hkskyline
March 20th, 2007, 03:41 AM
Outcry over Soho office tower plan
Hong Kong Standard
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Residents and shopowners in the trendy Soho entertainment zone in Central and Western are up in arms over a developer's plan to erect a multi-story commercial building there, saying it would rob the area of its cozy appeal.
Sino Land has applied to the Town Planning Board to convert two buildings at 20-26 Staunton Street into a single 24-story office tower, with five levels of restaurant space. It has pledged to "preserve the unique cultural and historical character" of the area.
The developer's promise, however, has failed to please residents, with John Batten, a member of the Central and Western Concern Group, accusing the company of being deceptive about the project.
He said the unique character of Soho - which stands for South of Hollywood Road - would be adversely affected by the development, and that Sino's pledge to "maintain the area's cultural and historical features and to integrate more coherently with the scale and architectural character of the surrounding buildings [is] duplicitous and intentionally misleading."
The proposed office tower, Batten argued, would not fit in at all with the predominantly three- to eight-story buildings that characterize the neighborhood.
He demanded that the Town Planning Board maintain its current restrictions on commercial buildings in the area to the first three floors.
Another member of the Central and Western Concern Group, Katty Law Ngar-ning, warned that traffic conditions on the narrow Staunton Street, which is already congested, would reach critical levels once the proposed office tower was in use.
"There's a strong consensus in the neighborhood against the development. Whether they're visitors or residents of the area, they all want to keep the ambiance intact," she said.
A traffic report undertaken by Wilbur Smith Associates and submitted to the Urban Renewal Authority found that further intensification of development in the area bounded by Graham, Gage and Peel streets would worsen traffic congestion there and on the already busy Hollywood Road and Aberdeen Street.
Steep narrow streets and few vehicular transport options that currently characterize Soho have made the construction of an entire office block there problematic as there is little or no room for delivery vehicles.
Law said Soho residents are furious over the the Town Planning Board's failure to consult the public thoroughly about the project and that most of the neighborhood is strongly opposed to the plan.
She said there was a lack of public notices on Sino's development plan and that residents had been kept in the dark about a "24-story office tower."
Law urged affected citizens to express their views to the board.
Central and Western District councillor Chung Lai-king said there was no place for an office tower in Soho.
"If it were to be built in Wan Chai or Tsim Sha Tsui, it would not be a problem. But Soho is unique because it's a collection of restaurants, bars and boutiques in old buildings."
Hong Kong Standard
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Residents and shopowners in the trendy Soho entertainment zone in Central and Western are up in arms over a developer's plan to erect a multi-story commercial building there, saying it would rob the area of its cozy appeal.
Sino Land has applied to the Town Planning Board to convert two buildings at 20-26 Staunton Street into a single 24-story office tower, with five levels of restaurant space. It has pledged to "preserve the unique cultural and historical character" of the area.
The developer's promise, however, has failed to please residents, with John Batten, a member of the Central and Western Concern Group, accusing the company of being deceptive about the project.
He said the unique character of Soho - which stands for South of Hollywood Road - would be adversely affected by the development, and that Sino's pledge to "maintain the area's cultural and historical features and to integrate more coherently with the scale and architectural character of the surrounding buildings [is] duplicitous and intentionally misleading."
The proposed office tower, Batten argued, would not fit in at all with the predominantly three- to eight-story buildings that characterize the neighborhood.
He demanded that the Town Planning Board maintain its current restrictions on commercial buildings in the area to the first three floors.
Another member of the Central and Western Concern Group, Katty Law Ngar-ning, warned that traffic conditions on the narrow Staunton Street, which is already congested, would reach critical levels once the proposed office tower was in use.
"There's a strong consensus in the neighborhood against the development. Whether they're visitors or residents of the area, they all want to keep the ambiance intact," she said.
A traffic report undertaken by Wilbur Smith Associates and submitted to the Urban Renewal Authority found that further intensification of development in the area bounded by Graham, Gage and Peel streets would worsen traffic congestion there and on the already busy Hollywood Road and Aberdeen Street.
Steep narrow streets and few vehicular transport options that currently characterize Soho have made the construction of an entire office block there problematic as there is little or no room for delivery vehicles.
Law said Soho residents are furious over the the Town Planning Board's failure to consult the public thoroughly about the project and that most of the neighborhood is strongly opposed to the plan.
She said there was a lack of public notices on Sino's development plan and that residents had been kept in the dark about a "24-story office tower."
Law urged affected citizens to express their views to the board.
Central and Western District councillor Chung Lai-king said there was no place for an office tower in Soho.
"If it were to be built in Wan Chai or Tsim Sha Tsui, it would not be a problem. But Soho is unique because it's a collection of restaurants, bars and boutiques in old buildings."