Sino Land, Emperor eye tenement arts site
The Urban Renewal Authority is looking for an experienced operator to run its first arts project at six pre-war tenement buildings in Mallory Street, Wan Chai.
Among the nine cultural organisations and professional institutes invited by the authority to tender for the project yesterday, Sino Land and Emperor Group are the largest commercial companies to have expressed interest in running the tenement buildings.
The two giants formed an individual company, Creative Heritage Foundation and Profit Valley, to compete with other organisations, including the Fringe Club, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Zuni Icosahedron, Osage Art and Ideas, Red Goodss, the Hong Kong Institute of Architects and Hong Kong Architecture Centre.
The Emperor Group, which runs the city's main entertainment business and grooms pop singers, has its headquarters located next to the Mallory Street site.
Part of its proposal for the site is to set aside space for karaoke.
Sino Land has experience in revitalising historic buildings. One recent example is the redevelopment of the old Tai O police station into a boutique hotel.
The old tenement buildings will be turned into an artists' commune, with each of the 20 flats shared by more than one art group to create round-the-clock activity.
For example, a studio could be used by a dance company for practice during the day and by a painter running classes in the evening.
Rentals in the initial years would be fixed at a low level to attract more users, the authority's managing director, Quinn Law Yee-kwan, said.
'To avoid too many commercial elements, the operator will not share profits with the authority,' he said. The operator would be given a management fee to run the place and costs would be paid by the authority.
An open space of 300 square metres will be created through the demolition of four tenements, but their facades will be preserved and linked to the rest of the cluster through two footbridges. The open space will also serve as a performance venue.
Some ground-floor flats planned to be cafes will be reserved for artists to hold talks and exhibit their works. These activities will be free of charge. The operation is expected to begin in 2012.
