資料來源︰HK magazine 5–2-2008
以下只是刊登官塘重建的相關部份，另有談及啓德和衙前圍村的重建，如果想看整個報導，請見http://hk-magazine.com/feature/journey-east
Kwun Tong
The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) redevelopment of Kwun Tong is set to take place in the town center and on Yuet Wah Street. Spanning five hectares, the project has been divided into five phases, scheduled for completion by 2019. The most questionable part of these plans is the glass domed government complex and the 63-storey office tower, the height of which was lowered from 280 meters to 260 meters to comply with Town Planning Board guidelines. Residents will be relocated to make way for the structures, and property acquisition for the first phase commenced at the end of last year, with the URA offering almost $6,000 per square foot to compensate property owners.
It is estimated that the entire buy-out will cost $14 billion dollars, affecting over 5,000 people in 1,600 households.
“We’re not against redevelopment, but we’re against redeveloping Kwun Tong in a way that will wipe out its heritage,“ says Yuen Chi-yan, a one-time Kwun Tong resident and contributor to kwuntong.wordpress.com, a website dedicated to airing the concerns of the local community. “The government says the dome will become the future landmark of Kwun Tong, but it doesn’t relate in any way to what’s in the community now.”
Wong Kwok-hing, the East Kowloon legislator for the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions expresses concern about the fate of low-income residents once their homes are demolished. “Sure, the owners will be able to claim compensation, but what about the tenants?” Even if their homes are not demolished, they may still find themselves priced out of the area. “Rents will go up when the town center is redeveloped. Will they be able to afford to live here?” he asks.
Nicole Chabot is one woman who has studied Kwun Tong in depth. She is the author of “Essays on Kwun Tong,” a book that studies three areas of interest in the district, including food (the alley famous for beef brisket noodles next to the Yue Man Square Park in the town centre), shopping (the APM Mall) and art (the Osage gallery in Kwun Tong Industrial Area). Through her observations, she has come to appreciate the old-fashioned soul of the district. “The local character of specialist shops, hawkers stalls and hand-painted signs all call to mind Hong Kong in earlier times,” she says.
With these developments in the offing, she fears that the Kwung Tong way of life will disappear, and that ”local character will be usurped by shiny structures that represent conventional and extremely narrow ideals of how people ought to live their lives.” She adds that a perfect example of this is the APM shopping mall, which locals have no use for. “The outdoor shopping markets in areas such as Shui Wo Street serve different purposes. They have a social function and can bring people together to interact with their surroundings,” she says. “It’s really a very bad thing to spend too much time indoors, in an air-conditioned environment.”
The Plan in Details
Cost: $30 billion, $14 billion of which is budgeted to buy out local property owners
Area of redevelopment: 5.3 hectares
Affected number of households: 1,656 households, approximately 5,000 people
Estimated completion date: 2021, to be completed in five phrases.
Phase 1: Yuet Wah Street site will be redeveloped into a residential area with a clinic. It is estimated to be completed by 2013.
Phase 2 and 3: Residential buildings and a public transport interchange will be built, together with a bazaar and “Kai Fong Lane,” a street of traditional neighborhood shops (imagined below). Completion date: between 2014 and 2019.
Phrase 4 and 5: The construction of commercial buildings and hotels. The glass domed government complex and 63-storey landmark building will also be built. There will also be an 8,700 square meter multi-purpose community plaza.
The Old Kwun Tong
Take a tour of Kwun Tong before it vanishes into the skyscrapers, glass domes, and residential blocks, shown on the project’s map.
1. The worn-out cage homes in Yue Man Fong have been witness to the development of Kwun Tong for more than 40 years. According to Mr. Cheung, former Kwun Tong resident and son of a cage home owner, in the heyday of the manufacturing industry, over one hundred people lived there. Now it is home to just three residents. 閱覽全文 »
