Conservationists up in arms as owner plans to tear down Garden Building to make way for offices

Hong Kong’s conservationists are speaking out against plans by developers to raze the Sham Shui Po corporate headquarters of The Garden Company, the city’s first bakery and confectionery maker that traces its establishment to 1926.

The owner of the building plans to turn the site at 58 Castle Peak Road into a 25-storey commercial and office building, according to redevelopment applications submitted to Hong Kong’s Town Planning Board.

The structure is the latest to come under the wrecking ball, after a sale in May of the first piece of land in downtown Central in 20 years set a world price record for commercial real estate, spurring many Hong Kong landlords to redevelop their existing property to capitalise on soaring prices.

The Garden Company isn’t alone. The owners of the Crowne Plaza and Excelsior Hotel have submitted redevelopment plans to transform their properties into commercial offices in the hope of getting higher returns.

Many technical and planning issues need to be taken into account in the redevelopment of The Garden Building, said Thomas Lam, head of valuation at Knight Frank.

“The redevelopment project is not 100 per cent for offices. It will include areas for teaching or exhibition,” Lam said, estimating that the commercial portion of the project could be sold for between HK$12,000 to HK$15,000 per square foot, or be rented out for between HK$25 to HK$35 per sq ft every month.