Conduit Road residents force sale under new rule

A 50-year-old residential block in Conduit Road, Mid-Levels, will be offered for tender under the compulsory sale threshold that was lowered to speed up the redevelopment of old properties.

Property consultant Knight Frank has been appointed to handle the sale on behalf of a group of occupants who together hold more than 80 per cent of the 144 flats in Arts Mansion. The tender closes on March 31.

The block of owners wanting to sell is large enough to trigger the compulsory sale rule. The threshold to force the sale of a flat that is at least 50 years old was lowered to 80 per cent of a building's flats from 90 per cent in a ruling that came into effect on April 1 last year.

Located at 31 Conduit Road, the 12-storey building could be redeveloped into a 245-metre block with a potential gross floor area of 150,000 sq ft, according to Knight Frank. Since the supply of luxury residential sites on Hong Kong Island is limited, it estimates the land value could reach HK$15,000 per square foot.

With a total gross floor area of 150,000 sq ft, the site would therefore generate a value of HK$2.25 billion.

In September last year, Henderson Land said it sold a flat in its development at 39 Conduit Road for HK$60,000 per square foot.

Riding on the explosive growth in demand and prices in the top end of the sector, developers have been paying aggressive prices for sites in prestigious locations.