Developers see a future in small-scale, single-block projects
Serviced apartments in Hong Kong have undergone rapid changes in the past decade, with small-scale projects emerging to meet customer requirements.
The trend to go for single-block developments with less comprehensive facilities continues as small developers and landlords convert residential and commercial buildings into serviced flats.
A typical example of converted projects in recent years is Shama Times Square, in Causeway Bay, which was originally designated as a commercial building. Another small-scale project is Ovolo in Central, which has 21 serviced units.
In the early days, serviced apartments in Hong Kong were usually incorporated into hotel or hotel-commercial developments. The first serviced apartment block in Hong Kong, New World Apartments, was completed in 1980 and incorporated in the New World Centre hotel-commercial complex in Tsim Sha Tsui.
About 10 years later, Pacific Place Apartments was completed as part of the Pacific Place complex in Admiralty. The Convention Plaza Apartments complex in Wan Chai is another example.