Tunnel provides vital link to major business areas
It is a common cry among the leading developers in Wan Chai that the district is slowly becoming more and more attached to the major business districts of Central and Admiralty. This appears to be one of the major driving forces behind an influx of developers to the area.
K.Wah International's J Residence, situated on the corner of Johnston Road and Ship Street, is one project that has benefited greatly from this convergence of Wan Chai and Admiralty. 'From here to Admiralty it takes only about five minutes,' said Alexander Lui Yiu-wah, managing director of K.Wah. 'With the new tunnel linking Three Pacific Place to Pacific Place and the Admiralty MTR, people who work in that district are now more likely to look at Wan Chai as a desirable area to live.'
Three Pacific Place, a Swire Property development, sits on the corner of Queen's Road East and Monmouth Path, right on the Wan Chai side of the geographical border that separates Wan Chai from Admiralty. It was the first development to provide a physical link between the two districts when the Three Pacific Place Link, an underground tunnel connecting the building with Pacific Place and Admiralty MTR, opened last year.
'The tunnel is important,' said Christopher Heywood, senior portfolio manager at Swire Properties. 'If Three Pacific Place is to be seen as part of Pacific Place and the central business district, it needs to be connected. It has been well-received by not only the occupants of Three Pacific Place, but also by residents and other businesses in buildings around the area.'
Mr Heywood explained that before the tunnel link opened some companies that would not have looked at the building a few years ago - because they didn't feel it was truly in the central business district - now saw it as a true extension to Pacific Place and Admiralty.
Behind Three Pacific Place is Star Street, a part of Wan Chai that, with the help of Swire Property's efforts to revitalise the area, has come alive with a host of restaurants and bars catering to residents and the working community in the area. Included are a number of outlets owned by Swire Property, and many others, that benefit from the introduction of Three Pacific Place and the tunnel link.
'We don't own all the premises there and we don't see ourselves as having to own everything,' Mr Heywood said.
'Our intention is certainly not to go around buying everything, but if we work with other people in the neighbourhood to promote and gentrify the area, we can see ourselves as a catalyst for development in the area.
'If you look at all of our developments around Hong Kong, you will see that we have basically started the developments and expanded them to create a neighbourhood.' Mr Heywood cited the example of the company's Happy Hour Club Card, which offers nearby residents discounts at various restaurants and bars on Star Street, which helps to drive customers to businesses in the vicinity of Three Pacific Place.
