Sitting vacant on the Central harbourfront since 1997, the Tamar site has been a makeshift venue for car parking, open-air concerts and commercial exhibitions over the past eight years.
But there are signs that it will soon become a battlefield between the government and business, environmental and political groups.
With the next policy address drawing near, Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen is under pressure to thwart plans for the site to become the new government headquarters.
The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong has stepped up lobbying for an alternative plan to locate the new headquarters at the old Kai Tak airport site.
Influential business figures have also spoken out against the idea of relocating the government headquarters near the heart of the business and financial centre.
Meanwhile, environmental groups are moving to fight for the return of the harbourfront site to the people by rezoning it as an open space, such as a public garden.