Seven years, HK$1b put 21 houses on Tai Po's Yucca de Lac restaurant site

Seven years after the closure of Tai Po's popular Yucca de Lac restaurant, the site is now occupied by a 21-house development.

The project, named De Yucca, has 21 houses ranging from 3,000 square feet to 5,000 sq ft.

The developer, Yucca Development, is to offer the first batch of four for sale by the end of the month at prices starting from HK$28,000 per sq ft. Prices for some of the larger 5,000 sq ft houses will be pitched as high as HK$35,000 per sq ft - the most expensive in the district.

Yucca Development invested HK$1 billion in the project, which includes HK$380 million paid in 2005 to the family that owned the restaurant site. Yucca chairman Lobo Law Ka-bo estimated the completed project was now worth HK$2.1 billion, promising a substantial return.

Law said he would retain one house for himself and would keep eight houses for long-term investment. Rents would be about HK$80 per sq ft.

The project captured headlines when announced because it led to the closure of the 42-year-old restaurant. Many diners had fond memories of visits to the restaurant, which was frequented by the rich and famous, including movie stars such as Jackie Chan, Andy Lau Tak-wah and Tony Leung Chiu-wai.