Henderson Adds to West Kowloon Square Mile Project

Henderson isn’t buying in Tai Kok Tsui for its traditional charm

Leading today’s Hong Kong real estate news, Henderson Land has snapped up a piece of a West Kowloon tenement building for HK$24 million as the developer continues to assemble pieces for a one million square foot project.

Across the Kowloon peninsula, US luxury fashion brand Coach has offloaded a floor in a Kwun Tong office building for HK$185 million, while in one of the city’s posher parts, CSI Properties has sold a duplex in its Jardine’s Lookout development at a five percent discount. Also in the headlines, the city’s worsening economic outlook is expected to knock around 20 percent off of developer bids in Hong Kong’s upcoming land tenders.

Henderson Targets West Kowloon Scheme with HK$24M Buy

Choice Express Limited, a company said to be controlled by Henderson Land, has snapped up three units in the Hoi Kwok Building in Tai Kok Tsui for HK$23.59 million, as the Hong Kong developer lines up for an eventual compulsory sale, according to a local media account.

Choice Express paid between HK$15,400 and HK$16,300 per square foot for the units – which range in size from 476 to 509 square feet – as Henderson looks to add the 56 year old building at 44-52 Li Tak Street to its one million square foot “Square Mile” project in West Kowloon. Should a compulsory sale of 44-52 Li Tak Street be approved, the redevelopment could yield a gross floor area of 40,000 square feet of residential and commercial space. Read More>>

Henderson’s Martin Lee has plans for West Kowloon

CSI Properties Sells Jardine’s Lookout Pad at 5% Discount

Hong Kong-listed CSI Properties has sold a 2,846 square foot duplex unit in its exclusive Jardine’s Lookout development Dukes Place for HK$168 million, according to a local media report yesterday.

The developer sold the home to an undisclosed buyer via tender at the equivalent of HK$59,030 per square foot That price is 5 percent below the most recent sale prior sale in the development when a duplex unit with the same saleable area sold to overseas investor Zhong Jing on 10 February for HK$62,000 per square foot. Read More>>

Coach Sells Kwun Tong Unit for HK$185M

American luxury fashion brand Coach has sold a 16,844 square foot strata-title floor at 108 Wai Yip Street in Kwun Tong for HK$185 million, according to Land Registry records.

A local media account identified the buyer as Worldwide Overseas Limited, a company controlled by Hong Kong property firm Parkview Group, which acquired the mid-floor unit in C-Bons International Centre on 17 April at the equivalent of HK$11,000 per square foot.

Worldwide Overseas will continue to lease out the space to Coach for approximately HK$488,000 per month, or HK$29 per square foot, which provides the buyer with a rental yield of 3.2 percent. The US clothing brand acquired the floor for HK$101.5 million in 2011. Read More>>

Sheung Wan Office Unit Sells for HK$43M

A 1,669 square foot office unit in China Merchants Tower in Sheung Wan has changed hands for HK$43.39 million, or HK$26,000 per square foot, according to a local report on Tuesday.

The office space is currently being leased at a monthly rent of HK$91,000, providing the undisclosed buyer – who is said to be a private investor – with a 2.5 percent rental yield.

The seller, Hong Kong registered company Richer Holdings Limited, acquired the mid-floor unit in November 2004 for HK$7.82 million. Read More>>

Hong Kong Land Bids Expected to Come in at 20% Discount

Market analysts from property agencies Centaline, Colliers International and Knight Frank have predicted that upcoming tenders for a set of government land parcels in Hong Kong could come in at 20 percent below 2019 levels.

Bids for the residential plot in Mong Kok are set to close on Friday, while tenders for a commercial site in Kai Tak and a second residential parcel in Kwun Tong are due to complete next month, according to an account in the South China Morning Post.

The news comes as Knight Frank cut its prediction for the Mong Kok site, which could yield a gross floor area of up to 50,497 square feet, by 20 percent from HK$530 million to HK$480 million. Read More>>

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