Tin Hau and Fortress Hill draw families to nearby schools and professionals to quiet retreats and short commutes

Fortress Hill and neighbouring Tin Hau are enjoying a construction boom of new residential buildings and shopping malls.

These neighbourhoods are not too far from the gleaming shopping centres of Causeway Bay, such as Sogo and Hysan Plaza.

Tin Hau is next to busy Causeway Bay and a quiet residential area with a combination of dong laus, high-rises built in the 1970s and 1980s, along with some new residential buildings that have propped up in recent years. The area has also attracted a number of garages since the late 1960s.

Local property agents say that Tin Hai and Fortress Hill’s leasing and sale markets have been active since early last year. They say young families with children like Tin Hau and even Fortress Hill because of the number of public and private schools there. Families living in the areas also send their young as far as to Island School, near Deep Water Bay, agents add.

Tin Hau is also totally residential and a world apart from Causeway Bay, but its proximity to Central’s business district also gives the area an edge, and professionals are willing to pay a premium when leasing or buying an apartment there, according to Tommy Chan, a property agent with Centaline Property Agency.

Young families are also attracted to the area’s proximity to Causeway Bay’s shopping, dining and entertainment attractions.

Some of Tin Hau’s more popular residential developments include The Pavilia Hill, Victoria Court, Grand Villa, and Magnolia Mansion. Leases in these developments vary from HK$44,000 per month for a 716 sq ft apartment to HK$63,000 per month for a 1,042 sq ft unit.