A 40-year-old building is up for redevelopment, but the authorities will have to evict one retro-minded owner first.
Dare Koslow is fighting to save his Staunton Street apartment. Occupying one floor of a five-storey walk-up, the 1,500 sq ft character-filled flat is in a building the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) has targeted for redevelopment. But the former New York-based marketing director is determined to halt its plan to erase a chapter of the city's past. 'The URA made an offer but for me it's not about the money,' he says. 'It's about maintaining this building because it has aesthetic value and is tied to Hong Kong's history.'
One flat that had been split in two, Koslow's 40-year-plus apartment was returned to its original size when, together with design partner Andrew Bell of Earth Home (shop C2, LG/F, Po Lung Building, 89 Hollywood Road, Central, tel: 2547 0101), he saw the benefits of removing the separating wall and amalgamating the two sides. The property had been intended for the rental market but when Koslow realised it was under threat, he made it home. 'I thought, 'Why assume the risk with tenants.''
Despite the apartment's uncertain future, few expenses have been spared in its conversion from what Koslow describes as 'a couple of rabbit-warren spaces' into one loft-like expanse accommodating two cosy bedrooms, Chinese antiques and a kitchen with Sub-Zero and Viking appliances.
An outstanding feature, and a trademark of Koslow and Bell, are the 1920s-style windows. 'I see them in buildings in varying degrees of disrepair,' says Koslow, who, since moving to Hong Kong in 1995, has bought and restored 18 apartments, all of them in old buildings. 'They are such a striking contrast to the drab aluminium-frame windows you see everywhere.'
The rectangular flat, overlooking the police married quarters building, is blessed with windows on three sides, the longest bank of which faces the entrance. To preserve and enhance its rustic look, Koslow kept the original wooden main door from one of the apartments and, for security, installed Chinese faux-antique iron sliding doors (see Tried & Tested) in front of it.
