Co-owner and chief executive David Chow announced Thursday that Hong Kong restaurant group Wellmart Holdings will lease 28,000 square feet in a building designed to evoke Cape Town, South Africa, to set up a complex of restaurants around the theme of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. Wellmart will invest HK$20 million to open branches of four of its existing Japanese restaurants in Hong Kong along with two new restaurant concepts.

Chow unveiled the deal at a press conference to trumpet the signing of Fisherman's Wharf's first four tenants. He said the tenants will pay about 40 patacas (HK$38.84) per square foot on average, higher than the 29 patacas he had expected to get due to Macau's tightening property market.

With its high-profile position between the Hong Kong ferry terminal and the Sands Macau casino, Chow said he expects the development to draw 16 million visitors a year once the first outlets open in early September.

Celebrate Macau, a new company headed by veteran Hong Kong restaurateur and former Lan Kwai Fong Association chairman Richard Feldman, will lease 60,000 square feet in three New Orleans-themed buildings. The company will invest HK$50 million in opening 12 restaurants and bars in the space including an informal Italian restaurant, a Chinese seafood restaurant, a French bistro and a German beer hall.

Rainbow Group, a Macau-based retail distributor of international fashion brands such as Emporio Armani and Hugo Boss, will lease 11,000 square feet in a Lisbon-themed building to open several shops. Fisherman's Wharf in total will feature 200 shops, Chow said.

Macau Hotel Supplies will take over a 25,000-square-foot faux-Spanish building for high-end cosmetic shops.

In addition to the shops and restaurants, the HK$1.2 billion first phase of Fisherman's Wharf will feature an Arabian-themed children's play fort, a convention center and a 70-room boutique hotel.

Though it will not include a casino, it is likely to feature a slot hall in a Miami-themed building. Chow said he expects the first phase to be fully open by January.

Chow said he and co-owner Stanley Ho are still awaiting government approval of the project's HK$1.1 billion second phase, which would include a marina, two more hotels, a disco, an exposition center and new executive offices for his company. He expects construction on the second phase to take two years.

macaueditor@singtaonewscorp.com