The New TST

Walk along Canton Road towards Salisbury Road and you’ll see a mock European-style square where there was once a forested slope. This is just one of many new renovation projects transforming the local character of Tsim Sha Tsui. The former Marine Police Headquarters is set to become a boutique hotel with an 80,000 square foot mall next door, while the bus terminal by the pier will be relocated, and the site turned into a public piazza. Meanwhile, we can expect yet more tall buildings as the height restrictions for structures in the area is relaxed. Here’s a brief look at the controversial projects about to permanently alter the area.

Currently: Former Marine Police Headquarters
Soon to be: A boutique hotel, giant mall and plaza

Built in 1884, the former Marine Police Headquarters is one of the oldest government buildings still standing. In 2003, property developer Cheung Kong won a bid for the site for $358 million, and then injected a further $1 billion into a purported conservation project for the declared monument brazenly named “1881 Heritage.” The main building was then renovated into a boutique hotel with just under 30 rooms. Meanwhile, the adjacent hill and the treed area occupying the rest of the grounds have been leveled and cleared to make way for a giant luxury mall and an open plaza. Only 23 of the original 192 trees currently remain.

Ng Cho-nam, a member of the Antiquities Advisory Board, says it’s a failed example of how to revitalize a heritage site. “The focus is wrong,” he says. “It should be on conserving heritage, not on business, but they’re simply using heritage to promote the latter.”

Albert Lai of the Professional Commons agrees, adding that the removal of the hill and the small wooded area has in turn removed much of the original character. “They’ve only preserved the building but they’ve forgotten about the rest of the historical setting. The landscape should also be considered an important part of any heritage site.”

The new project was scheduled to open in April 2008, but has now been postponed until October this year. Even though a lot of renovation hasn’t been completed, there are guided tours for the public on offer everyday, a measure legislator Lee Wing-tat believes is a means of avoiding fines for the delay of the opening.

Even when the opening does happen, it’s still unknown how much space will be accessible to the general public, particularly in the hotel. “It’s not good if only customers will be able to enjoy the heritage,” says legislator Alan Leong. Cheung Kong Holdings refused to comment on the issue of balancing heritage conservation with business activities, or on what areas will be open to the public.

Currently: Star Ferry bus terminal
Soon to be: Public piazza

In service since 1921, the bus terminal next to Star Ferry may soon be gone. Expected to be relocated to the new public transport interchange in Tsim Sha Tsui East, it will be replaced by a public piazza in 2012. Local activists say this will not only mean a loss of convenience, but also the loss of an important part of our collective memory.