CK Property wins last waterfront site at Lohas Park, regaining foothold for the first time in eight years

Cheung Kong Property Holdings grabbed more land in Lohas Park in Tseung Kwan O for the first time in eight years on Wednesday after it won the last waterfront site at the development.

CK Property said the total investment cost of Lohas Park phase eight would be HK$10 billion.

Asked if the big investment plan was in response to increasing criticism of the group's withdrawal from the city, Grace Woo, an executive director of CK Property, said: "Definitely not."

MTR Corp said Albany Investments, a subsidiary of CK Property, had won the contract for phase eight of Lohas Park.

The land premium for the site, which could yield a total gross floor area of 1.04 million sq ft, was HK$2.955 billion, or HK$2,830 per square foot - a record for Lohas Park.

"CK Property participated in the tender for the previous four phases but lost out to rivals," Centaline Professionals chief executive Victor Lai Kin-fai said. "It needed to be more aggressive if it wanted to return to the area, which has become more developed. More importantly, CK did not want to miss the chance of securing the last waterfront site at Lohas Park."

CK Property was the first developer to enter Lohas Park, in 2005.

After winning the phase one development, it later teamed up with Nan Fung Development to develop phases two and three in 2006 and 2007. It was involved in building 8,000 units in the first three phases.

The MTR did not roll out further land sales in the area until last year.

In the past two years, CK Property has been beaten by rivals in the tendering for phases four to seven.

The phase four development went to Sun Hung Kai Properties, phase five and seven to Wheelock Properties and phase six to Nan Fung.

Thomas Lam, the head of valuation and consultancy at property consultancy Knight Frank, said CK Property was more aggressive because there were not many large sites left along the railway line.

"Lohas Park will develop into a major housing estate, with a size similar to Taikoo Shing in the future," he said.

The eighth phase development will comprise no more than 1,430 flats in three towers on a site at Lohas Park MTR station. It is expected to be completed in 2021.

With the number of units capped at 1,430, the average size will be 730 sq ft in saleable area.

When completed, Lohas Park will comprise 13 phases, accommodating a population of 68,000 in 25,500 flats

Lam said the developer would need to offer the units for HK$11,000 to HK$12,000 per square foot when it was released for pre-sale. Units in the area currently go for HK$8,100 to HK$10,200 per square foot.