Wheelock Properties has submitted an application for a minor relaxation of plot-ratio restriction from 0.5 to 0.55 for the proposed redevelopment of a residential property located at 77 Peak Road (also known as Dodwell Mansions). Currently standing on the site is a “Colonial style low-rise luxury building” containing 12 units of size 2,391 sqft or 2,734 sqft.

The increase in plot ratio is purported to be part of an exchange with the Government for giving up a portion of the lot to permit increasing the road width upon redevelopment.

13 Big Wave Bay Road

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13 Big Wave Bay Road

The new owner has applied for planning permission (A/H18/66) and some of the proposed layouts and landscaping are below.

PPIL is owned by Swire Properties who is also the developer and owner of nearby Pacific Place 1, 2 and 3 as well as the residential development Star Crest. Swire also purchased the old Tai Sang Bank Building for redevelopment, which is currently underway. According to the Application for planning permission, the total GFA of the development will be 6,037sqm with a plot ratio of 15. Office floor area will be 236 sqm each and run from the 2/F to the 25/F.

According to the 2010 Annual Report (pdf) of NEHL “The project is at the planning, design and government submission stage and the Joint Venture targets to complete the project by 2013.”

This existing site plan shows the current single dwelling. The planning and government submission stage includes applying for planning permission to relax the maximum site coverage from 22.5% to 33%. The relaxed site coverage would permit the development of the two individual houses as shown in the concept pictures.

Land search
As we’ve written about before, transactions are recorded in the Land Registry and are listed against the property they relate to. Our first stop is the Land Registry’s IRIS land search website to pay $10 for a land search on the unit.

After a brief search we can see the unit we are interested in:

Let’s take the first property in the list, with Property reference number: D1542132
Address:
DUPLEX FLAT A ON 45TH FLOOR (ALSO KNOWN AS 68TH FLOOR) (LOWER AND UPPER) WITH BALCONY, UTILITY PLATFORM, AIR-CONDITIONING PLANT ROOM AND FLAT ROOF “39 CONDUIT ROAD” NO.39 CONDUIT ROAD HONG KONG

We can purchase and download this search for $10. The first section of the land search document is entitled “Owner Particulars” which shows the current owner(s) of the property:

The current owners are listed as CARRY EXPRESS INVESTMENT LIMITED and NATION SHEEN LIMITED. They own the property as tenants in common in shares of 6,075/10,000 and 3,925/10,000 respectively (a 60.75% : 39.25% split).

The most recent transaction, which is recorded at the very bottom of the document, is an “Agreement for Sale and Purchase with Plans”.

Transaction details of the Sale and Purchase are:
Memorial No.: 09111102590279
Consideration price: $438,942,300.00
Purchaser: NEW PRIME LIMITED (財金有限公司)
Date of Instrument: 15/10/2009

The Memorial number column is the ID number assigned by the Land Registry to this document to track it within their database. This would be an interesting document to read – perhaps it lets us know more about the purchaser’s identity.

Back to IRIS to download the document with Memorial No. 09111102590279. Below is the cover page and the details show we are on the right track.

After reading through the Sales and Purchase Agreement contract we note the following interesting points:

• The Saleable area is 433.90sqm of which the balcony is 5 sqm and the utility platform is 1.5sqm
• Additional areas include 7.86sqm for the bay windows, 31.93sqm for the flat roof and 15.66sqm for the a/c plant room.
• Central A/C in the living and dining rooms with split-type in the bedrooms and all units have a Central Vacuum Cleaning system installed
• Henderson Real Estate Agency Limited acted as agent for both parties. (If this were a typical sales transaction, the agent would receive a cool 2% or $4.39m agency fee)

Payment
The deposit amount paid was $21.9m with two follow up payments of the same amount due in November and December of 2009. The outstanding balance of $373.1m was to be paid within 14 days of the Purchaser being notified in writing that the Occupation Permit has been issued and the Vendor can validly assign the property.

Purchaser
The signatory of this S&P Agreement for the Purchaser was one Tsun Sin Man Samuel (or Qin Shan Wen), on behalf of New Prime Limited. A Google search indicates he is likely the Chairman of Uonlive Corp (previously known as China World Trade Corporation).

Whether this individual is the beneficial owner or not is hard to know for sure, but a company search could help to clarify any other parties involved. If you have any links or information to add, please do so in the comments.

According to the Application documents, the proposed hotel will be 25 storeys high and have no more than 98 guest rooms. Facilities promised include amongst others a swimming pool, restaurant and outdoor landscaped area.

Initially, the Metro Planning Committee (MPC) allowed the deferment at their meeting on September 4th 2009. They gave the applicant one month to gather further supporting evidence, and a further two months to submit the application. Three months later, at the meeting on December 12 2009, the applicant applied for a further extension and was given two months by the MPC to prepare further evidence, and an additional two months to submit the application. A decision should be due at the MPC meeting on 4th April 2009, that is unless another extension is granted.

Center of map

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Center of Hong Kong

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Proposed Hotel Development
Perfectech Center
64 Wong Chuk Hang Road
Aberdeen
Application no. A/H15/237

402nd MPC MEETING ON 21.8.2009

After further deliberation, the Committee decided to reject the application and the reasons were :

(a) the proposed hotel development with a plot ratio of 13.317 was considered not compatible with the development density within the “Residential (Group A)” (“R(A)”) zone; and

(b) the approval of the application would set an undesirable precedent for similar hotel developments within the “R(A)” zone.

It should be noted that a prior Application for Planning Approval (Application A/H5/378) was approved in January 2009 to build a single block hotel with a plot ratio of 12.32 (approximately 93,000 sq ft total floor area) and of 27 storeys in height with 201 hotel rooms.

This latest Application was accompanied by a Supplementary Planning Statement (SPS) in which the Applicant expressed their desire to increase the allowed plot ratio to 13.317 and number of storeys by 2 in order to accommodate the requirements of an InterContinental Indigo Hotel on the site. The number of rooms proposed is only 160 as each room would be larger in size.

In return for these concessions, the suggested benefits would be:
- The first Hotel Indigo in the Asia Pacific region; and
- the first LEED Platinum certification for a building in Hong Kong

According to the InterContinental Hotel Group’s own website they have another Indigo Hotel project slated for Shanghai’s Bund so the Hong Kong development may in fact not be Asia Pacific Region’s first Indigo Hotel in the end.

After reading the press release from the Hotel Operator, it appears as though the number of rooms has been reduced to 150 to meet the floor area requirements of the original Planning Permission.

We applaud the developer and Hotel Operator for taking the LEED (pun intended) to make this hotel LEED Certified.

The University has made available for download the Index construction method (pdf) and it shows which property transactions are included and the rationale behind the methods used.

Downloading the data into a spreadsheet it is interesting to note the reaction of property prices to major events in Hong Kong’s recent history including the Handover, the Asian Financial Crisis and SARS.

The building was previously owned by the mid-size Hong Kong bank, Tai Sang Bank. It is in fairly poor condition right now and as of late 2008 many office tenants have vacated the building. One might speculate that Swire did not seriously attempt to retain these tenants and may have some plans brewing for a new use for the building (or at least a substantial re-furbishment, otherwise known as “Mutton dressed as Lamb”).

The Hong Kong Town Planning Board has approved Swire’s Application for Planning Permission to redevelop the existing Tai Sang Commercial Building plus around 12 adjacent low-rise, walkup residential buildings. This is clearly shown in the Application for Planning Permission No. A/H5/377. These plans call for a commercial (office) redevelopment of 28 stories, around 284,000 sqft of office space and 32 private car-parking spaces.

Swire’s Application was “Approved with Conditions” by the Metro Planning Committee (MPC) on 7th Nov, 2008 and permission will be valid for 4 years, or until 7th Nov, 2012. The conditions are quite straightforward and include traffic impact assessments, sewerage system assessments and some modifications to affected traffic light nearby; not onerous at all.

Given the proximity to 3 Pacific Place and Swire’s cheeky addition of an Admiralty MTR exit in Wanchai underneath 3 Pacific Place, it is possible they could extend the Pacific Place brand to this new building. Swire have invested significantly in the Star Street District and given the proposed Hotel Development by Hopewell (Chinese only) just down the road, and the Urban Renewal Authority’s “rejuvenation” of Lee Tung Street, this part of Wanchai may be worthy of the Pacific Place name by the time 2012 rolls around.

The West Island Line is an extension to the MTR Island Line and includes the addition of three more stations to the west of the existing Sheung Wan station. The additional stations are Sai Ying Pun, University and Kennedy Town.

The new line, once completed will provide a great boost to the station areas and neighbourhoods in the vicinity and should lead to an increase in property prices in the area.

Timeline for Completion

According to the timeline provided by the MTRC, the construction work will begin in 2009 and is expected to be completed by 2013-14.

New West Island Stations

Sai Ying Pun

Sai Ying Pun station will be the first station beyond the existing Sheung Wan station. The below image shows the proposed station exits for Sai Ying Pun Station, including an exit on Bonham Road near the intersection of Park Road and Bonham Road.

University

The University site will provide direct MTR access to the University of Hong Kong and the surrounding residential areas.

Kennedy Town

Kennedy site will be the most westerly station on the MTR Island Line.

Existing buildings affected by the West Island Line Extension

Inevitably, there will be some impact on existing public and private land and buildings. Apart from the site access and construction impact, the following will be affected:

• Kennedy Town Swimming Pool
• David Trench Rehabilitation Centre
• Centre Street Cooked Food Centre
• Whitty Street Public Toilet
• Sai Woo Lane football field and playground
• Hill Road sitting out area
• Part of the King George V Memorial Park
• Forbes Street Playground

Property market impact

From the point of view of an investor, the areas to be serviced by the new MTR West Island line will become more convenient to the business districts of Central, West Kowloon, Admiralty and Wanchai/Causeway Bay. Kennedy Town will enjoy the easier accessibility and demand for property from end-users should increase.

An important element will be the Sai Ying Pun MTR entrance on Bonham Road in Mid-levels West. This will provide MTR access to those living around Park Road, Babington Path, Lyttelton Road and the western end of Conduit Road. Currently, Bonham Road and Caine Road are congested during peak hours so the West Island Line should help to relieve some of this pressure.