Looking to the future
Kai Tak has been earmarked as a huge multidimensional development next to Victoria Harbour since the airport relocated in Chek Lap Kok in 1998.
There will be a new central business district with more than 20 million sq ft of office space. The first block of the Kai Tak government offices with about 540,000 sq ft of gross floor area is expected to be completed in 2013. Eleven government departments will eventually be there.
The 17km Sha Tin to Central Link will bring the MTR network to the development's doorstep and stimulate the redevelopment of To Kwa Wan and Kowloon City. It will have 11 stations, developed in two phases, running from Tai Wai via Diamond Hill and Kai Tak to Ho Man Tin, Hung Hom, Admiralty and Central. The first phase is due to be operational by 2018.
The Kai Tak projects are breathing new life into surrounding neighbourhoods, such as Wong Tai Sin, San Po Kong, Kowloon City and Kwun Tong.
'Demand for quality residential properties has been growing in Kowloon East with home prices reaching new highs in recent years,' says Angela Kwok, sales director of Midland Realty.
One of the largest new projects is Lions Rise by Kerry Properties, with five towers providing 968 units. A 1,263 sq ft unit sold for HK$18.54 million or HK$14,700 per sq ft last month.
'The most sought-after units are those of 700 to 1,000 sq ft. About 70 per cent of buyers are local people and the remaining 30 per cent come from overseas and the mainland. The future Kowloon East development adds to the appeal of Lions Rise,' says a Kerry Properties spokesman.
Sun Hung Kai Properties has completed its Aria project in Ngau Chi Wan and The Latitude in San Po Kong. A 3,152 sq ft unit at Aria changed hands for HK$43 million or HK$13,600 per sq ft in March.
Other large-scale projects include Henderson Land's Grand Waterfront, which faces the old airport runway. There are also Cheung Kong's Sky Tower and Chinachem Group's Le Billionnaire, and Billionnaire Royale in Kowloon City.
