Wheelock secures sea-view office site

Wheelock Properties outbid four other developers to win a commercial site at Hung Hom Bay, paying a higher-than-expected price of nearly HK$6,900 per square foot. It will build a grade-A office tower on the plot.

The 147,499 sq ft site at the junction of Hung Luen Road and Kin Wan Street has been awarded to Wheelock on a 50-year land grant for a premium of HK$4.028 billion. The maximum permitted gross floor area is 589,996 square feet, meaning the average cost of the site is HK$6,827 per square foot.

Wheelock paid about 20 per cent more than most analysts had expected; they had forecast a price of HK$2.9 billion to HK$3.5 billion, translating to between HK$4,915 and HK$5,932 per square foot.

Citing high demand for top-grade office space, Wheelock said: 'The site is a very rare one, next to the sea, with a vast view of the Victoria Harbour.'

The company noted it is 'in the well-planned core commercial area in Hung Hum' and cited its ease of access to the MTR's East Rail and West Rail lines, through-train services to the mainland and the future Sha Tin to Central cross-harbour train service.

Chan Cheung-kit, director of Lanbase Surveyors, said the aggressive bidding price was due to the scarcity of office sites with sea views. He had forecast the site would go for less than HK$6,000 per sq ft. 'This is the best location given that there is no new supply of land in Tsim Sha Tsui,' he said.

Chan estimates Wheelock's total costs will be around HK$9,000 per square foot and says offices there should sell for HK$12,000 to HK$13,000 per square foot.