Building for the future
Six years ago, Kwai Chung might not have been the most obvious location to build more than 1million sqft of grade A office space. But this is exactly what Sun Hung Kai Properties did, and it is now starting to reap the rewards.
'Even going back a few years it was notable that Hong Kong was running out of grade A office space. Today, Hong Kong's CBD [central business district] has just over a 1per cent vacancy,' said Lo King-wai, general manager at Sun Hung Kai's office leasing division.
'When we looked at [the western side of] Kowloon, we saw that it was close to the airport. It is also the site of the Kwai Chung Container Terminal, and well connected in terms of road and rail access. So we saw good potential in putting something up there that the market was looking for.'
Last month, the company officially opened the first phase of the Kowloon Commerce Centre, a 35-storey building with 500,000 sqft of space dedicated to office and restaurant space. And tenants have snapped up 30per cent of the space so far.
Part of the appeal stems from the fact that the project was conceived to be as environmentally friendly as possible.
Sun Hung Kai has a reputation for developing 'green projects', such as Millennium City in Kwun Tong, which opened last year.
'Many companies these days are very concerned about their carbon footprint and impact on the environment as part of their corporate social responsibility directives - especially overseas companies.
'This 'green factor' is increasingly becoming an important consideration when they are looking to open shop in Hong Kong and scouting for office space,' Mr Lo said.
The Kowloon Commerce Centre was constructed according to the guidelines set out by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards, and is the first project in Hong Kong to apply for this internationally recognised certification.
Among some of the initiatives to reduce energy consumption in the Kowloon Commerce Centre are a double glazed curtain wall system that maximises the use of natural light and provides additional insulation.
The building also features carbon dioxide testers throughout to monitor indoor air quality, a process to recycle condensed water from the air-conditioning system (which reduces waste water disposal by 50per cent). All energy-saving power and electrical installations, including the central air-conditioning system and the elevators, comply with environmentally friendly standards.
There are also several landscaped areas and sky gardens throughout the building. However, this eco-friendly ethos was not solely limited to the end product and, according to Mr Lo, every effort was made to limit the impact on the environment during construction.
For example, the project site was originally a bus depot, and Sun Hung Kai opted to use the existing piling and foundation already there, thereby saving a significant amount of concrete and steel waste that would have been generated had the developer opted to start from scratch.
Builders also made use of eco-friendly materials during construction, such as SFC wood, low violate organic compound paints and GRI 'green' label carpet. 'We did not go along this route solely to attract customers,' Mr Lo said. 'As a property developer and Hong Kong company, we also have a responsibility to do our part for the environment and reduce our energy consumption.'
He expects the Kowloon Commerce Centre to be a significant addition to Kwai Chung when the second phase of the project opens in early 2010. 'We are putting a lot of effort into this project not just to develop a good office block, but to develop something that would improve the neighbourhood.
'With all the infrastructure supporting this area and the fact that the CBD is running out of new office buildings, people will have to spread out and look for opportunities in areas such as [the western part of] Kowloon.
'We have already seen areas like East Kowloon become attractive in this regard with our Millennium City project. Have we succeeded? It is too early to tell and, at the end, the market will ultimately decide, but we are quite confident in its success,' Mr Lo said.
