Sun Hung Kai Properties has reached agreement with the Lands Department to pay a HK$40 million premium for raising the building height at its luxury residential development in Po Shan Road, Mid-Levels.
The amount represents an accommodation value of HK$400 per square foot for the project, which can provide a gross floor area of 119,708 square feet.
According to the original lease, only a three-storey low-rise development could be built on the site.
The developer later successfully sought from the Town Planning Board a relaxation of the height restriction without changing the project's plot ratio or gross floor area. It received approval last year for plans to build 60 units in three, 13-storey luxury residential blocks on the 45,080 sq ft site.
But a Lands Department official said any alteration of the lease which would mean a change in the site's value might call for an extra land premium.
With its Mid-Levels location, most units in the project would enjoy better sea views by adding building height and hence their market value would rise, analysts said.
Sun Hung Kai Properties owns a 70 per cent stake in the Po Shan Road project, while E2-Capital, formerly known as Goodwill Investment (Holdings), holds the remaining 30 per cent.