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Old industrial buildings revitalisation was proposed in the 2009-2010 Policy address of Hong Kong. It aims to redevelop unused and affordable industrial buildings into space for new businesses, especially for the "six pillar industries".
Contents
Objectives
The project has three main measures:
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.
Distribution and type of business
Industrial buildings are located broadly throughout Hong Kong and there are varying concentrations of types of businesses. The following are some examples of clustering:
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 plantation).
Positive impact
Providing land for various land uses
Land in Hong Kong is scarce, but continuous development is needed to keep up with its growth. To manage the need for commercial and residential space, revitalising old industrial buildings is a viable option for offices, residential areas, hotels and other uses. This is especially useful for cultural and creative industries that may require large commercial space. The Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre (JCCAC) is an example. The building renovated for JCCAC was a factory estate in Shek Kip Mei, which has been abandoned during the 1990s. It was converted into an arts centre for cultural development, and it has work space for more than 100 artists and arts groups. Renovation of old buildings is faster and cheaper to implement than new construction.
Minimising construction waste and costs
Revitalizing old industrial buildings prevents demolition, minimizing construction waste and land pollution.
Negative impact
Increase in rental fee
The Policy of Revitalizing industrial buildings resulted in an increase in rental fees, the rateable value increased 2% in 2012 and 7% in 2013. A survey conducted in 2010 by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (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 town planning rules, cultural and creative industries (e.g. information technology, design and media production office, audio-visual recording studio, etc.) are allowed in these two zonings. 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. Avoiding the restriction, some actors or actresses pretend to be porters when Government officials patrolled the area.