When the Eastern Harbour Tunnel was completed in 1989, developer Cheung Kong (Holdings) was quick to see the residential possibilities. And thanks to the MTR, it was easy to move daily commuters to and from Kowloon. Residential space was drip-fed on to the market from 1991.

If it is easy city living you are after, this middle-class estate has a lot to offer. Shopping and dining facilities are extensive, with most big Hong Kong names represented. There is also a proliferation of kindergartens, with older students usually travelling further afield by school bus.

Cheung Kong has added plenty of green touches, with Japanese gardens, small trees and pot plants adorning outside spaces. The Laguna Park, donated by the developer at a cost of HK$30 million, also provides a pleasant green lung.

Beyond the park and across the Kwun Tong bypass, some manufacturing buildings are being converted for industrial-office use, raising the tone of the neighbourhood.

'Tenants here are lawyers, accountants, teachers and business people. There are also a lot of doctors and nurses because we are close to the United [Christian] Hospital,' said Clement Choi, Centaline branch manager for Laguna City, phase one. 'When [Laguna City] phases one and two were first completed, they attracted people from East Kowloon where the units are older.'

According to Mr Choi, about 80 per cent of residents are Chinese families. There are small Indian, Korean and Japanese populations, and a handful of Westerners.

Phase one of Laguna City was completed in 1991 and three years later the final phase was put on the market. The complex comprises 8,400 units and each block rises 27 or 28 floors. Each unit, measuring 639 to 900 square feet, has two to three bedrooms. Rents range between HK$9,000 and HK$14,000 per month, while sales prices are well below their highs at HK$2,900 to HK$3,500 per square foot.

Facilities are modern and extensive. Phase three has a clubhouse, while the other phases share a larger venue. Sports options include volleyball, squash, tennis and swimming. There is even a full-size snooker table. A stocked reading room gives access to newspapers and magazines, while a Chinese restaurant serves set meals for HK$13 per person.

Management fees are relatively low at HK$1 per square foot, or about HK$600 to HK$900 per month.

Cheung Kong exploited a legal loophole in calculating gross floor area with the use of bay windows in the units. The window space is exempt from square-footage calculations when applying for government approval, but can be included when the apartments are put on the market. The apartments appear bigger, and the price per square foot lower.

Mirrors are used in many units on the walls above the marble-topped bay windows, reflecting sea views and increasing the sense of space. Diamond-shaped living rooms increase privacy as neighbouring apartments remain concealed by clever positioning of windows.

When phase four was completed in 1994, it was the first development in Hong Kong to include fridges, washing machines and gas stoves. All units have modern bathrooms with baths and shower fixtures.

Flat D, on the seventh floor of Block 23 in phase four, is available for rent at HK$15,000 a month. The unit has 2.5 rooms, the third being too small to be considered a full room. Wood-panelling gives a warm and natural feel, in contrast to the slightly kitsch green tiles in the lift. There is a sweeping view of the harbour, although cranes and bulldozers on the waterfront below add an industrial touch. The main bedroom looks out on the tennis courts and swimming pool. The unit's proximity to busy Wai Yip Street makes it fairly noisy during the day.

A unit in phase four, Block 20, recently sold for HK$3.8 million, or about HK$4,000 per square foot, raising agents' hopes for better prices in the area.

Flat F, on the 16th floor of Block One, is on the market for HK$2 million. It faces south and east, enhancing its fung shui value, and offers a view of the sea and swimming pool.

Sceneway Garden, a joint venture between Cheung Kong and Kumagai Gumi completed between 1991 and 1992, comprises 4,000 units. The complex, adjacent to the Lam Tin MTR Station, has attracted those relocating from Quarry Bay and North Point. Residents are spared the short bus trip to Laguna City, cutting commuting time.

Rentals range from HK$10,000 to HK$17,000. Sea view apartments are selling for between HK$1.9 million and HK$3 million, or HK$3,200 to HK$3,800 per square foot. Those with garden views are slightly cheaper.

'Prices are down 55 per cent from their peak in 1997,' said Mr Choi. 'The most expensive unit then was about HK$10,000 per square foot. The best unit with a sea view will fetch only about HK$3,500 per square foot now.

'We are back at levels last seen in 1991 and 1992. The developer paid HK$1,800 per square foot to build here. With some prices below HK$3,000 per square foot now, it is very cheap.'

About 200 units are on the market in Laguna City and about 100 in Sceneway Garden. Parking spaces can be rented at between HK$3,000 and HK$3,500 per month, or bought for HK$400,000 to HK$450,000.

Le Corbusier critics will bemoan the stylised approach, but there must be plenty of variety behind all those closed doors.

Next week: Stubbs Road

Graphic: LAMTINgwz