by HKURBEX
In Hong Kong, nothing comes before money. Lives, health, family, climate, homes and history – these are all but mere trivialities in the face of money, especially when it comes to big businesses and property developers. And this is exactly what happened to this dual apartment block complex which hundreds once called home.
Located on the northwestern part of Hong Kong Island, the structures were originally built in 1961. There were around 364 units spread across both blocks, with a small number of these reserved for community shops.
Before it was built, the site was home to what was once one of the biggest gas plants in Asia, opened by R.C. Whitty.
In May 1934, a massive explosion caused a fire at the plant which engulfed neighbouring houses and caused the death of at least 42 people and injuries to more than 46.
At the time, a Pakistani watchman braved the flames and ran into the plant to raise the alarm, but sadly he himself did not escape and a small shrine dedicated to him was set up at the new residential complex when it was built in 1961.
In the 1970s there were plans to build an MTR station named after R.C. Whitty, but this never came to fruition.
Ironically, the two buildings in the complex came under the hammer and met their wrecking ball fate earlier this year thanks to the construction of a new MTR station.
As with many other areas in the city which are being bastardised in the name of urban renewal, the old is being killed off without a trace in the name of progress.
Although some might welcome the new MTR stations which bring business and convenience to the areas, construction of these stations also dramatically alters the DNA of a district.
The area’s traditional tong laus were transformed into gentrified upmarket money-making spots.
These changes also cause flat and shop values to skyrocket, pushing out old residents, families, shopkeepers and customs. Decades of history vanish without a trace.
Although originally earmarked for demolishment as part of the MTR station construction project, this old but still structurally sound complex soon caught the eyes of land-hungry developers.
Developers saw value in its close proximity to the future station, and its extensive spatial area.
And, as if the government wasn’t nice enough to property tycoons already, in 2010 a new ordinance was passed to speed up old property acquisitions.
The Ordinance gives developers the power to possess a building older than 50 years old – once they acquire 80 percent of property interests in it.
This complex was one of the first victims of the new scheme. At the time the insatiable property developer in question splashed out HK$2.96 billion – a record for a forced sale – to acquire the buildings in order to create about 600 tiny ‘luxury’ flats to be sold in 2016.
In other words, they acquired the 143,032 square-feet property to turn it into a profit project with a potential gross floor area of 272,383 square-foot, 90 percent more than the original spatial area.
So, like some incessantly ravenous Pac-Man voraciously devouring up old helpless structural ghosts, greedy property developers can now cram more unsightly homogenous thin toothpick-like buildings into spaces previously occupied by old unique ones than ever before thanks to the new ordinance, eradicating history, heritage and lives in the process.
