Floor in 9 Queen’s Road Central Poised to Break Hong Kong Price Record

In a city known for its stratospheric real estate prices, an office space smaller than a sheet of A3 paper may now cost you more than $7,600. A floor in 9 Queen’s Road Central, an office tower in Hong Kong’s Central business district, is close to being sold for HK$60,000 ($7,643) per square foot, breaking the city’s office price record, according to local media reports.

The building’s 34th floor, spanning 8,570 square feet, is reportedly in the final stage of being sold for over HK$500 million ($64 million) to local property firm Winland Group. A representative of Winland Group contacted by Mingtiandi said she had no comment on the report as she was not familiar with the matter.

The price per square foot record is currently held by the 79th floor of Central’s The Centre skyscraper, which Tai United Holdings offloaded for the equivalent of HK$55,854 per square foot last September.

Floor Appreciates 177% Over a Quarter Century

The seller Jetrade Enterprises, owned by Singaporean Lu Lianji (呂聯基), acquired the property in 1994 for HK$180 million. If the transaction is successful, the floor will have gained approximately HK$320 million (177 percent) in value.

9 Queen’s Road Central, a 39-storey tower completed in 1991, mostly consists of office space over a podium housing The Galleria shopping mall. Neighbouring the HSBC Main Building and the Landmark mall, the building is a five-minute walk away from Central metro station.

One of the major roads in Hong Kong’s business district Central, Queen’s Road Central continues to lure investors with its prime location. A commercial site at 47-51, 53 Queen’s Road Central and 1 Li Yuen Street West is reportedly close to being sold for HK$1.9 billion. The 3,076 square foot plot can provide 46,140 square feet of gross floor area upon redevelopment, implying a price per square foot of HK$41,179.

Winland Group Builds Commercial Portfolio

The news comes just two months after Hong Kong-based Winland Group snapped up the 1978-vintage W Square tower at 314-324 Hennessy Road in Wan Chai, east of Central, for HK$2.85 billion ($364 million).

Winland Group, which owns the Elizabeth House commercial complex on Gloucester Road in the city’s Causeway Bay retail district, is also involved in leasing residential properties. The group is said to own a portfolio of units in large-scale residential developments including Heng Fa Chuen on the east side of Hong Kong Island, Whampoa Garden in Hung Hom and South Horizons in the Southern district.