Collapsed building at 150-year-old former Central Police Station will ‘inevitably’ lose heritage value with restoration project, Jockey Club says
Partial reopening of historic compound likely to be delayed to middle of next year due to recovery and stabilisation work on former Married Inspectors’ Quarters, which came crashing down in May
The restoration of a collapsed structure at the historic former Central Police Station will mean an “inevitable loss” of its heritage value as it may involve demolishing or reconstructing parts of the building, the organisation in charge of revitalising the compound has said.
In May, a wall and part of the roof at the former Married Inspectors’ Quarters – one of the 16 historic buildings in the 150-year-old compound – came crashing down. No one was injured.
The site, which is a declared monument, was subsequently closed to the public, and a partial reopening, which was originally set for next month, will now likely be delayed to the middle of next year as a result of the recovery and stabilisation work to the building.
The Jockey Club, which is in charge of the HK$1.8 billion revitalisation project, has put forward proposals to the Antiquities Advisory Board for recovering the building which include eight options. The board will deliberate on the plans on Thursday.
Of the eight recovery options, five include partial or full demolition of the structure, and some allow for adaptive reuse of the building for retail purposes.