The long-awaited tender for the commercial site above the West Kowloon Terminus was announced in late November, with Sun Hung Kai emerging as the winning bidder with a premium of HK$42.232 billion, beating off competition from Cheung Kong and a Henderson-led consortium. The site has a GFA of around 3.16 million sq ft, the majority of which is to be offices, meaning an AV of around HK$13,000 per sq ft. 

The winning bid was only at the lower end of market expectations, but the lump sum paid was still the highest among all government sites sold to-date, showing developers’ interest in this unique location. So far only one significant commercial project, ICC, the tallest office building in Hong Kong, has been erected in the area. The area itself has a curious identity and is sometimes regarded as an extension of Tsim Sha Tsui by some in terms of its location, while others regard it as an extension of Central in terms of its tenant profile.

The more traditional Kowloon West office cluster is in fact a few MTR stations away from this unique commercial hub, which spans over the Cheung Sha Wan, Sham Shui Po, Kwai Tsing and Tsuen Wan districts.  Being one of the six business districts in Hong Kong, Kowloon West offered 8.8 million sq ft net of Grade A office space at the end of 2018, with average rents standing at HK$36.3 per sq ft net in Q3/2019, in terms of floor area and cost amongst the lowest of the six business districts.