HONG KONG: A luxury residential site in Kowloon Tong and a commercial plot in Sha Tin worth a combined HK$2.2 billion (RM904.64 million) were triggered for sale last Friday, July 23.

The Lands Department announced it had accepted a developer's minimum guaranteed bid of HK$659 million for the site at 1 Ede Road in Kowloon Tong.

The site will be offered for sale on Aug 31.

It is the fourth luxury residential site put up for sale in two months.

As the site is located in a luxury residential area, Knight Frank executive director Alnwick Chan Chi-hing estimated that it was worth HK$1.046 billion, or about HK$13,500 per square foot.

"Property prices could reach more than HK$18,000 per square foot when the project is launched in the market," he said.

He believes the strong sales of the new luxury projects such as the Larvotto in Ap Lei Chau and The Hermitage in Tai Kok Tsui have encouraged developers to trigger more luxury sites for sale recently.

The 25,823 sqft plot was formerly the site of government staff quarters. It could provide a gross floor area of 77,469 sqft. The Lands Department has imposed a building height restriction. The buildings on the site cannot exceed 13 storeys.

The commercial site triggered for sale is located at the junction of On Yiu Street, On Kwan Street and On Lai Street in Sha Tin's Shek Mun industrial district. Although the site was removed from the list of those for which bids are invited this year, a spokesman for the Lands Department said the government had received strong interest from a developer in the plot.

The site will be put up for tender on Aug 13 until Sept 17. The site measures 91,849 sqft and a commercial project, though not a hotel, could be built on it with gross floor area of 459,246 sqft. The building height is limited to 115 metres.

James Siu, a director at property agency Savills, estimated the site was worth HK$918 million to HK$1.15 billion. That translated into HK$2,000 to HK$2,500 per square foot of gross floor area. — South China Morning Post
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