Hutchison Whampoa has utilised the exclusion of curtain wall space in the calculation of gross floor area to gain extra retail space at Cheung Kong Centre in Central.
A Hutchison spokesman said approval had been secured from the Buildings Department to use the extra lettable area of about 7,000 square feet in the basement of Cheung Kong Centre for retailing.
Construction would commence in the middle of next year and finish by year-end, she said.
Because of the gross floor area relaxation by the Government in 1998, Hutchison reportedly had planned to build two extra floors on Cheung Kong Centre but in the latest plan shown by the Buildings Department this was changed to one retail floor underground.
Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) also has received Buildings Department approval for a revised plan for a luxury residential development on The Peak in a move to provide a better mix of units.
The site, on eight to 16 Severn Road, will be for construction of 22 low-rise houses, including 12 two-storey units plus one carport level, and 10 three-storey units over one carport level.
