Enter those who dare: Old Dairy project may get tough

A dilapidated building that qualifies as ancient by Hong Kong standards could prove a daunting restoration job for whoever gets to take on the Old Dairy Farm Senior Staff Quarters as part of a project to revitalise historic buildings.

Several non-profit groups are jostling to be granted the right to take over the 126-year-old building, but government inspections of the grade-one historic building have found that 30 years of being left abandoned have inevitably taken their toll.

The broken windows, weed-strewn garden and overgrown trees are the least of the worries. Inside, there is a much bigger problem. And while its heritage status gives the staff quarters no actual protection, whoever takes over the building would be expected to preserve the original features.

The main concern is the wooden first-storey floor, which has been ruled unsafe. It will need to be strengthened with a series of steel beams placed underneath.

More than 100 planks will have to be removed for anti- termite and damp-proof treatment, and then reinstalled.

However, the technical adviser of the Commissioner for Heritage's Office, Terence Lo Chung-man, yesterday sounded an optimistic note.