Wall effect fear over tall-blocks ban
The value of Hong Kong Island's biggest vacant waterfront site will be cut by about HK$4 billion under a Planning Department proposal to impose a 100-metre building height restriction across North Point.
The North Point Estate site, next to the ferry pier, is one of about 100 sites in the district that are facing the development restriction, amid increasing public concern over the adverse effects of high-density development, such as blocked air flow and reduced sunshine.
But the proposal, released yesterday, does not mention whether there would be a reduction in the plot ratio, which governs the amount of floor space developers are allowed to build on a site.
Town planners and architects, while welcoming the proposal, said imposing a height restriction alone would not stop construction of wall-like tower blocks on the North Point Estate site. They said the government should require air-ventilation assessments and detailed designs as a condition of sale to prevent the creation of a wall effect as developers maximise sea views.
Without the height reduction, developers could build 50-storey residential blocks on the 272,975 sq ft North Point Estate site. Under the proposal, buildings on the site will be limited to about 30 storeys. Surveyor Charles Chan Chiu-kwok said the site was worth HK$24.5 billion, or HK$9,000 per sq ft, without the restriction. But with the height cap, it would be worth about HK$20.4 billion, or HK$7,500 per sq ft.
According to his calculation, the government will lose HK$4.1 billion from the sale, 30 per cent of last year's total land sales income.