Two large commercial sites in Kai Tak area expected to fetch total of HK$15 billion
Office demand predicted to grow in new Kowloon East CBD
Developers are expected to seize opportunities to venture into Kowloon East as the government expedites its transformation into Hong Kong’s next central business district by releasing two large commercial sites in the Kai Tak area that together could be worth more than HK$15 billion at tender.
The Kai Tak area, which is a core part of the next-generation CBD that will be double the size of Central by 2020, will be under the spotlight in the government’s land sale programme for the financial year to March 2017.
“Office demand in Kwun Tong and the Kai Tak area will grow in coming years as decentralisation away from Central is a major trend for corporations,” said Victor Lai Kin-fai, chief executive of consultancy Centaline Professionals.
He said he expected a big change in the area once all the grade A office developments, hotel projects and residential blocks were completed over the next six to seven years.
Eleven of the 40 government sites for residential, commercial and hotel use in the next financial year’s land sale programme are located in the Kai Tak area. They comprise seven residential, two commercial and two hotel sites.
The investment risk in commercial projects will also be less than residential developments
The government aims to turn the Kai Tak area into a “city within a city” complete with sustainable and smart-city features.