The Kowloon Commerce Centre, developed by Sun Hung Kai Properties, expects to attract a wide range of businesses including multinational companies, trading firms and those in the garment, logistics and service industries.
The grade A office project at 51 Kwai Chung Road, next to Kwai Hing MTR station, is a redevelopment of a former Kowloon Motor Bus depot and is being built in two phases. Tower 1 is a 35-storey building ready for occupation, providing a total floor area of 500,000 sqft. The second phase is scheduled to be completed in 2010.
Lo King-wai, general manager (office leasing) at Sun Hung Kai Properties subsidiary Sun Hung Kai Real Estate Agency, said the leasing response to Tower 1 had been satisfactory with a target rent of HK$18 per sqft a month, and about 30 per cent of office space at the building had been committed as of last month.
'Our project is in the major transport hub of West Kowloon with easy access to the airport and container terminals. While the large supply of new buildings in East Kowloon has drawn much market attention, Kowloon Commerce Centre [KCC] offers a good choice for companies looking to expand in West Kowloon,' he said.
'There is good demand from companies of different sizes in different businesses for quality offices in non-core districts.'
Mr Lo said the global financial turmoil created market uncertainties in the short term that could affect the pace of business expansion in certain sectors. But he remained optimistic about the prospects for office leasing in Hong Kong. 'The overall leasing market is healthy with underlying demand. The outlook is expected to be stable and there are still negotiations for major leases under way. We do not expect any significant downturn or tenants surrendering space,' he said.
'Office leasing is a long-term business. As long as we have demand, the market fluctuations in the short term are not major considerations. Risks always come together with opportunities. Even today, some businesses that had not been hit that much by the prevailing crisis might take advantage of the environment to secure larger space at more attractive rents.'