West Kowloon arts hub plans to sell land in batches

The CEO of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, Betty Fung, on Thursday said land for residential developments at the arts hub site will be sold in two or three batches. Fung said the authorities will work with private developers on land sales for homes, but not for hotels and offices. "Because as a blueprint for diversified property development, we think it is best to keep some properties to ourselves for rental income." Meanwhile, the vice-president of the Our Hong Kong Foundation think tank, Ryan Ip, said private residential developments at the cultural district should incorporate art elements and have areas that are open to the public. "The Development Bureau has to act as a gatekeeper to make sure the whole project will not become a pure luxury residential project just like you can find anywhere in the city," Ip said on RTHK's Hong Kong Today programme. "A project that can be seamlessly integrated within the West Kowloon Cultural District by, for example, adding in arts and culture elements in its design and also allowing the public to use some of the public open space within the residential projects." Ip said the land parcels are in a prime location and could bring in HK$15 billion for the authority, which is currently losing around HK$700 million a year.