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Kenneth Ko

Eight high-rise concrete towers are going up in a straight line on the prestigeous Leighton Hill in Causeway Bay.

Neighbouring Caroline Hill and overlooking Happy Valley racecourse, the upmarket residential development being built by Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) will be a rare, new large-scale property.

According to the developer's project manager Clarence Ng, the project will comprise eight 31-storey blocks providing 550 apartments with a four-level car park.

All units had been designed and positioned in a way that would ensure they command a view of the racecourse, he said.

Mr Ng said the project, named after the area Leighton Hill, was on top of a hill surrounded by a green landscape, yet was within walking distance to shopping areas in Causeway Bay.

Its location presented the biggest challenge to construction, however, as the developer strove to build without affecting the surrounding landscape or trees, he said. The multitude of slopes made development works tougher.

Mr Ng said 90 per cent of the site retained the green, natural landscape that formed the development's inborn advantage.

Additional site formation costs were also necessary to fill the underground air-raid shelter in the Leighton Hill site, which formerly housed government quarters and was used as military barracks.

Mr Ng said these works inevitably increased the construction costs but he would not put an estimate on the total costs incurred, saying the expenses were still under calculation.

SHKP bought the 464,391- square-foot site for HK$3.61 billion at a government tender in April 1998. It can provide a total floor area of about 900,000 sq ft.

Sun Hung Kai Real Estate Agency deputy general manager Anita Chan said the development was being built reminiscent of a castle or a palace on a hill.

Initial plans intended the project to go on pre-sale in the third quarter of this year, with only half of the apartments for sale and the remainder for lease, she said. The company had yet to decide which blocks would be held for rental.

While it was too early to fix prices, Ms Chan said there was a limited supply of new flats in the area and the company had already received a number of inquiries from prospective buyers. In a bid to demonstrate the project's luxury feel and draw buyers, the developer is spending more than HK$50 million on a show-flat exhibition hall on the construction site.

The development, dubbed by SHKP as a 'third-generation' luxury residential property, will have a clubhouse of about 30,000 sq ft, and a further 70,000 sq ft of landscaped garden.

Mr Ng said it was difficult to find a project in the district with such a large clubhouse and facilities including swimming pools, a gymnasium, tennis court, badminton court and multi-function rooms.

The apartments measure from 1,250 sq ft for two-bedroom apartments to 2,400 sq ft four-bedroom apartments. There are two or three units each floor. Mr Ng said the two-bedroom units would cater to smaller-sized families or expatriates working in Hong Kong.

At the top of the two central towers will be combined units or duplex units, measuring about 5,000 sq ft each, for people looking for bigger accommodation.

Mr Ng said the number of combined units would be finalised later, depending on market demand, adding the developer had the flexibility to provide more if needed.

The top-level units would have balconies, while the units on the lowest floor have garden areas.

The two central towers would also be taller than the others as their units had a higher ceiling of 3.4 to 3.6 metres, compared with the standard 3.15 metres for the other blocks. Mr Ng said the units had an efficiency ratio of more than 80 per cent.

The project's hilltop position means the developer will build a driveway in Wong Nai Chung Road as an entrance, allowing vehicles to access the 550-space car park.

There is another entrance opening to Broadwood Road on the other side of the development. The project is due for completion in the second quarter of 2002.

Initial plans intend the project to go on pre-sale in the third quarter of this year 



Hilltop locale gives distinct advantage