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Historic Kom Tong Hall is to be turned into a museum dedicated to the father of modern China, Sun Yat-sen, after the government bought the 90-year-old mansion for $53 million.

The deal, announced yesterday, marks a formal end to a marathon negotiations with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to ensure the building's preservation.

The government plans to spend $91 million converting the city's first steel-framed mansion, built by tycoon Ho Kom-tong, in Castle Road into a long-awaited Dr Sun museum, which is expected to open in November 2006 to commemorate his 140th birthday.

Bamboo scaffolding, in place since the church first successfully applied to demolish the mansion, was pulled down yesterday.

After the signing  of a letter of intent,  Secretary for Home Affairs Patrick Ho Chi-ping  hailed the mansion as the best-preserved building in Hong Kong and said  it would be declared a monument as soon as possible.

Its  grade-two listing means it is not protected by the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance.

The government stepped in to offer compensation to the church for preserving the building in November 2002 after local residents and Central and Western District councillors  launched a protest when the demolition  plan came to light.

The church bought the 9,000 sqft house from the Cheng family for $920,000 in 1960. The Chengs bought it from the Ho family in 1959. Dr Ho said the government was buying the property because it wanted to turn it into a museum, so it would not set a precedent on future handling of historic buildings.

He said the mansion was ideal for a museum as it was close to the Sun Yat-sen Historical Trail. Dr Ho said Sun and Ho Kom-tong were both born in 1866 and attended the Central School in 1886. 'They may have known each other,' he said.

Joseph Ting Sun-pao, chief curator of the Hong Kong Museum of History, said that besides exhibits on Sun, they might dedicate one room to Kom Tong Hall's history.

Ho Kom-tong's descendants welcomed the decision. Ho Hung-to, 86, the eldest grandson, who lived in the mansion for 40 years, said   his wish had come true.

Andrew Tse, Ho Kom-tong's great-grandson, said he hoped part of the museum could be used to  honour the Ho family history.

The church plans to open the mansion to the public next month  before handing it over to the government. It is constructing a 13-storey building on Gloucester Road in Wan Chai for worship and administrative offices.



Rescued hall to house Sun museum