The cheapest rent in Hong Kong: 14th floor of old industrial building in Yau Tong offered for HK$3.60 a square foot

Significant falls in rents for old industrial buildings could open up a new front for indoor wargame enthusiasts in Hong Kong’s urban jungle.

A case in point is the 30-year-old Wing Shan Industrial Building in Yau Tong, which is being offered at a monthly rent believed to be the city’s cheapest in per square foot terms, according to Midland Realty.

The 13,971 sq ft 14th floor of the building, about 10 minutes’ walk from Yau Tong MTR station, is being offered at a monthly rent of just HK$3.60 per square foot.

“The rent will inclusive of management fee, government rents and rates. It should be the lowest rent for an industrial space in the urban area,” said Simon Chan, a senior sales manager at property agent Midland Realty IC & I, which focuses on brokering commercial and industrial property and shops in Hong Kong.

The low rent is largely because the building’s elevator only reaches the 13th floor, meaning the tenant would need to walk up to the 14th.

“It will be handed over to the potential tenant in the shape of bare shell,” Chan said. “The tenant may need to spend an extra HK$100,000 for interior fitting such as painting the wall and replacing the flooring.”

Chan said the floor would be good venue for an indoor wargame operator that needed space but not fancy decoration.

Although the property is old, he said it would be hard to get such big floor plate for just over HK$50,000 a month.

The overall rent for industrial spaces in the area was HK$8.50 per square foot, he said.

Chan said the floor would also suitable for start-up companies, a photography studio or art workshop.

“The building is open round the clock, and the tenant can maximise the opening hours to generate more business,” he said.

In order to generate leasing interest, he said the landlord had cut the asking rent by 28 per cent from HK$5 per square foot.

The landlord previously used the floor for his own storage purposes, Chan said.

The supply of industrial spaces in Yau Tong was limited, he said, given an increasing number industrial buildings have been torn down to make way for redevelopment as modern industrial/office spaces in order to generate higher rental income.

A growing number of landlords have applied for government approval to convert their industrial buildings into shopping malls, with Laws Group now offering its latest industrial building turned shopping mall, D2 Place Two in Lai Chi Kok, for lease.