision to demolish the building was prompted by the consumer spending boom and the revival of the retail property market.
'In such a keenly competitive retail market, renovation is not enough,' the source said. 'The entire building is likely to be redeveloped, with retail space taking up a much higher proportion of gross floor area.'
The planned demolition will be the latest in a series of key redevelopments that, combined with massive transport infrastructure enhancements, will radically change the architectural landscape of Hong Kong's premier shopping district.
Market observers have been speculating over the future of the ageing shopping centre since Chinese Estates bought the building for $1.1 billion, or $2,956 per square foot, just months before the Sars epidemic decimated the retail economy.
The company shelved plans to demolish and redevelop the property during the height of the epidemic in 2003, when the building was identified by public health officials as a site of infection.