Save Our Shorelines

The CENTRAL HARBOUR FRONT, GOVERNMENT HILL and TAMAR

QUESTIONS RELATING TO RELOCATION OF
ADMINISTRATION OFFICE TO TAMAR SITE

What happens if the offices move
and what happens to the CGO site afterwards

To the director of Administraion, Friday May 19th 2006

Three 70-storey towers providing 5.4 million sq ft of office space could be built on a podium at the site of the Central Government Offices if the land goes into private hands and is developed to its full potential, harbour activists warn.

John Bowden, chairman of Save Our Shorelines, said the city would either have a three-tower development on Lower Albert Road that would be taller than The Peak, or four 50-storey towers which would create a wall effect, altering air flow and blocking the views of Mid-Levels residents.

He described the group's estimate as conservative, since developers could easily boost density by increasing the plot ratio.

"The [Central Government Offices] site is currently covered to less than 10 per cent of its potential," Mr Bowden said, adding that the site had no height restriction, while ridge-line protection was non-binding. Ridge-line protection refers to the recommendation that views to the ridges and peaks be partly building-free.

Officials have so far refused to discuss the future of the site if the government moves its headquarters to Tamar. However, officials suggested last summer that selling the site would cover Tamar's development cost.

The harbour group believed a podium would likely be built in any office tower development because it would create retail rental space.

According to a government-commissioned report on the development potential of the offices' West Wing, released two months ago, there was retail potential if the site was used for commercial purposes.

The report also said it was possible for developers to increase the site's density and plot ratio.

"It is traditional for developers to seek to maximise the gross floor area and the plot ratio through the dedication of ground floor areas to public use and as a result, secure an increase in the gross floor area equivalent to five times the amount dedicated," the report said.

"We would anticipate that much of the podium deck at the Lower Albert Road level will be dedicated to public use, and indeed, on the basis of some very preliminary calculations, it may be possible to achieve an increase in the plot ratio/gross floor area to the maximum permitted, namely 18:1."

Mr Bowden said that relocating the government headquarters to Tamar "holds the potential for further damage to the environment if the land is sold for commercial redevelopment".

He also warned of increased traffic congestion and an impact on air quality if the site was built to the maximum potential.

According to a ten-year old Government study, the existing CGO buildings are grossly under-utilized, and it is now clear that following the relocation of government premises to the Tamar site they could be developed in future into three seventy-storey towers that would impact the Central skyline blocking the Peak forever. This is illustrated in a report issued on 19th May by the community group Save Our Shorelines, which questions the government’s separation of Tamar Development plans from redevelopment plans at the Central Government Office mid-level sites when the various bureaus move.

SOS Chair John Bowden says: “Assuming standard commercial development plot ratios in Hong Kong, the site would be of enormous financial value. However, if the site is fully developed there will be huge environmental impacts. If height restrictions are imposed then the values drop, and the landsale will not bring the community any real benefit at all. It’s a lose-lose situation”. The group suggests that the existing CGO and Murray Road offices should be retained and retrofitted at far less cost - and with less waste - than the proposed new 30 and 40-storey offices at Tamar. All the required facilities could be accommodated there and additional space could be provided for Legco offices by redeveloping the Murray Road Car Park, site of the current ICAC offices.

Santa Raymond – office specialist and author of the book ‘Tomorrow’s Office’, an in-depth study of the commercial workplace, commenting on the administrations’ reluctance to retain and improve the existing Central Government Offices says: “With wireless networking, and comprehensive workplace planning, the existing space can certainly be retrofitted to the highest standards to meet current and future needs. Disruption can be minimised by careful phasing, and huge cost savings are possible. This is what responsible governments and corporations are doing all over the world”.

The SOS report also refers to community concerns that the strong feng shui associated with the current CGO site would not be replicated at Tamar and might lead to fears that benefits currently enjoyed at the CGO sites would be lost to the Government in the future.

SOS supports proposals recently presented to the Legco Subcommittee on Planning and Works that show the Tamar site developed as low level, small plot sizes reminiscent of Shanghais’ Xin Tian Di. Bowden added “ we believe that the right solution is for Government to remain in its existing historic centre, to re-fit at lower cost and add space there to improve the way they work and to retain the shoreline sites for low level commercial development that will have a long term value for the community”.

Representatives from SOS met on Friday with the Director of Administration to present the report and to ask why the CGO retention and improvement option had been dismnissed without a comprehensive study of the financial benefits being completed.

... SOS says "save Tamar and Government Hill - use the Murray Road Carpark site for more space"

SOS suggests that the existing CGO and Murray Road offices should be retained and retrofitted at far less cost - and with less waste - than the proposed new 30 and 40-storey offices at Tamar. All the required facilities could be accommodated there and additional space could be provided for Legco offices by redeveloping the Murray Road Car Park, site of the current ICAC offices.