Turn Tamar into a venue for the people

For nearly 10 years, the Tamar site in Admiralty has been largely idle. The prime piece of real estate overlooking the harbour was once the base for the British navy, which began moving out in 1993. Since then it has served as carnival grounds and the home of temporary exhibitions. Often it has been a parking lot and one of the great eyesores on the road between Wan Chai and Central. Sometimes it has been in the limelight - as the site of the last governor's departure in 1997 and, more recently, as the stage for the much-debated Harbour Fest.

For much of this time, the spot was reserved for a HK$4.68 billion government headquarters, including offices for legislators. Now that the government has put those plans on hold indefinitely because of budgetary constraints, we should seize the opportunity to think creatively about what this site can and should be. Perhaps it is even time for an open planning competition that would allow architects, designers and the general public to come forward with their own visions for Tamar.

If the recent controversies over reclamation of land in areas adjacent to Tamar are anything to go by, the public preference will probably be to reserve the land for public use, as parks, concert venues and the like. The site, even without further reclamation, is generous enough to combine several public functions. One study, commissioned several years ago by the Civic Exchange think-tank, proposed an open-air theatre, marina and floating casino, as well as a seaside plaza. Hong Kong could even take Sydney as a model, where the Darling Harbour foreshore is a tourist attraction that combines park land, restaurants, shops and convention and exhibition space. Or perhaps a grand public square such as Tiananmen in Beijing, which draws millions of visitors each year, locals and tourists alike.

As for the government's need for new office space, it is perhaps time to consider one or more centres in Hong Kong's other business districts, including in the New Territories. The government offices now housed in Admiralty and Central, including those for the Legislative Council, date to a time when Hong Kong island and the Kowloon peninsula were the economic and physical heart of the city. Now that development and population have been diffused to new towns further north, it would make sense for at least some of the bureaucracy also to move there. New space could also be built or leased more economically in these areas, which are all linked to the city centre by rail and road. For branches of government that may still require accommodation in Central, there are plenty of options to choose from, thanks to a glut in commercial property.

The government has said it still plans to develop offices at Tamar when economic conditions improve. A far better option would be to return Tamar to the public.