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Peggy Sito

Conservationists accused of double standards over demolition plan for an 81-year-old Italian-style home

If it is not one historic Hong Kong building under threat of demolition, it is another.

Six months after King Yin Lei mansion, a distinctive 69-year-old Chinese-style home in Stubbs Road, was  withdrawn from sale under pressure by conservationists, an 81-year-old Italian-style house in Wan Chai is due to be torn down.

The difference this time is that there has not been even a squeak of protest - not from the public or from conservationists.

The historic three-storey building at 64 Kennedy Road - owned by the descendents of the late Ngan Shing-kwan, founder of China Motor Bus - is set to be replaced by two 15-storey housing blocks on top of a four-level podium.

The proposed buildings will provide a total gross floor area of about 140,000 sq ft.

The Buildings Department granted the developer approval at the end of last month to redevelop the site, which means the last government hurdle to demolishing the mansion has been cleared.

The Ngan family was unavailable for comment yesterday.

The lack of a reaction to the prospect of another historic Hong Kong home falling under the demolition hammer has prompted an accusation of double standards from the sales agent for the King Yin Lei mansion, CB Richard Ellis executive director Henry Lam Wai-hon.

'Why did [the conservationists] raise strong opposition to the redevelopment potential of King Yin Lei but have not criticised this [Wan Chai building] case?' he asked. 'I have no idea where they draw the line.'

Owner Stephen Yow Mok-shing put King Yin Lei mansion up for sale in April, immediately prompting the Antiquities Advisory Board, the Conservancy Association and the Wan Chai District Council to launch campaigns to save it.

The mansion has a grandstand view over Happy Valley and has featured in a couple of famous movies - Soldier of Fortune (1955), starring Clark Gable, and Love is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955) with William Holden.

The conservation group collected signatures urging Mr Yow to preserve the 25,000 sq ft  house and sent a letter to  Secretary for Home Affairs Patrick Ho Chi-ping asking him to consider declaring it a monument.

Mr Yow did not comment on why the planned redevelopment of the Wan Chai property had not drawn the criticism of conservationists, other than to say the Ngan family had better luck.

'The [Wan Chai] building is even older than mine,' he said.

Mr Yow also said the location of the property, hidden behind big trees, had helped the owner.

'[Unlike our house], it is not located on a main road. This has helped it escape public attention,' he said.

The historical value of the Wan Chai building, built in about 1924, has been recognised by the Antiquities and Monuments Office but it has not been declared a monument.

'We had discussed the building a few months ago,' said former Antiquities Advisory Board member Tang Siu-tong.

Conservationists said the building's historical significance was reflected in its Italian Renaissance style and features such as Doric columns and an art deco-style motif on its balcony railings.

The chief executive of the Convervancy Association, Lister Cheung Lai-ping, said efforts had been made to save the building.

'Over the past few years we did try to persuade the owner but did not make any progress.'

The redevelopment plan for the building was first approved by the Town Planning Board in February 2003.

Ms Cheung said the association had not launched an aggressive effort recently to save the Wan Chai property partly because of changes in the social and political environment in the city.

There had been suggestions, following the Hunghom Peninsula debacle, that environmental protection parties were abusing their power, she said.

'We do not want to deliver such a message to the public. But we cannot do much in the Wan Chai case. We should respect the law.'

Last month, developers of Hunghom Peninsula shelved plans to demolish the  housing estate  to make way for a private luxury flats project after an outcry from environmentalists.

64 Kennedy Road

AGE OF PROPERTY: 81 years

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN:

Italian Renaissance with Doric columns and an art deco style motif on its balcony railings

FUTURE:To be demolished to make way for two high-rise blocks

45 Stubbs Road

AGE OF PROPERTY: 69 years

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN:Chinese style, high-ceilinged, three-storey, red-brick mansion

FUTURE: Sale plan on hold



Silence as another historic treasure faces wrecker's ball