LOHAS Park
LOHAS Park (Chinese: 日出康城; Cantonese Yale: Yahtchēut Hōngsìhng) is a mass residential development of the MTR Corporation, situated in Tseung Kwan O Area 86, New Territories, Hong Kong. When complete, it will be the largest single residential estate in the territory.
Name and concept
Formerly named "Dream City", it was renamed LOHAS Park. LOHAS is an acronym for "lifestyle of health and sustainability". The Chinese name means "sunrise health city". In fact, the CLP power substation for Phase I The Capitol (Chinese: 首都; Cantonese Yale: Sáudōu) retains the original name "Dream City Power Substation".
The MTR designated LOHAS Park an 'environmental protection city' when planning began in 2002. After the SARS epidemic in early 2003, the element of 'health' was incorporated.[1] Following controversy over "wall effect" buildings in 2007, the developers promised there will be sufficient space to allow wind to blow through the estate. LOHAS Park was built at the east of the reclaimed land near the Tseung Kwan O landfill. According to an MTR spokesman, there is also an operational landfill about 1 km from development, and it is hoped that the problem of smell could be mitigated by town planning.[1]
The project
The 3,550,000 square feet (330,000 m2) estate will comprise fifty residential towers, offering 21,500 apartments to accommodate 58,000 residents in the site area. These will sit above the MTR LOHAS Park Station.[1] The gross floor area (GFA) for domestic purposes is up to 1.6 million square metres, and retail GFA will occupy up to 50,000 m2[2]
The project is divided into 9 to 13 phases, which are to be completed between 2009 and 2015. The first phase, named "The Capitol", situated on the east side of the project, will have 1,380,000 sq ft (128,000 m2) of floor area.[1] The HK$5 billion first phase of the project is developed by Cheung Kong Holdings. The HK$15 billion second phase was also won by Cheung Kong.[3]
Environmental features
- 1.4 million sq ft (40% of the site area) of common area with greenery: the common area will include a 200,000 sq ft (19,000 m2) park and a 330-metre seafront promenade.
- People and cars will be segregated – pedestrians can walk to various facilities without having to cross a road since all the places are linked with covered walkways.
- The garden will be watered by a 440,000-litre water-recycling system.
- LOHAS Park, itself on land reclaimed from the sea, is surrounded by land reclaimed as landfill. The large piece of greenery immediately to the north of LOHAS Park is the recovered land from the old Tseung Kwan O Stage I landfill which closed in 1995. The large mountain slope on the eastern side of LOHAS Park is the old Tseung Kwan O Stage II/III landfill which closed in 1994.[4]
- SENT - The above landfills should not be confused with the operating South East New Territories (SENT) Landfill[5] which is about 1 km southeast of LOHAS Park. The SENT is commonly called the Tseung Kwan O landfill in the media. The SENT is expected to become full in the financial year 2014/2015 if the decision to extend it coverage area is not granted.
Phases
The Capitol (首都; Sáudōu) belongs to the Phase I of the development. It was jointly developed by Cheung Kong Holdings and MTR Corporation in 2008. It comprises 5 high-rise buildings up to 68 storeys, occupying 1,380,000 square feet (128,000 m2) of floor area and offering 2,096 flats.[6][7][8][9]
Phase II of the development was jointly developed by Cheung Kong Holdings and MTR Corporation and Nan Fung Development.
Le Prestige (Chinese: 領都; Cantonese Yale: Líhngdōu), Phase IIA (the first of three sub-phases of Phase II of the development) comprises four high-rise buildings up to 70 storeys, offering 1,688 flats and was completed on 2009.[10]
Le Prime (Chinese: 領峰; Cantonese Yale: Líhngfūng), Phase IIB (the second of three sub-phases of Phase II of the development) comprises three high-rise buildings up to 76 storeys, offering 1,416 flats and was completed on 2011.[11][12]
La Splendeur (Chinese: 領凱; Cantonese Yale: Líhnghói), Phase IIC (the third of three sub-phases of Phase II of the development) comprises three high-rise buildings up to 72 storeys, offering 1,416 flats and was completed on 2013.[13]
Phase II apartments facing East can enjoy the unrestricted view to the permanent recovered greenery. The planned new RTHK headquarters will lie between LOHAS Park Phase II and the greenery. The RTHK building headquarters will be only 10 storeys high compared to the 70+ storeys high of the LOHAS park Phase II towers.
Phase III comprises four high-rise buildings and is under construction. Phase III is directly attached to the LOHAS Park MTR stations. Phases I and II are connected to the MTR station via long covered walkways which are segregated from road traffic level by being fully elevated throughout the route. Phase III is situated at the Northern side of LOHAS Park. Phase III apartments facing North can enjoy the unrestricted view to the permanent recovered greenery. The greenery is partially encircled by the new Tseung Kwan O cycling track which links LOHAS Park to the Tseung Kwan O town centre. Part of the greenery is now the Wan Po Road Pet Garden.
A new covered walkway is under construction which may offer direct access to the MTR station from the Wan Po Road. Currently, access to the LOHAS Park MTR station by other housing estates residents at the Northern side of the Wan Po Road need to pass through the Phase I The Capitol (首都; Sáudōu) estate facilities (lifts and walkways). Heavy pedestrian traffic may have affected the facilities and large scale floor tile refurbishment in the public lift lobbies are undergoing as of Aug 2014.
According to the LOHAS Park master plan, Phase I and Phase II of LOHAS Park are furthest from the permanent sea front, as future phases are constructed, the current seaview apartments will have progressively less seaview.
In April 2015, the tender for LOHAS Park Package 4 was awarded to a subsidiary of Sun Hung Kai Properties. In November 2015, the tender for LOHAS Park Package 5 was awarded to a subsidiary of Wheelock & Co.[14]
References
- 1 2 3 4 Victor Cheung, Green, green grass of home, The Standard, 8 November 2007
- ↑ "Official Website: Planning parameters". MTR Corporation. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
- ↑ Victor Cheung, "Lohas Park third phase lures 15 developers", The Standard, 30 October 2007
- ↑ "Landfill Restoration and Afteruse - Summary Information - Environmental Protection Department". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
- ↑ "Problems & Solutions - Environmental Protection Department". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
- ↑ "首都 The Capitol ( 日出康城第 1 期 / 第 1-5 座 ) 解碼 - 康城物業 專注經營．康城峻瀅 ( Lohas Park )". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
- ↑ "http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=16&art_id=56455&sid=16188755&con_type=3&d_str=20071108&fc=7". Retrieved 7 June 2016. External link in
|title=(help) - ↑ "http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=16&art_id=62196&sid=17807105&con_type=1&d_str=20080228&fc=7". Retrieved 7 June 2016. External link in
|title=(help) - ↑ Fung, Veronica (20 December 2007). "LOHAS Park to be built in Hong Kong". The Standard.
- ↑ "領都 Le Prestige ( 第 2a 期 / 第 1-5 座 ) 解碼 - 康城物業 專注經營．康城峻瀅 ( Lohas Park )". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
- ↑ "領峯 Le Prime ( 第 2b 期 / 第 6-8 座 ) 解碼 - 康城物業 專注經營．康城峻瀅 ( Lohas Park )". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
- ↑ "Pictures Far From Reality" (PDF) (Press release). Green Sense. 7 June 2009.
- ↑ "領凱 La Splendeur ( 第 2c 期 / 第 9-11 座 ) 解碼 - 康城物業 專注經營．康城峻瀅 ( Lohas Park )". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
- ↑ "2014 Annual Report" (PDF). MTR Corporation.
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Coordinates: 22°17′42″N 114°16′16″E / 22.295°N 114.271°E