Manhattan Realty wins site in Kowloon
Manhattan Realty has beaten Eversky Corp with a HK$128.3 million bid for an industrial-office site in Kowloon Bay at a government tender.
The textile manufacturer and property developer plans to spend HK$1 billion on the development.
Politician James Tien Pei-chun, part owner of Manhattan Realty, said many medium and small-size corporations were looking for offices in non-central areas and 'the industrial-office development is to tap such potential tenants in the next five years'.
Mr Tien expected average monthly rentals at the project to be between HK$8 to HK$9 per square foot. The 58,987 square feet in Sheung Yee Road can provide a gross floor area of 707,853 sq ft. The awarded price represented an accommodation price of HK$181 per square foot.
Midland Surveyors director Tony Chan Tung-ngok said the price was within market expectations.
It was the first industrial-office site the Government has sold in two years. The last one was a 20,333 sq ft site, also in Kowloon Bay, bought by Kerry Properties in June 1998 for HK$46.8 million, representing an accommodation value of HK$192 per square foot.
Manhattan Realty has been involved in residential ventures with other developers. It has a 10 per cent stake in a joint development of a luxury residential site in King's Park Rise. In June, a consortium led by New World Development and Sino Land paid HK$2.5 billion for the site. The Government has three more industrial-office sites, all in Kowloon Bay, on the application list.
