Hong Kong’s Urban Renewal Authority has unveiled a more than HK$1 billion (US$128 million) redevelopment project in Kowloon City that will provide about 230 flats as early as 2033, although around 180 households and 20 shops will be affected.
Most tenants acknowledged on Friday the need to redevelop the ageing neighbourhood covering Ma Tau Wai Road and Lok Shan Road in To Kwa Wan, while calling for “reasonable” compensation from the authority.
But one shop owner was caught off guard by the announcement, saying she rented the premises a few months ago and had already spent more than HK$200,000 in renovation.
The authority’s latest site is located next to a larger-scale project announced in 2020 that will turn housing blocks once allocated for civil servants into more than 3,000 flats.
Mike Kwan Yee-fai, the authority’s general manager for planning and design, said the adjoining plans would yield many long-term benefits for the area.
“It will improve the connectivity and accessibility of the area, including the spatial connectivity [at the ground level],” he said, adding that the buildings involved in the project were all 55 years or older.
Kwan ducked questions on whether the authority would shift towards smaller-scale projects, similar to the current plan, in the future amid its financial woes.
The body recorded an annual deficit for the second consecutive year, with the net loss for 2023-24 reaching HK$3.9 billion.
He also declined to predict the project’s revenue.
The authority said it would make an acquisition proposal to affected stakeholders by next year or 2026, after gaining approval for the plan from the government.
The redeveloped buildings are expected to be completed by 2033 or 2034 and provide 230 flats with an average size of 50 square metres (538 sq ft).
Mr Lau, an 81-year-old retiree who has lived on Ma Tau Wai Road for 37 years, said he supported the redevelopment plan, pointing out the building he lived in was ageing and that some of the plaster walls of his flat had started to peel.
“If my house was not that dilapidated, I would not move,” he said, adding that concrete in his home had been falling off from time to time for the past two years and it was lucky that no one was injured.
He lives with his wife and daughter in the 900 sq ft flat.
Lau said he also worried that the authority would take advantage of residents like him by providing meagre compensation, leaving him unable to afford a flat of a similar size in the future.
“I hope the authority would provide us with reasonable compensation such as HK$20,000 to HK$30,000 for each square foot,” he said.
The owner of a furniture shop, surnamed Lam, said the plan came as a shock as she had recently rented the space within the redevelopment site.
“I used more than HK$200,000 to renovate the shop as I had planned on growing my business here for the long run,” she said, adding that she signed a four-year lease in March.
Lam said she regretted the decision and would not have chosen to rent the premises if she had known about the redevelopment plan earlier.
She said she was at a loss at what to do and would talk to the owner later.
Chu Miu-lan, an 83-year-old retiree, who lives with her domestic helper at 348 Ma Tau Wai Road, said that her home was well maintained.
“I support the redevelopment plan just because I would like to buy a flat that could be accessed by lift instead of stairs only,” she said.
The elderly resident added that she had trouble climbing up stairs after hurting herself from falling in the past.
Lawmaker Kitson Yang Wing-kit said he welcomed the redevelopment plan but hoped that the authority could preserve certain characteristics of the area.
“There are many furniture and lighting shops in the area, which has become characteristic of the site,” he said.
He also hoped the authority could redevelop more dilapidated buildings in To Kwa Wan in the future to improve the living quality of the residents, especially the elderly.
Veteran surveyor Lau Chun-kong said he believed the authority would consider its financial capability before launching redevelopment plans.
He said the To Kwa Wan plan could help the environment nearby though it would not make a huge difference.
The authority earlier announced a plan to redevelop 31 buildings, aged between 64 and 76 years, and 33 shops at the flower market and nearby locations, such as Sai Yee Street and Fa Yuen Street in March this year.
