Introduction

Kowloon City used to be home of Kai Tak International Airport. Following its closure a decade ago, many new redevelopments have appeared as the height limits were lifted.

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District Overview

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Prince Ritz

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Le Billionnaire

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Source : http://www.pbase.com/middlehill/kowloon_city

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Group seeks redevelopment of Kowloon City Plaza site
5 January 2008
South China Morning Post

A consortium led by Morgan Stanley has submitted an application to redevelop Kowloon City Plaza in Kowloon City into three residential buildings.

The Town Planning Board said the developer had applied last month to have the site rezoned as a comprehensive development or residential area instead of a commercial development with a public car park.

It said the developer planned to build three 23-storey residential buildings with four basement levels, providing 396 units.

It said the 63,733 square foot site has the potential to provide 414,268 sqft of residential area and a 159,334 sqft commercial area. The board will discuss the application within the next two months.

Last September, the developer won Building Department approval to build a 15-storey retail building extension on top of the 10-storey Kowloon City Plaza shopping centre. The building extension will have a total gross floor area of 160,382 sqft.

Singuz Lo, director of Pamfleet Property Asset Management, one of the shopping complex's shareholders, said he was not aware of the latest application. He said the development of the commercial extension was still in the planning stages.

In 2004, Morgan Stanley, Pamfleet Property Asset Management and Pioneer Global Group bought Paliburg Plaza in Causeway Bay and Kowloon City Plaza for HK$2 billion. It was the first time a foreign investor had acquired a shopping centre in Hong Kong.

The developer invested HK$100 million in renovating and repositioning Kowloon City Plaza in 2006.

The owner said the upgrade allowed it to charge retail rents of between HK$30 per square foot and HK$150 per square foot - double the levels before the renovation.

Kowloon City Plaza at 128 Carpenter Road, next to Kowloon Walled City Park, is a 10-storey shopping complex.

DTZ retail department director Lawrence Heung Ping-chung said he believed the sharp rise in residential prices in the fourth quarter of last year prompted the decision to redevelop the shopping complex into residential buildings.

Kowloon City Plaza has seen greater competition from new shopping centres being set up in Kowloon East in the past 10 years, including apm in Kwun Tong and Festival Walk in Kowloon Tong. Most of the new complexes were near the MTR, he said.

However, Kowloon City Plaza's distance from the MTR would make the project a harder sell. "There is no large scale residential project in the area. It is difficult for the shopping complex to develop into a retail landmark from a regional shopping centre," Mr Heung said.

He said he believed the renovation plan had had a positive impact on the shopping centre, but warned: "Kowloon City Plaza provides a retail area of 630,000 sqft, which is oversized for a regional shopping mall."

豪門複式戶享環迴景致
28 June 2009
星島日報

By 鄧麗欣之戀 from skyscrapers.cn :
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由華懋發展的九龍城豪門1期，現樓複式示範單位繼續開放，單位以黑白簡約時尚風格為主調，配用落地玻璃窗，把室內開揚海景引進單位之中。

是次開放的示範單位，以複式設計，位於49樓及50樓的C室，面積約1691方呎，連310方呎平台，及1個382方呎的天台。為配合單位的設計，發展商將原「則」4房連1套房的間隔，改為3房連2套房，令單位更具空間感。

原「則」4房改3房

甫進入豪門1期的頂層複式示範單位，單位以簡約白色為主，時尚的擺設即時吸引目光，而大廳設有2個露台，灰白色的地台自客廳延伸至露台。單位風格時尚簡約，大廳放置一系列綫條明快的白、黑色家具，如白色的餐桌椅、黑色的大型燈架等，而特別設置在大廳的一個火爐裝飾，更為單位注入家的溫暖感覺。

大廳旁邊，設有1個開放式以皚白色為主調的廚房，增加住戶的煮食空間。而旁邊設1間房，白色的牆壁，配襯簡單的牀具，並設有獨立露台，可擺放1張四人桌，閒時可與家人同坐露台，享受窗外的郵輪碼頭景色。

黑白配搭營造魅力

沿梯步上2樓，設有2間亦擁有私人露台的特色套房，主人房內，地毯上的幾何圖形設計，散發出獨有品味，與整室灰白簡約家具，以及趣味性十足的牀頭背景牆相配。房內更設有兩組偌大的白色玻璃衣櫃，展示戶主的個人品味。另1間房間內，則以白色及黑色的簡單配搭，營造時尚魅力。

天台方面，設計師擺有1張6人餐桌，裝潢以木質為主，並以純白色作主調，感覺貼近自然，方便戶主閒時與親友一同用餐及享燒烤樂。

表列嘉里建設「縉庭山」及華懋「豪門」物業資料
16 June 2009
經濟通新聞

豪門（Ｌｅ　Ｂｉｌｌｉｏｎｎａｉｒｅ）資料
－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－

地址╱地段：九龍城沙浦道４６號
發展商：華懋集團
物業座數：第一期：１座
物業層數：第一期：４５層
建築面積：第一期：標準單位：７１４至１１６３平方呎
特色單位：１１６３至１３７０平方呎
頂層複式單位：１６９１至１８８５平方呎
＊２８樓屬隔火層，不設１３、１４、２４、３４及４４樓
樓層高度：第一期：８樓３﹒１５米、９樓至２７樓２﹒８米、
２９樓至４６樓２﹒８米、４７樓至５０樓３﹒０７５米
單位總數：第一期：２１２個

物業設施：會所室內設施：會客大廳、大型健身室、自助天地、舞蹈室╱健康舞及瑜珈練習室、音樂室、卡拉ＯＫ室、迷你電影院、多功能活動室、兒童遊戲天地、影視遊戲中心、網絡天地及桑拿室。

會所戶外設施包括大型戶外泳池、日光曬浴、花園雅座及戶外燒烤場。

豪門複式 居高臨下 看郵輪碼頭
20 June 2009

【明報專訊】在啟德機場原址興建國際級郵輪碼頭，使整個東九龍的經濟、樓市發展前景，都讓人充滿憧憬。而新鴻基地產（0016）早前開售的太子道東「譽•港灣」紅盤高開，便是最明顯例子。事實上，要在東九龍地區物色同樣擁有「郵輪碼頭概念」的全新樓盤，由老牌地產商華懋發展的九龍城沙浦道新盤「豪門」也是選擇之一。相對明年底始入伙的譽•港灣，豪門最大的優勢是已屆現樓，而物業在外形設計、單位交樓標準，以至會所設施方面，均屬華懋近年最「落本」之作，質素不比藍籌發展商的產品遜色。

至於現正催谷的頂層複式大戶，在居高臨下的優勢下，未來的郵輪碼頭、維港和港島北岸櫛比鱗次的建築物，以至鯉魚門海峽全景均盡入眼簾，景觀格局上「有山有水」。

豪門位處九龍城沙浦道，與譽•港灣相距大約15分鐘步程。豪門與將來的郵輪碼頭、都會公園、大型國際級運動場館等一籃子大型基建、社區設施，只是相隔一條太子道東，信步可達。事實上，豪門所享有景觀，與譽•港灣海景單位相比，一點也不遜色。中層以上已可瀏覽原啟德機場全景（即將來的郵輪碼頭），並有維多利亞港、東九龍和港島的建築群，以至鯉魚門海峽的遠景作陪襯，層次倍感豐富。

不過，憧憬歸憧憬，郵輪碼頭建成啟用，可能要默默等待多年，而沙浦道與毗鄰一眾街道如樂善道、啟德道，以至衙前圍道等，目前依然是舊樓林立，市容甚老化，區內目前亦沒有大型、現代化的綜合購物商場（譽•港灣基座的Mikiki商場，估計明年底始開幕），外區人士要「進駐」豪門，必須要先接受此現實情况。另太子道東屬東九龍的交通大動脈，全日汽車流量均極高，低層單位相信會受汽車聲浪所影響。

頂層特色戶 入場費逾2600萬

豪門尚餘約60個貨尾，而發展商今次主力催谷的，是4個分佈於物業最頂兩層49、50樓，面積1691至1885方呎，4房間隔的複式大戶（各單位另連101至310方呎私家平台花園，以及382至472方呎私家天台花園）。目前採取由買家出價形式發售，發展商意向呎價1.5萬到2萬元。換言之，單位「最低消費」逾2600萬元。

最細複式連310方呎平台花園

現作為示範單位的49、50樓C室，面積1691方呎，雖是最細一款複式單位，但室內空間感甚為寬敞，內籠佈局亦算四正，加上全屋以白色作主調，格調清雅。由於此單位是以連全屋裝修、家具的形式發售，所以每方呎叫價高達2萬元，銀碼估計近3400萬元。此單位其中一項特點，是附設310方呎的平台花園，並將其細分成三部分，分別分佈於下層的套房外、上層主人套房和另一房間的外面，讓戶主在居所內多個角落，都可隨心所欲地賞景，洋溢「屋仔」（洋房）的設計元素。

廚房配套經提升

至於382方呎的天台花園，除了是舉行燒烤派對的好地方外，更是瀏覽港、九市區全貌的「最佳平台」。

為增添時尚感，廚房改為開放式格局，與大廳融為一體，感覺相當歸一。此外，廚房配套家電亦經質素提升，標準單位廚房選用的配套家電品牌包括TGC、三星、西門子和Cristal，而複式單位的廚房，「清一色」採用德國品牌Miele的煮食爐、焗爐、抽油煙機和洗衣乾衣機，格調更上一層樓。

An older district photo by 鄧麗欣之戀 from skyscrapers.cn :

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Skyline

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By bextra from skyscrapers.cn :

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By 鄧麗欣之戀 from skyscrapers.cn :

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Le Billionnaire Floor Plans

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By fatshe :

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Nice Post.:banana:

By bextra from skyscrapers.cn :

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By bextra from skyscrapers.cn :

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New hotel reaches the dizzying heights with optical illusions
13 October 2009
South China Morning Post

There's yet another new hotel in town but this one is a bit off the wall. To be more precise, aspects of it are off-centre. In To Kwa Wan at 199 Kowloon City Road - within walking distance of the Kowloon City ferry pier - the newest of the Harbour Plaza group, the Harbour Plaza 8 Degrees, opened yesterday.

The 21-storey building offers more than 700 rooms, meeting rooms, banquet halls, restaurants, a pool and gym. But what makes it unique is that it is full of optical illusions.

Designed by PAL Design's Patrick Leung King-wah, the lobby (pictured), lifts, pool bar and ground-floor cafe appear slanted. "The idea came from the hotel but the designer thought of the optical illusions," a hotel spokesman said. "And it is more than eight degrees, but we kept the name. Some people do get dizzy, but you gather your balance again quite quickly."

It's certainly a novel and daring concept. No doubt it will be very appealing to M.C. Escher fans.

Source : http://www.pbase.com/middlehill/image/70514600

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Le Billionaire Commercial

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Le Billionnaire - 1/16

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Developers gear up to hike new unit prices
24 February 2010
The Standard

Numerous developers see room for price rises for new launches in March after favorable auction results and robust primary property sales.

Henderson Land (0012) plans to hike prices at Hill Paramount in Sha Tin by 5 to 10 percent, up from HK$16,500 to HK$17,500 per square foot.

General manager Thomas Lam Tat- man said Henderson will finalize sales strategies next week before launching them in March.

Cheung Kong (Holdings) (0001) will also raise target prices for Festival City in Tai Wai, according to director William Kwok Tsz-wai. Kwok said last month the target prices would range from around HK$9,000 to HK$13,000 psf.

The developer is waiting for sales consent, and says over five banks may offer the most favorable mortgage plans in Hong Kong, lower than the Interbank Offered Rate plus 0.65 percent.

Sun Hung Kai Properties (0016) is likely to launch Larvotto in Ap Lei Chau in March. The first 25 units _ measuring 2,400 to 2,500 sq ft _ will still be priced from HK$60 million, or HK$25,000 psf, said Hung Kai Real Estate Agency senior sales and marketing manager Andy Chan. Soundwill Holdings (0878) targets sales of seaview homes on the executive floors at Warrenwoods in Tai Hang for at least HK$20,000 per square foot, but sees room for higher prices, said executive director Vivian Chan.

It will launch the single-building 164-unit project in March at the earliest.

Chinachem Group targets an average HK$8,000 psf for Le Billionnaire II in Kowloon City, said sales manager Ng Shun-mo. The first homes will cost around HK$5,000 psf.

Cheung Kong's Kwok said a possible rise in government stamp duty will not affect potential Festival City buyers, who are financially strong.

Chan said she does not want to see property prices climb too quickly and is supportive of appropriate official measures on the luxury market.

By fatshe :

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Safety review might ban partitioned flats
21 July 2010
SCMP

A review of building safety could regulate or even ban people from subdividing flats into small units.

The fatal collapse of a tenement building in Ma Tau Wai Road in January focused public attention on problems resulting from such subdivisions. It also prompted the Development Bureau to set up a core group to review building safety policy.

The group, led by Secretary for Development Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor will look into the problems of partitioned flats and illegal structures that are added to buildings and come up with measures to help owners to maintain their properties properly. It will report its findings by the end of the year.

The Buildings Department received 2,890 complaints about the subdivision of flats from 2005 to 2009. Among 85 removal orders it issued, two involved overloaded flats and 24 had suffered water seepage.

In 59 cases fire safety was compromised, with doors removed and exits obstructed.

Flats are commonly divided in Yau Tsim Mong, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon City and Kwun Tong, with most cases identified in buildings completed in the 1960s and 1970s.

The department said it did not have statistics on the total number of subdivided flats across the city as inspections required huge resources and involved asking a police officer to break into private premises with authorised building officials.

"The number of complaints is quite high and this is a reflection of public concern over the phenomenon and the need for clearer regulation," said Hui Siu-wai, an assistant director for buildings.

Hui said there was no exact definition of what constituted a subdivided flat but it was widely recognised that for a domestic flat it involved two or more small individual units, each usually self-contained with a toilet or kitchen, for sale or letting purposes.

As the work often involved knocking down partition walls and building new ones, putting in additional wiring, raising floors, and altering internal water pipes and the sewage system, this would probably result in overloading the building structure, causing water seepage and obstruction of fire exits.

But some of this work, such as building internal partition walls, is not covered by the building ordinance and does not require prior approval from the Buildings Department. This limits the government's role in monitoring problems inside those flats.

Lam said: "We understand the need to review the policy. But banning all subdivided flats would neglect the housing needs of some people who look for affordable housing in urban areas."

Last month she said renovation work in a ground-floor shop probably caused the Hung Hom tenement collapse, which killed four people.

One option the bureau is considering is to expand the scope of minor works to cover construction work related to the subdivision of flats. Anyone conducting minor works would be required to employ qualified contractors and to inform the department of the alteration details.

Other issues to be considered include which parties should conduct inspections and how subdivided flats should be defined.

The chairman of Yau Tsim Mong District Council, Chung Kong-mo, said he preferred regulating the problems to a complete ban.

"The cheap divided units are popular in the property market. We just want to ensure it won't affect the safety of buildings."

Chung said water seepage in such flats in Yau Tsim Mong had disturbed residents. Another problem was overloaded power systems caused by so many air conditioners running at the same time.

Finding new value in old buildings
26 October 2010
China Daily - Hong Kong Edition

There has been plenty of high drama at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium this year as land auctions grab the headlines every month. Record-breaking prices show that Hong Kong developers have an insatiable appetite after years of lean land supply from the government. But away from the media spotlight, however, they have also been busy boosting supply in quite a different way - acquiring "old buildings" for redevelopment. The Buildings Department classifies old buildings as those that have stood for 50 years or more.

In many cases, the city's buildings are aging along with their occupants. The Buildings Department conducted a comprehensive safety inspection after a building on Ma Tau Wai Road in To Kwa Wan collapsed on January 29 this year, claiming four lives. As of December 2009, the number of buildings aged over 50 years was 3,690. More of these buildings will fall into this category over the next decade at an even higher rate, at an annual average rate of 570.Most of these old buildings are crowded together in older parts of the city such as Sai Wan, Sheung Wan, and Shau Kei Wan on Hong Kong Island. Neighborhoods in Kowloon such as To Kwa Wan, Kowloon City, Sham Shui Po, and Tai Kok Tsui also contain a lot of aging buildings.

Gabriel H.W. Cheng, head of the collective sales division at property firm Savills, has been specializing in the old building acquisition market since 2004. Witnessing its ups and downs over the years, Cheng said the acquisition of old buildings is in line with the movement of the property market, where buyers' expectations set the tone.

"Back in 2002 and 2003, the property market was in a trough, and so was the interest of buyers in old buildings," Cheng said." After that, the property market started to climb up, yet land supply through auctions was limited, stoking interest of acquiring old buildings, especially those in old areas with good transportation links," said Cheng.

This year has also marked a watershed for the acquisition of old buildings as the Legislative Council passed a compulsory sales law on March 17. Under the law, which took effect on April 1, developers can apply to the Land Tribunal to trigger a compulsory sale after acquiring 80 percent of a property interest, down from the previous 90 percent threshold. The law covers residential buildings older than 50 years and those left with only one apartment the developers have previously failed to acquire.

The past five months have already seen eight compulsory sale applications, while in 2009 there were only a total of seven. Cheng estimated that the number of buildings eligible for the 80 percent law may hit 100.

"Before the law, the success rate for collecting 90 percent of a property interest was quite low. Now - although 10 percent does not sound very exciting - it actually can make a significant difference," said Cheng.

Acting as a bridge between property owners and developers, Cheng said two approaches are prevalent in the practice of acquiring old buildings.

One is that a group of property owners, for example, representing 40 percent of property interests in the building, will bundle their interests together, then put it on the market for bidding. A real estate agent will then help to persuade remaining owners to join the others to attract potential buyers.

The other way sees the developers taking proactive step. On behalf of the developer, the agent offers property owners a price and signs a "conditional contract" with them, committing to buy the flats once 80 percent of the interests are acquired. Sometimes the trigger point may be lower, since the developer may want to take control and speed up the whole process.

From Cheng's experiences, the second approach - where developers take the initiative - usually shortens the acquisition period to around four months. This is far more efficient than the owner-led approach, which may last more than a year.

Over the years, the practice has been for the price offered by developers to be set against the market price as the benchmark. There is also a premium which reflects the developers' confidence about redevelopment prospects. Cheng said the average price has gone up 20 percent in 2010 compared with last year. He expects this trend to continue.

However, Cheng does have some concerns.

"Though the number of old buildings is soaring, the pool of old buildings with redevelopment value is shrinking," Cheng said.

By redevelopment value, Cheng means the site plot ratio, which determines the gross floor area allowed to be built on the site.

For an old building, if its allocated plot ratio - eg eight times - is higher than that used by the existing building - eg five times - the site will bring more value after redevelopment, since the developer can build and sell more flats on the site. This is the key factor developers consider when calculating their offer price.

As such old buildings with "potential" are gradually drying up, so the price offered by developers and that expected by property owners will see a widening gap. As buildings grow older and more dangerous to live in, property owners with a strong wish to sell may be frustrated by the price offered, since developers could be discouraged by the site's limited future profitability.

With this in mind, Cheng forecasts that the prices of old buildings, as well as the general property market, will meet resistance after 2014 due to supply and demand. Sites just auctioned or under construction will unleash a spate of home supply by then, holding down room for price hikes. Meanwhile, people prefer holding property right now given the present low interest rate. However, if the government nudges up the interest rate, people may reconsider their asset allotment and sell their by selling their properties, another supply stream that will put a dampener on prices.

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Terror tactics claimed at buy-bid flats
The Standard
Monday, May 16, 2011

Kowloon City residents say they are living in fear of developers and want the government to buy them out.

According to district councillor Ng Po-keung, they claim private acquisition firms have been using illegal means - such as threatening phone calls, vandalism and even setting fire to common areas - to pressure them into selling their homes.

Ng said even though a number of small narrow buildings of seven to 10 storys have been bought by developers, work has yet to begin.

Under current law, a building taking up one plot of space cannot be higher than 70 meters. The larger the base area, the taller the building.

One resident who has been living in a walk-up apartment for nearly 30 years, claims her corridor was recently set on fire after negotiations fell through. She declined to be named for fear of reprisals.

"I woke up early one morning to the smell of smoke and when I opened my door, the area outside was on fire," she said, adding that within a two-week period, there were fires at three corridors on different levels.

Police were called, but said there was little that could be done without hard evidence.

Meanwhile, several hundred residents took to the streets yesterday to protest against hegemony by developers and soaring property prices.

Co-hosted by the Democratic Party, Civic Party, League of Social Democrats, People Power and Neo Democrats, as well as several green groups, the protesters walked from Chater Garden to the headquarters of two leading developers, Cheung Kong Center and New World Tower.

The protest, which was without incident, ended with the presentation of a petition to a representative from the Central Government Offices.

Kowloon City District Urban Renewal Forum meeting held
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Government Press Release

The following is issued on behalf of the Secretariat of the Kowloon City District Urban Renewal Forum:

The Kowloon City District Urban Renewal Forum (DURF) held a meeting this afternoon (August 25). The future work plan of Kowloon City DURF, the future use of the former Ma Tau Kok Animal Quarantine Depot (Cattle Depot) and the report on site visits were discussed during the meeting.

At the meeting, members agreed to commence the Study on Urban Renewal Plan for Kowloon City, which aims at formulating an urban renewal plan and action area plans for the district in late 2011. The study will also make proposals with regard to the preservation of heritage, architectural or local characteristics and heritage trails, as well as examine problems in the district. During the Study, different stages of public engagement exercises would be conducted to collect public views. Members also agreed to conduct the social impact assessment at an early stage, which would help assess the potential social impact of proposed urban renewal plans, and to make necessary amendments to the plans. The timetable for other work items, such as submission of a recommended proposal to the Government, public education and monitoring work on the progress of implementation of selected redevelopment, rehabilitation, preservation and revitalisation projects, was also agreed by members.

Members also gave their views on the future use of the Cattle Depot, and will continue to study the key findings and local views collected from the three site visits conducted in July in Hung Hom, To Kwa Wan, Lung Tong and Ho Man Tin sub-districts.

Kowloon City DURF was established on June 1, 2011, comprising a total of 20 non-official and official members appointed by the Secretary for Development. Dr Greg Wong was appointed as Chairman of the forum. Non-official members include four incumbent members of the Kowloon City District Council, two Area Committee members who are centres-in-charge of local non-governmental organisations and professionals from relevant fields.

Members of the public can visit the DURF website at www.durf.org.hk for the latest information and meeting updates.

Stage 1 Public Engagement for Kowloon City Urban Renewal Plan launched
Monday, August 13, 2012
Government Press Release

The following is issued on behalf of the Secretariat of the Kowloon City District Urban Renewal Forum:

The Kowloon City District Urban Renewal Forum (DURF) cordially invites members of the public, especially those from Kowloon City District, to participate in the Stage 1 Public Engagement for the Kowloon City Urban Renewal Plan to be launched tomorrow (August 14), and to provide their views on the Preliminary Urban Renewal Proposals (PURPs) for Kowloon City.

According to the new Urban Renewal Strategy, the "People First, District-Based and Public Participatory" approach should be adopted in urban renewal. The DURF was thus set up to strengthen urban renewal planning at the district level. The Kowloon City DURF will propose to the Government an urban renewal plan which displays the character of Kowloon City, reflects local aspirations and strikes a balance among different social interests.

"The vision of the Kowloon City Urban Renewal Plan is to preserve the rich history and culture, synergise with surrounding developments, optimise land resources, and create a quality living environment. We have already commenced the Planning Study and Social Impact Assessment, and will collect views from members of the public and the community on the PURPs through a range of public engagement activities," said the Chairman of the Kowloon City DURF, Dr Greg Wong.

The Stage 1 Public Engagement for the Kowloon City Urban Renewal Plan will last for one and a half months until the end of September, and the events will include focus groups, walking tours cum workshops, public forums, roving exhibitions and a questionnaire survey. For details, please visit the designated website, www.kcrenewal.hk.　

The Kowloon City DURF will prepare the Draft Kowloon City Urban Renewal Plan based on the views collected and the findings of the Stage 1 Social Impact Assessment, and plans to commence the Stage 2 Public Engagement in the first quarter of next year. All the views collected and the study findings will facilitate the formulation of the Kowloon City Urban Renewal Plan for submission to the Government.

Members of the public are welcome to express their views and suggestions on or before September 30 through the following:

Website: www.kcrenewal.hk
Email: kcrenewal@durf.org.hk
Fax: 3104 0240
Mail: Secretariat
Kowloon City District Urban Renewal Forum
27/F, Tsuen Wan Government Offices,
38 Sai Lau Kok Road, Tsuen Wan, New Territories
(Please specify "Kowloon City Urban Renewal Plan")

Established on June 1, 2011, the Kowloon City DURF comprises non-official and official members appointed by the Secretary for Development. Dr Greg Wong was appointed as the forum's Chairman. Other non-official members include three incumbent members of the Kowloon City District Council, two Area Committee Members who are centres-in-charge of non-governmental organisations and professionals from relevant disciplines.