Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) is delighted by the Town Planning Board’s approval of the planning application of its Mong Kok project. The large-scale commercial project will be developed as the ‘Green Heart’ of Mong Kok with many green, sustainable elements.

SHKP Executive Director Robert Chan said: “This project will be the first large-scale commercial landmark that Mong Kok has seen in recent years. Applying its expertise in building transit-oriented developments, SHKP will provide quality commercial space, enrich the community with well-thought-out amenities, green elements, and enhance overall connectivity and accessibility.”

He continued: “We have years of track record in developing Mong Kok, where our MOKO, Grand Century Place and the Royal Plaza Hotel have become commercial and shopping hotspots of the area. The new project will create synergy with these popular destinations, capitalizing on Mong Kok’s reputation as a place of both traditional culture and contemporary trends, and making it a hub for business, retail and tourism in central Kowloon.”

Preliminary works are underway for the project, which features a 53-storey main tower reaching a height of 320 metres above the principal datum. Once completed, it will become the second tallest commercial landmark in Kowloon after the International Commerce Centre (ICC). The main tower will also come with a three-storey podium and a public rooftop viewing platform, a unique feature in the district that offers sweeping views of the city’s hustle and bustle. The project’s total gross floor area will be 1.52 million square feet, comprising a 200,000-square-foot shopping mall, and 1.2 million square feet of commercial space. Other facilities include five community facilities with a total floor area of 50,000 square feet and over 100,000 square feet of quality outdoor public space. 

Premium public open space and preservation of old and valuable trees 
The project aims to become the ‘Green Heart’ of Mong Kok. One of the highlights is the preservation of three banyan trees which are more than 60 years old. SHKP is working together with local and overseas landscape and tree specialists over the formulation of a conservation plan, which involves altering the original basement design to avoid disturbing the soil beneath the trees.

SHKP will also create a ‘Ficus Plaza’, which is over 34,000 square feet, at the project’s ground-level entrance. The rarity lies not only in the close proximity to the three old trees but also in having such a well-designed public space within the district.

On top of that, the Group aims to plant over 50 trees in the project to achieve 30% in greenery coverage and 1,250 kg in annual carbon dioxide absorption. This, together with the other green measures, should create a ‘Cool Island Effect’ that will reduce the temperature of the vicinity. 

Enhancing connectivity and accessibility
The project will provide about 800 private car parking spaces and a large public transport interchange for minibuses and cross-border buses. Embracing the design concept of ‘Urban Cool Ribbon’, the project will also come with two landscaped walkways leading to the MTR Mong Kok East Station deck and a footbridge to Hak Po Street, linking the project with various streets in the neighbourhood.

Creating an inclusive community
To ensure that the project’s five community facilities effectively cater to the practical needs of the users, SHKP has made special effort in meeting with various social welfare service organizations and conducted focus group discussions, street interviews and surveys, engaging over 400 participants. Based on the insights gathered, SHKP has taken a number of steps to make the amenities more user-friendly. The community facilities will now be located in an annex block, designed to provide easy access for the users. For instance, considering that a significant number of day-care centre users are elderly individuals who rely on rehabus for transportation, SHKP has incorporated a dedicated vehicular access and drop-off point right outside the centre.