Most of the 1.6 million-square-foot building will be on the existing
Hilton site at the corner of Queen's Road Central and Garden Road.
PLANNING authorities have approved Cheung Kong (Holdings) plans to
redevelop as an office building the combined sites of the Hilton Hotel
and government-owned Hilton car park and Beaconsfield House.
However, the planning approval from the Urban Planning Committee of
the Town Planning Board does not reflect any progress in Cheung Kong's
acquisition of the two prime Central sites from the government, under
negotiation with the Lands Department.
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A planning committee source said yesterday the developer had received
permission, with conditions, to put up a 60-storey office building on
the combined site with the maximum allowed floor space of 15 times the
site area.
Most of the 1.6 million-square-foot building will be on the existing
Hilton site at the corner of Queen's Road Central and Garden Road,
with the surrounding area given over to park space and public
amenities.
"While the base of the building will be narrow in relation to the
overall 9,900-square-metre site, the building as currently planned
would be shorter than the new Bank of China Tower," he said.
The existing Hilton car park will not be knocked down until the
replacement car park for 800 vehicles beneath the new building is
completed.
Unusually, the 376,740 sq ft car park is charged against the overall
amount of floor area allowed to be built on the site, rather than
being allowed over and above the overall plot ratio.
"Because this will be a fee-paying car park, it will have to be
included in the allowed plot ratio," the planning source said.
Cheung Kong has also included plans to reprovision the existing
Beaconsfield House post office in the new building.
The committee had decided to grant the approval as it would provide
open space in Central, as well as providing views of St John's
Cathedral and the Former French Mission building from Queen's Road
Central.
"The French Mission Building, which is the future home of the Court
of Final Appeal, is currently tucked away in a corner, not visible
from the road," the source said.
While the committee thought the overall plan was a "good scheme" it
had, as usual, given approval only with conditions, which the source
would not disclose.
"The conditions did not strike me as being particularly onerous, I am
not Cheung Kong, and don't know whether they will appeal," he said,
adding that the full Town Planning Board would hear any appeal.
The approval does not affect Cheung Kong's negotiations with the Lands
Department, which proceeded slowly during summer.
As of very recently, the government had not given Cheung Kong asking
prices for the two sites, which together are larger than the Hilton
site.
If Cheung Kong can't cut a deal with the government to acquire the
sites, it will not need planning approval to redevelop the Hilton site
alone, as the land is zoned commercial. While Cheung Kong subsidiary
Hutchison Whampoa owns the Hilton site, its parent is managing the
project.
