New Kowloon Tong residential plot could fetch up to HK$16.6 billion after tender draws strong response

A residential site in Kowloon Tong that might become Kowloon’s priciest piece of land per square foot drew a strong response from 10 developers before a deadline for submitting bids closed at noon on Friday, according to the Lands Department.

The lot, at the junction of Lion Rock Tunnel Road and Lung Cheung Road, has a site area of about 121,228 sq ft (1.13 hectares) and is expected to fetch between HK$10 billion (US$1.28 billion) and HK$16.6 billion, or between HK$24,000 and HK$38,000 per square foot of gross floor area, according to property consultants.

Because of a plot ratio of 3.6 times, or total gross floor area of 436,417 sq ft, and the area’s prestige, the new site is expected to be developed as a mid-density luxury housing property of 680 flats, according to documents by the Kowloon City District Council.

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“The project will consist of low-rise terrace houses together with mid to high-rise flats,” said Thomas Lam, the head of valuation and consultancy at property consultancy Knight Frank.

Lam said the land price could range from HK$10.3 billion to HK$10.8 billion, or HK$24,000 to HK$25,000 per square foot. He said the winning developer will have to offer the apartments built on the site starting at HK$38,000 per square foot to generate a reasonable profit.

Vincent Cheung, deputy managing director for Asia valuations and advisory services at Colliers International, however, said the land could cost between HK$15.3 billion to HK$16.6 billion, or HK$35,000 to HK$38,000 per square foot of total gross floor area, because of short supply in the area.

The Kowloon Tong site mainly drew bids from big developers such as CK Asset Holdings, Kerry Properties, Henderson Land Development, Wheelock Properties, K. Wah Group, Great Eagle Holdings and a consortium of New World Development, China Overseas, Sino Land and Far East Consortium International.

The current record for the highest land price per square foot in Kowloon is held by a residential site on Lung Cheung Road on Beacon Hill, measuring 235,182 sq ft. Kerry Properties in October 2016 won it for HK$7.3 billion, or HK$21,016 per square foot of total gross floor area.

Environmental charity Green Sense had submitted a comment to the Town Planning Board in July opposing the conversion of the land from green belt to residential use, saying noise pollution from the tunnel made the site unsuitable for residential use.