Hong Kong’s past meets its present as 90-year-old Pok Fu Lam mansion gets new lease of life as luxury flats

Restoring the 90-year-old Jessville Manor in Pok Fu Lam was always going to be a tough job. Converting it into four units suitable for contemporary living proved to be a completely different ball game.

“Restoring Jessville [Manor] was no easy feat and we have encountered a few challenges during the process,” Samsbury Investments, which owns the Italian Renaissance style home, told the Post. “Retaining and restoring as many of the existing materials as possible to keep the facade and interiors in their historic context required a lot of time and effort.”

The mansion was built by William Ngar Tse Thomas Tam, a barrister and magistrate, in 1929. His son William Nixon Thomas Tam Ching is a director of Samsbury, according to records with the Company Registry.

“This heritage mansion is a rare product in the market. It will definitely attract tenants if the interior fittings manage to meet a luxury standard,” said Koh Keng-sing, chief executive and founder of Landscope Christie’s International Real Estate.

When the four units, which range in size from 2,248 sq ft to 2,961 sq ft, will be available for leasing has yet to be decided, Samsbury said. Work on interiors was still under way, it added.

“The sourcing of replacement materials that are in keeping with the historic fabric, and the lack of skilled labour who are familiar with restoration practices, have made it difficult to speed up the restoration work,” the company said.