bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

Tenants of Mount Parker House in Quarry Bay have been told by landlord Swire Properties it will not renew their leases, fuelling further speculation the building is to be demolished.

 Melvyn Bennett, publisher and managing director of IDG Communications, said he received a letter from Swire saying it was not interested in renewing IDG's lease.

 'It came as quite a surprise,' he said.

 According to Mr Bennett and other tenants, there were rumours that Swire would demolish the building in December or early next year.

 Many tenants said they had signed new leases in other buildings or were seeking new space.

 At least one tenant reported having been offered space in other Swire buildings in the Taikoo Shing area.

 Swire has a strong office portfolio in the area, with completed buildings such as Dorset House and Devon House. New properties available for lease include Cityplaza One, Lincoln House and Oxford House.

 A spokesman for Swire said plans to demolish Mount Parker House had not been finalised.

 'We will inform our tenants once the above plan is confirmed,' the company said.

 According to some property analysts, the letter from Swire to the tenants is an admission it intends to tear down the building.

 Government plot-ratio guidelines would allow Swire to treble office space after redevelopment, said one analyst.

 It could replace the existing medium-rise, 211,480-square-foot building with a high-rise commercial complex.

 Swire previously received approval to build a 33-storey, 650,150 sq ft tower above 56,263 sq ft of retail space on the site.

 Simon Smith, research director with First Pacific Davies, said the timing of the plans was strange, considering the state of the market.

 He and other property analysts said the decision probably was affected by the depressed market and the possibility of negotiating a substantial discount on land premiums.

 Other property analysts agreed, saying that now was a good time to tear down the 18-year-old building.

 'They would have to negotiate a premium with the Government and it would be lower due to the depressed nature of the market,' said one analyst.

 However, others wondered how long Swire would take to demolish the site.

 They said the firm had more pressing matters in Taikoo Shing than the redevelopment of Mount Parker House.

 The company is still negotiating the land premium for a residential redevelopment on a Taikoo Valley site.



Tenants raise new queries on Swire plan for Mount Parker House