The scheme of revitalisation of industrial buildings was announced by the

Government of Hong Kong The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government) is the executive authorities of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, following the handover of Hong Kong. ...

in the 2009-2010 Policy address of Hong Kong. The aims of the scheme is to provide more floor spaces for suitable uses in order to meet Hong Kong’s changing social and economical needs. It aims to redevelop unused and affordable industrial buildings into space for new businesses, especially for the "six pillar industries". The scheme was implemented since April 1, 2010. There was a mid-term review of the scheme in September 2011. Afterwards, the deadline for submission of applications was extended from March 31, 2013 to March 31, 2016.

Objectives

The project has three main measures: * Lower the ownership application threshold for compulsory sale for redevelopment from 90% to 80%. * Give owners options to pay for the assessed land premium by financing at a fixed rate of 2% over five years. * Create a tailor-made lease modification which provides land premium based on their most suitable use. The government continues to provide art space at favorable industrial premises. From 2010 to 2013, 13 applications for redevelopment and 49 for wholesale conversion have been approved and it has supplied about 680,000 square meters of non-industrial use area. "Revitalising Old Industrial Buildings"
, ''Hong Kong Industrialist'' by Federation of Hong Kong Industries, 2009.

Background

The revitalisation of industrial buildings has been in progress in areas under the

urban renewal Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...

project. For instance,

Kwun Tong Kwun Tong is an area in the Kwun Tong District of Hong Kong, situated at the eastern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, and its boundary stretches from Lion Rock in the north to Lei Yue Mun in the south, and from the winding paths of Kowloon P ...

Sham Shui Po Sham Shui Po () is an area of Kowloon, Hong Kong, situated in the northwestern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, north of Tai Kok Tsui, east of Cheung Sha Wan and south of Shek Kip Mei (). It is located in and is the namesake of the Sham Shui ...

and

Kwai Chung Kwai Chung is an urban area within Tsuen Wan New Town in the New Territories of Hong Kong. Together with Tsing Yi Island, it is part of the Kwai Tsing District of Hong Kong. It is also part of Tsuen Wan New Town. In 2000, it had a popula ...

. There are several reasons, leading to the change of landuse and the start of the scheme. These include the evolving economy, the rental prices and prices of purchasing offices had tremendously increased in the past decades, leading to the winding down of traditional manufacturing industries. Under numerous circumstances, especially because of the economic factors as mentioned, many factories were relocated to

Mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

. As a result, many industrial buildings have become vacant or under-utilised. The vacancy rate of industrial buildings was 6.7% in December 2007 indicating that there was a waste of valuable land resources in the area. In order to solve this problem and better utilize resources, a re-allocation of resources was needed. Thus, the

Lands Department The Lands Department is a government department under the Development Bureau responsible for all land matters in Hong Kong. Established in 1982, it comprises three functional offices: the Lands Administration Office The Lands Administration O ...

implemented the conversion of industrial buildings to other uses. Different kinds of businesses have been set up in these buildings and has become prosperous. Since these buildings are geographically and economically favourable to different businesses. This made the conversion more efficient and created job opportunities. Revitalisation of industrial buildings is obviously cost-effective and beneficial to owners and labours in Hong Kong.

Implementation process

In September 2014, there were in total 100 approved applications under the revitalization measures. There are two kinds of applications in this scheme, namely wholesale conversion and redevelopment. The applications of redevelopment are mainly located in

Cheung Sha Wan Cheung Sha Wan () is an area between Lai Chi Kok and Sham Shui Po in New Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is mainly residential to the north and south, with an industrial area in between. Administratively it is part of Sham Shui Po District, which al ...

Yau Tong Yau Tong () is an area of Hong Kong, located in the southeastern end of Kowloon, between Lei Yue Mun and Lam Tin, at the east shore of Victoria Harbour, west of Tseung Kwan O. Administratively, it is part of Kwun Tong District, the most densely ...

and

Wong Chuk Hang Wong Chuk Hang () is a neighbourhood in the Southern District, Hong Kong, Southern District of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. History Neolithic artifacts have been unearthed in a region called Chung Hom Wan, which is not far from Wong Chuk Han ...

while the first two places are at the same time for wholesale conversion. The uses for the industrial buildings have become more diversified.

Types of businesses

Industrial buildings are located broadly throughout

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and there are varying concentrations of types of businesses. They can be mainly classified within the following commercial sectors: food, entertainment, sports and arts. The following are some examples of clustering: *

: movie

post-production Post-production, also known simply as post, is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording indivi ...

offices and music studios *

San Po Kong San Po Kong () is an area in New Kowloon in Hong Kong. It is largely industrial and partly residential. Administratively, it belongs to Wong Tai Sin District. Location San Po Kong is located south of Wong Tai Sin, Hong Kong, Wong Tai Sin and ...

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. P ...

stages *

Chai Wan Chai Wan (; ), formerly known as Sai Wan (西灣), lies at the east end of the urban area of Hong Kong Island next to Shau Kei Wan. The area is administratively part of the Eastern District, and is a mosaic of industrial and residential ar ...

: photo studios *

Fo Tan Fo Tan () is an area of Sha Tin District, New Territories, Hong Kong. It was developed as a light industrial area, but this activity has declined markedly in recent years. There are residential areas to the east, alongside the MTR line, and in t ...

: visual arts studios Other types of businesses include sports (e.g. skiing, snowboard, baseball, softball and football facilities), creative arts workshops (e.g. leather workshop, painting, sculpture, music), restaurants and farms (e.g. aquatic farm and

hydroponics Hydroponics is a type of horticulture and a subset of #Passive sub-irrigation, hydroculture which involves growing plants, usually crops or medicinal plants, without soil, by using water-based mineral Plant nutrition, nutrient Solution (chemi ...

plantation).

Food

Since the rent has gone up sharply in Hong Kong, many restaurants have started to operate their own businesses in the industrial buildings, especially

underground restaurant An underground restaurant, sometimes known as a supper club or closed door restaurant, is a social dining restaurant operated out of someone's home, generally bypassing local zoning and health-code regulations. They are usually advertised by wor ...

s, which is a kind of home catering that features unique recipes. These particular kind of restaurants mainly promote tranquility eating environments, which are suited to the isolated environment of the industrial buildings. Cooking classes are also held in these enormous spaces. In addition, in order to meet these current trends, the industrial buildings attract a lot of

organic food Organic food, also known as ecological or biological food, refers to foods and beverages produced using methods that comply with the standards of organic farming. Standards vary worldwide, but organic farming features practices that cycle resou ...

laboratories and resellers. The large-scale environment is ample for the business owners to obtain large machines to breed seafood and plant organic vegetables.

Entertainment

For babies and toddlers, there are customized playgrounds for play. Birthday parties are frequently held with educational games catering for infants. For teenagers, ghost houses and escaping games are slightly offbeat venues for gatherings. For adults,

wine cellars A wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae, or plastic containers. In an ''active'' wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control sys ...

are also a place for people to pursue the

quality of life Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...

. People can taste wines and even DIY own wines.

Sports

Sports activities can commonly be found inside revitalised industrial buildings in Hong Kong, examples include: golf, archery and martial arts. Fitness centres have gained favourable reception by Hong Kong people as well. Unlike some existing sports clubs, sports activities in revitalised industrial buildings are mass-oriented. Customers can enjoy the fun of doing sports at the same time with a relatively lower cost. This interests not only sports lovers but also families that bring their kids to take part in leisure activities.

Arts

Despite the fact that Hong Kong is often referred to as a ‘Cultural Desert’, the development of art is thriving in revitalised industrial buildings. Art

studios A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to Wiktionary:study, study or zeal. Types Art The studio o ...

, workshops and music studios became ‘must-have’ items in those buildings. Painting sessions and free art-jamming are offered to people who wanted to escape their busy life and be immersed in tranquility. On the other hand, workshops for leather-making or other hand-made products are provided so that people can showcase their creativity. From the musical perspective, customers can have opportunities to create music and jam, and enjoy band performances. For example, there are live houses in Kwun Tong industrial area that provides performance venue for local singers and bands.

Limitations

Security

After the launch of the revitalization scheme, owners can apply to the

for changing its usage of his premises. The department has insufficient monitoring of these industrial buildings after the approval. Different varieties of businesses like holiday inns, arts studios and sport centres are developed making the department hard to control. Some owners develop businesses via this administrative loophole, running

cubicles A cubicle is a partially enclosed office workspace that is separated from neighboring workspaces by partitions that are usually tall. Its purpose is to isolate office workers and managers from the sights and noises of an open workspace so that ...

, casinos and mahjong clubs, creating many security problems for the building. Triad societies and gang activities may immerse in these buildings and may affect public order . Some cubicles have poor fire control facilities and have the potential to cause injuries and death when a fire breakout.

Low incentive for owners

Many owners of industrial buildings are reluctant to carry out revitalization. Firstly, due to the location and environment of the premises, for instance, no windows or sunlight hinders the transformation of buildings for other business purposes such as inns and hotels. Secondly, owners have to bear the huge cost for revitalization, so they may illegally to choose to make unauthorized changes to their industrial buildings for commercial use to save cost. Thirdly, the scope of the new businesses is limited, as it is hard for people to know the existence of the shops and thus requires a large advertising cost, which hinders the expansion of the businesses. Therefore, many owners prefer to leave buildings vacant rather than taking costly and time-consuming action for revitalization.

Impact

Positive impact

Providing land for various land uses Considering that land space in Hong Kong is scarce in relation to its population, continuous development is needed to keep up with growth. To manage the need for commercial and residential space, old industrial buildings are being converted into offices, residential areas, hotels and other uses. This is also especially useful for cultural and

creative industries The creative industries refers to a range of economic activities which are concerned with the generation or exploitation of knowledge and information. They may variously also be referred to as the cultural industries (especially in Europe) or the ...

that may require large commercial space. The

Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre The Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre (JCCAC; ) is a multi-disciplinary arts centre in Shek Kip Mei, Hong Kong, housed in a converted nine-storey factory estate. JCCAC was established through the co-operation of the Hong Kong Arts Developme ...

(JCCAC) is an example. The building renovated for JCCAC was a factory estate in

Shek Kip Mei Shek Kip Mei, is an area in New Kowloon, to the northeast of the Kowloon Peninsula of Hong Kong. It borders Sham Shui Po and Kowloon Tong. History At the time of the 1911 census, the population of Shek Kip Mei was 72. A major fire o ...

, which has been abandoned since the 1990s. It was converted into an

arts centre An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An arts centre is a functional community centre with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theatre space, gallery space, venues fo ...

for cultural development, and it has work space for more than 100 artists and arts groups. Additionally, it is cheaper and fast to renovate old buildings is faster than constructing new ones. Minimising construction waste and costs Revitalizing old industrial buildings prevents demolition, minimizing

construction waste Construction waste or debris is any kind of debris from the construction process. Different government agencies have clear definitions. For example, the United States Environmental Protection Agency EPA defines construction and demolition mate ...

and

land pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the component ...

Negative impact

Increase in rental fee The Policy of Revitalizing industrial buildings resulted in an increase in rental fees, increasing the

rateable value Rates are a type of property tax system in the United Kingdom, and in places with systems deriving from the British one, the proceeds of which are used to fund local government. Some other countries have taxes with a more or less comparable rol ...

2% in 2012 and 7% in 2013. A survey conducted in 2010 by the

Hong Kong Arts Development Council The Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC) is a Statutory authority, statutory body in Hong Kong tasked with development of the arts in the territory. The HKADC was created in 1995, under the Hong Kong Arts Development Council Ordinance, ...

(HKADC) showed that over 60% of industrial buildings users had problems as a result of rental increases. The average increase was 14%. According to the recent survey proposed by HKADC, among 800 arts groups renting space in industrial buildings, 61.5% stated that they were facing an increase in rental fee, which poses a financial threat to arts groups who have unstable income. Their rental fee, including cost of installing air conditioners and other equipment, accounts, for the largest part of their expenses. Some arts groups or arts practitioners choose to relocate from the old industrial buildings as a result. Limitations on current Land Use Policy In accordance with the Hong Kong

Development Bureau The Development Bureau (DEVB; ) is a policy bureau of the Government of Hong Kong responsible for urban planning and renewal, land administration, infrastructure development, building safety, landscape, greening & tree development, water suppl ...

town planning Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...

laws, cultural and creative industries (e.g. information technology, design and media production office, audio-visual recording studio, etc.) are allowed in these two zones. Nonetheless, Ms Leung Po Shan, the spokesperson of the Factory Artists Concern Group (FAC) stated that drama groups were not allowed to rent in factories.

Notes

References

External links

Fotanian (伙炭)
*

* ttp://www.jccac.org.hk/ The Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre (JCCAC) {{Heritage conservation in Hong Kong , state=collapsed Kwun Chung Kwun Tong Factory buildings in Hong Kong Real estate in Hong Kong Urban renewal