Sheung Wan arts hub draws 300,000 people a month, management says after reports of few visitors
PMQ in Sheung Wan dismisses criticism of low turnout on weekdays
A year-old arts hub at the former police married quarters (PMQ) in Sheung Wan is drawing about 300,000 visitors a month, a number the hub management describes as "beyond expectations".
The renovated grade three historic building officially reopened in May last year as PMQ and now has about 100 tenants who are in the fields of fashion and product design, furniture, as well as other arts and crafts.
The tenants use their rented studios as both an office and a shop where they sell their own products.
Victor Tsang, executive director of PMQ Management, said the arts hub currently received 300,000 visitors each month. "Since our opening, four million people have visited. This is beyond all our expectations."
Before its rebirth as a home for the arts, the site provided residences for police officers and their families from 1951 to 2000. Celebrity residents included Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and his predecessor, Donald Tsang Yam-kuen.
In 2010, the building was given a heritage value of grade three - the lowest of three gradings by the Antiquities Advisory Board - and underwent renovation two years later.
Earlier reports had criticised PMQ for attracting few visitors on weekdays.