K&K Property Buys Kowloon Project From CSI for HK$1.8B

Hong Kong’s K&K Property has acquired three 1960s-era buildings in Tsim Sha Tsui for redevelopment, according to Knight Frank, which brokered the deal on behalf of the developer founded by Laws Group boss Law Ting-pong

In the latest in a string of HK$1 billion-plus transactions in the retail area a quick ferry ride from Central, K&K Property purchased the assets at 21-27 Ashley Road from Hong Kong-listed CSI Properties for HK$1.8 billion ($230 million).

With its site acquisition, the boutique developer, which cites the world of fashion as inspiration for its luxury projects, also wins the right to develop a new commercial project of up to 97,284 square feet (9,038 square metres) on the site, which is just over 100 metres from East Tsim Sha Tsui metro station.

Tsim Sha Tsui Transformation

The three adjacent buildings provide K&K Property with an 8,107 square foot site at the cul-de-sac end of Ashley Road, with the developer paying the equivalent of HK$18,502 per square foot of GFA for the project near the Peking Road shopping street.

“Tsim Sha Tsui has gradually been transformed over the past few years,” said Rosanna Tang, Colliers’ head of research for Hong Kong and Southern China. “Recent new projects like New World’s Victoria Dockside and Henderson’s H Zentre, as well as the express rail link station that opened last year, will bring more people to the area as a whole, which should trigger greater investor interest and redevelopment opportunities.” Knight Frank had been retained by CSI, together with Cushman & Wakefield, as joint sole agents for the marketing of the assets.

Mingtiandi’s sources said that K&K could replace the aging mixed-use properties, which are just a ten minute walk from Victoria Dockside, with a hotel or Ginza-style commercial tower.

Developers Stake Out Kowloon Sites

Traditionally a commercial hub of grade B offices, tourist shops and nightlife venues, Tsim Sha Tsui and neighboring areas in Kowloon have been the scene of at least four big-ticket transactions in just over a year as the city’s largest developer’s compete to profit from redevelopment of the aging district.

Just under two months ago, Henderson Land Development bought out the remaining space in a pair of aging buildings in Kowloon’s Hung Hom area through a compulsory sale which valued the addresses at a combined sum of over HK$1.1 billion ($143 million).

In July last year, the same Hong Kong-listed developer was involved in a Tsim Sha Tsui transaction when it offloaded an under-construction property at 68-72 Kimberley Road for HK$2.5 billion, selling the 104,136 square foot commercial tower in-progress for HK$24,000 per square foot.

Two months earlier, Henderson, together with partner Lai Sun, sold an 18-storey tower commercial building at 8 Observatory Road to a consortium of local Hong Kong investors for HK$4.1 billion.

CSI Properties were involved in another large Kowloon transaction in March last year when the developer acquired the Everest Building at 241-243 Nathan Road for HK$2.45 billion.