Towering IFC redefines life in the city centre
The International Finance Centre (IFC) at No1 Harbour Road is redefining Central, extending its boundaries northward and linking it intimately with the waterfront. World-class facilities with stunning harbour views combine to create one of the top places to live, work and play in Hong Kong.
A joint venture between Sun Hung Kai Properties, Henderson Land Development, Hong Kong & China Gas and Sun Chung Estate, IFC comprises three key components: two premier offices towers, a three-level shopping mall and what developers promise will be the territory's first six-star hotel. Included are 1,800 parking spaces.
The massive complex is accessible by the Airport Express, the MTR, ferries to the outlying islands, buses, minibuses and taxis, footbridges to Central and Western, and Asia's longest escalator connection to the Mid-Levels.
'You can walk all the way to Lan Kwai Fong without getting your feet wet,' said Simon Smith, senior director of research, FPD Savills, an international property consultant.
But what is most impressive is project's scale. With 4.7 million square feet, it is just short of Hongkong Land's core central portfolio. One IFC, which opened in 1998, has 800,000 square feet, more than 90 per cent of which is occupied.
At 420 metres, Two IFC is Hong Kong's tallest building and one of the world's tallest. It has two million square feet in 88 storeys.
Already 50 per cent occupied, it has signed key tenants such as the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, which has bought the top 14 floors; Nomura International (Hong Kong), with three floors; and The Financial Times, with 10,000 sq ft. Of the remaining half, more than 50 per cent is under negotiation.
Internationally acclaimed architect Cesar Pelli designed the building with ceilings 2.7 metres to 3.3 metres high and a raised floor system that allows flexible cable management. Twenty-two of the floors have been designated as trading floors. The average floor plate is more than 23,000 sq ft, providing a virtually column-free space. Other features include advanced passenger and service lifts, flexible air-conditioning, dual power supply and comprehensive communications and information technology infrastructure.
'It has got the endorsement of the financial institutions,' said Christopher Marriott, deputy-managing director, FPD Savills. 'It is a world-class building with an international image. The technical support in terms of normal and emergency power supplies is second to none.'
The IFC Mall, which promises to be one of the Hong Kong's prime shopping and entertainment destinations, has been developed in two stages. The first 180,000 sq ft opened in 1998. Another 620,000 sqft comes on stream this month. A host of brand names will be represented, along with indoor and outdoor dining, a gourmet supermarket and the first multiplex cinema in Central.
Airline city check-in counters are conveniently located on the ground floor. The retail podium is topped with a 140,000 sq ft landscaped garden. 'It has been designed to be a living community,' Mr Marriott said. 'We have tried to blend retail with pleasure.'
On the western edge of the site will be the Four Seasons Hotel and Suites. Under construction, it is scheduled for completion late next year. The 1.1 million sq ft complex will contain 400 hotel rooms and 600 serviced apartments.
The first Four Seasons property to be opened in Hong Kong, it will offer one of the world's most luxurious health spas and the largest ballroom on Hong Kong Island.
'People are starting to realise the impact [this project] is having on Central,' Mr Marriott said. 'It is unusual for that amount of land to become available in that type of location ... an office population of 50,000 people [are] within a two-minute walk of the retail centre.'
