The WKCD has hit more than a few roadblocks since 1996
1996 — In the halcyon colonial days of yore, the Hong Kong Tourism Board administers a survey that finds visitors believe the city lacks cultural opportunities.
2001 — Three more years pass before a worldwide design competition for the site is held. It invites submissions for plans to renovate the reclaimed land. Judges choose a huge canopy design by Norman Foster, the architect behind the HSBC building and Hong Kong Airport.
2001-2003 — Legislators say Foster stands to make almost HK$100 billion from the project and criticize Tung’s lack of transparency during the decision-making process, which they said ultimately led to having a single property developer responsible for constructing the entire area. Foster’s is the only plan on the table, and as a result small developers complain they are shut out of the submission process, while other architects claim the area is devoid of clear artistic and urban planning goals.
2003 — The government opens up the process to submissions from any developer as long as the commercial and residential spaces they dream up are built around required facilities. These include: a big performance venue, three smaller theaters, a cluster of small museums, an art exhibition center, a water amphitheatre, at least four piazzas and a massive canopy. Three mega-property developers submit designs.