Hong Kong developer Swire Properties to launch Eight Star Street residential project after acquiring prime Wan Chai site over 15 years
- Company among major developers actively building up land banks through the acquisition of old buildings amid a limited supply of fresh plots
- Units at 24-floor building, which will be marketed in October and November, have not been priced yet
Hong Kong developer Swire Properties said on Wednesday it will put its Eight Star Street residential project on sale in the fourth quarter this year at the earliest.
The site in Wan Chai, formerly known as 21-31 Wing Fung Street, is being redeveloped into a 24-floor, 34,000 sq ft residential building with retail outlets on two base levels. Work is in progress on its superstructure.
Swire Properties is among major developers in the city that are actively building up their land banks through the acquisition of old buildings for housing projects in urban areas amid a limited supply of fresh plots.
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“In some prime locations, where vacant sites are generally unavailable, site [combination] is likely to be the only way to acquire plots for redevelopment, which also helps speed up Hong Kong’s urban renewal process,” a spokesman said. But the acquisition of old buildings is not necessarily a cheaper alternative to land tenders, he added.
“Acquiring and developing old buildings can be a prolonged and complicated process. In this case, it took us over 15 years to unify the titles of the site,” the spokesman said.
The drawings for the redevelopment of old buildings in Wan Chai into two office blocks by Swire Properties were approved by the Buildings Department this year. Another of its projects involves the acquisition of an old building in Chai Wan, in the Eastern district of Hong Kong Island.