THE NORMALLY QUIET former-industrial district of Yau Tong burst into the forefront of local news late in October when an antiquated factory building - being demolished to make way for a new residential site - collapsed, killing six workers and injuring eight. That incident serves well to demonstrate two aspects of the area. Firstly, it is dominated by factories left behind after the local manufacturing industry packed up and moved across the border. 'Most of the area used to be factories and so it's not the most attractive place to live right now,' Centaline Property Agency's research senior manager Wong Leung-sing said. Most of the factories are empty, crumbling and scheduled for demolition to allow for residential redevelopment. There are few residences available for private home buyers in Yau Tong. Flats in the area are divided between public rental, and government-subsidised Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) homes. Should you feel the urge to move into the rather deserted district, one available option would be to buy in the second-hand market. Though be warned - the flats have neither top facilities, nor are they new. In the heart of Yau Tong's former industrial area, along Ka Wing Street, is the ageing Yau Tong Centre. Built more than 20 years ago, the ancient block's flats are in a low range both in terms of size and price. They range from 300 square feet to 600 sq ft in size and sell for about HK$1,500 to HK$1,600 per square foot. On the plus side, shops of various types are everywhere at street level. Centaline's Eric Wong Ho-sum believes things will improve as the upcoming Yau Tong MTR station swings into operation. An alternative is Ko Chun Court, on Pik Wan Road. Set along the hill side and closer inland, the flats here sell for about HK$1,400 per square foot, and range in size from 600 sq ft to 800 sq ft. Midland Realty sales manager Chris Lo Ka-ming said the five-year-old HOS estate is drastically different from Yau Tong Centre, as its location provides it with a more tranquil existence. While it used to overlook the bay, subsequent developments in the area have marred the view. On the other hand, if it is an unfettered view you are after then either Hong Pak Court or Hong Shui Court could be the answer. Both were built around two years ago, and also set in the hillier regions, they command a slight premium over Ko Chun Court - at HK$1,800 per square foot. Sizes here are similar to its five-year-old sibling. If prospects for the area sound grim, they should improve over the years as Yau Tong is set to change drastically. Changes include a long-term, large-scale redevelopment of the shipyards and industrial land in Yau Tong Bay - a stretch of area which again briefly became the centre of local attention way back in 1965 when a United States Marines C-130 crashed shortly after taking off from the Kai Tak airport, killing 59 soldiers. The large-scale redevelopment scheme in East Kowloon received preliminary planning approval in 1998, subject to a detailed environmental assessment being approved by the Environmental Protection Department. Developers, including local heavyweights Henderson Land, Wharf (Holdings), New World Development, Hang Lung Development and Shun Tak Holdings are proposing a total of 39 residential towers, providing more than 11 million sq ft of living space. Nearly 1.5 million sq ft of retail space would also be made available as part of present planning. Uncertainty surrounds the fate of some nearly completed developments in Yau Tong, many of them HOS flats. In September last year, facing a tough economic climate and tumbling property prices, the Government froze the sale of HOS flats for 10 months, under pressure from property developers who believed the subsidised residences crowded out private housing in the low-end market. Although statements made by Secretary for Housing Dominic Wong Shing-wah show the ban is expected to be lifted as scheduled, agents said the fate of the redeveloped flats was far from certain. 'With the nearly complete HOS flats, we really don't know what will happened to them, whether they will be converted to public housing or not, since the Government froze their sale last year,' said an agent from Centaline. In November, the Government announced that five sites, representing 13,700 flats originally intended to be sold under the HOS, were to be converted to private residential developments, including one site in Tseung Kwan O - next door to Yau Tong. Also, commuter routes to other parts of Hong Kong are set to improve before year's end. While options are limited to buses and minibuses at present, from mid-August - four months ahead of schedule - the 12.5km Tseung Kwan O MTR extension will run from Po Lam, via Yau Tong, across the Eastern Harbour Crossing to Quarry Bay and terminate at North Point. It will drastically shorten commuting time to other parts of Hong Kong. The new Yau Tong MTR station will be at the base of the partially redeveloped Yau Tong Estate, probably the biggest public-housing estate in the area. The indications are pointing to a modern and revitalised part of Hong Kong. But still, the future of the once-bustling district is uncertain. Next week: Sheung Shui Graphic: PRO03gwz
