Lofter Group Plans To Build Office Tower In Kowloon
HONG KONG – After applying this week to compulsorily acquire full ownership of an ageing structure in Jordan with local partners – Primas Asset Management and Alphalex Capital Management, Hong Kong-based developer Lofter Group and its associates are moving closer to constructing a HK$1.9 billion (US$242 million) Grade A office tower in Kowloon just north of Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui area, reported Mingtiandi on Wednesday morning (3 August, SGT).
Notably, Lofter and its partners have obtained over 90 percent ownership of the 60-year-old property along 19 to 21 Nanking Street, which is said to be valued at HK$109 million (US$13.8 million).
The compulsory sale would give the buyers an opportunity to consolidate the building with three adjacent properties that they already own into a single 7,250 sq ft plot. In December 2021, Lofter announced that it intends to redevelop the four sites on Nanking Street into a commercial property measuring 87,002 sq ft.
The joint venture partners estimate that the project would entail an overall investment of over HK$1.3 billion, and the Jordan project adds to a series of Kowloon redevelopment efforts by value-add specialist Lofter Group.
“The site is strategically located in [an] urban area and is only a minute’s walk from Jordan MTR station,” said Lofter Group Chairperson and Founder Carol Chow. She thinks that there is robust demand for new Grade A office buildings in the vicinity, as no new commercial developments have been constructed in the district for over 15 years.
In 2021, the JV partners acquired most of the stake in the sites spanning from 11 to 21 Nanking Street for a total of HK$750 million. And the overall purchase price of the commercial sites is expected to hit HK$830 million, which works out to HK$9,540 psf based on the proposed project’s maximum floor area.
While Lofter did not share the details of its plans for the Nanking Street site, CHFT Advisory and Appraisal Senior Director Alex Leung revealed that the optimal project for the plot would be a Ginza-style office block with a retail podium.
At present, asking rents of office space within the vicinity average HK$30 psf per month, he added.
