URA commences one of the largest redevelopment projects in Kowloon City
The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) today (Friday) commenced the planning procedure of a Development Project at Bailey Street and Wing Kwong Street in Kowloon City, which is one of the largest redevelopment projects initiated by the URA in recent years. This is the 9th redevelopment project initiated by the URA in addition to a demand-led redevelopment project being carried out in the district.
Occupying a site area of about 8,000 square metres, the project involves a number of large building blocks of six to nine storeys without elevator, which were built between 1957 and 1961. These buildings cover 103 street numbers at Nos. 107 - 109 Ma Tau Wai Road (odd number), Nos. 2 - 50 Wing Kwong Street (even number), Nos. 1 - 13 Wan Tat Street (odd number), Nos. 1 - 19 Wan Fat Street, Nos. 1 - 20 Wan Hing Street, Nos. 1 - 20 Wan Lok Street and Nos. 3 - 21 Bailey Street (odd number). There are about 880 property interests within the project site.
The buildings are generally in varied condition with a high degree of subdivided units. Unauthorised building works are found on the roof tops and back yards. It is estimated that there are about 2,000 residential units and about 110 ground floor shop operators, some of which are facing internal private streets.
At a media briefing to announce details of the project, Director (Planning and Design), Mr Michael Ma, said the URA has taken into account the Urban Renewal Plan for Kowloon City prepared by the Kowloon City District Urban Renewal Forum (DURF) when considering the implementation of this project.
"We hope this development project together with other projects being implemented by the URA would act as a catalyst to take forward urban renewal in the district," said Mr Ma.
Mr Ma added that the URA would take a holistic approach to carry out this development project to enhance the benefits to the community by opening up the dead-end street within the site to improve the local traffic flow. We will also take into consideration the existing urban fabric in the layout of the project by retaining and turning some of the private streets into pedestrianised streets in order to provide street frontages for street-shops.
In accordance with Section 23 of the Urban Renewal Authority Ordinance (URAO), an URA notice announcing the commencement of the redevelopment project is published in the Gazette today.
As from today, a two-month publication period will begin under Section 23 of the URAO. Within the period, a site plan delineating the boundary of the project plus a general description will be put on display for public inspection at:
- the URA Headquarters (26/F, COSCO Tower, 183 Queen's Road Central, Central);
- the URA's Ma Tau Wai Neighbourhood Centre (Shop A, G/F, Maid Shine Court, 426-430 Ma Tau Wai Road, To Kwa Wan, Kowloon); and
- the Public Enquiry Service Centre of the Kowloon City District Office (LG/F, Kowloon City Government Offices, 42 Bailey Street, Hung Hom, Kowloon)
In accordance with the Urban Renewal Strategy, the URA will make the Stage One Social Impact Assessment (SIA) report available for public information at the above venues from today (4 March 2016). The Stage Two SIA report will be made available for public information at the above locations from 22 April 2016.
The URA's initial proposal is to redevelop the site to provide about 55,500 square metres of residential floor area for about 1,150 flats. Some 11,100 square metres of commercial/retail floor area will also be included in the new development. The project is tentatively scheduled for completion by 2025/2026. The total development cost for the project, calculated at current prices, is estimated to reach some $11.6 billion.
About 350 URA staff members have been deployed to conduct the freezing survey to ascertain the actual number of households and the occupancy status of the project. The URA will arrange a series of briefing sessions to explain to the affected owners and tenants the planning approval procedure and the acquisition and compensation arrangements.
An urban renewal social service team staffed by professional social workers of the Salvation Army, which has been appointed by Urban Renewal Fund, will be on site to render assistance. The contact number of the social service team is 3188 2151. Affected residents can also visit the URA's Ma Tau Wai Neighbourhood Centre in person; or call the URA's Hotline at 2588 2333 for enquiries. Members of the public can also visit the URA Website at www.ura.org.hk for project information.
(ENDS)