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Revitalization of historical buildings, repeated projects "jump boats", deficits become normal, experts blame slow approvals

2021-11-14T03:14:39.071Z


The government has implemented the "Revitalizing Historic Buildings Partnership Scheme" in 2008 and has launched six phases so far. According to government information, 3 projects have been abandoned by operating agencies, and 4 projects have operating deficits. Architectural heritage protection


The government has implemented the "Revitalizing Historic Buildings Partnership Scheme" in 2008 and has launched six phases so far.

According to government information, 3 projects have been abandoned by operating agencies, and 4 projects have operating deficits.


Zhang Jiarong, a conservationist of architectural heritage, pointed out that the policies and guidelines are correct, but restoration projects often require a lot of investment, and it is difficult for operating agencies to be responsible for their own profits and losses.

He also quoted some people in the industry as saying that due to the long time for approval, the organization was greatly out of budget.

Conservation architect Ying Yilun also pointed out that some operating organizations are newly established and may not have sufficient experience.

They suggested that in addition to providing financial assistance, the authorities should assist operating organizations in their operations and rehabilitation, as well as improve gatekeeping.


▼Former North Kowloon Magistracy▼


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The old milk company dormitory with more than one hundred years of history has completed the activation of the bull's eye window and the indoor stove has been relaunched

The Pompong Forest Ranch starts from the old building and the hilltop remains to be protected. The government encourages the government to increase its preliminary support

The "Revitalizing Historic Buildings Partnership Scheme" has been launched in six phases. Non-profit organizations have applied for the revitalization of government historic buildings. The first five phases of the project have been approved so far. After approval, the government will receive a one-off grant from the government to cope with the building’s needs. Rehabilitation works and deficits during the first two years of operation, but then the operating organization will need to be responsible for its own profits and losses.

According to government information, three of the first three projects that started operations were abandoned by the operating agency. They were the former North Kowloon Magistrates’ Court of the "Savannah College of Art and Design (Hong Kong Campus)" and the Ma Wan Fangyuan Library And the former Gordon Barracks.

The selected operating organization of the former Gordon Barracks has "jumped off the ship" before the restoration project has started.

In addition, there are four items in the list that have operating deficits and require government funding for the first two years.

Among them, the "Stone House Homes" that revitalized the stone houses in Kowloon City had the largest deficit, reaching 2.19 million yuan.

▼Old Tai Po Police Station▼


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Looking at the information, the first three phases of the plan to revitalize the Greenway Academy from the old Tai Po Police Station have had the least number of visitors in the past three years, with an average of only about 40,000 per year, which is also a drop from the 2016 figure.

At the same time, the visitor arrivals of two projects declined, namely Tai O Heritage Hotel and Mei Ho House Youth Hostel.

Architectural heritage conservationist Zhang Jiarong estimates that the change in the number of visitors to Mei Ho House and Tai O Heritage Hotel is related to the epidemic, but believes that Lvhui Academy is affected by insufficient publicity.

He pointed out that the revitalization of the Luhui Academy site can be integrated with the surrounding environment, but the remote location and insufficient publicity have reduced the number of visitors.

Zhang Jiarong, architectural heritage conservationist.

(Profile picture / Photo by Liang Pengwei)

It takes time to approve the restoration plan and slow down the progress of the project

He pointed out that the cost of rehabilitation of old buildings is high, and it is necessary to maintain the original appearance, but also to update the facilities in accordance with the regulations. In addition, some people in the industry pointed out that the antiquities office often slows down the progress of the project when it takes time to approve the restoration plan. Operating agencies lack experience and easily lose budget.

He believes that the planning policy is correct and represents the government's intention to promote heritage conservation. However, he suggested that in the short term, the government needs to provide more assistance to operating organizations in terms of money and operations, including publicity work; and in the long run, the structure of the heritage office should be improved.

Ying Yilun, a conservation architect who participated in the third phase of the revitalization plan to revitalize Haw Par Villa into a "Hab Leopard Music Garden", also pointed out that the authorities need to strengthen the gatekeeper role and set up more professional talents to approve projects to ensure that non-profit organizations have Ability to operate.

He pointed out that there were applications for newly established non-profit organizations in the past, but they could not continue to operate after several years of operation.

▼April 7th Haw Par Villa Open Day▼ 


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▼Former milk company senior staff dormitory ``Puchanglin Ranch''▼ 


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At the end of the year, the sixth phase of the historic building revitalization plan was launched. The Tai Tam Tuk Reservoir Dormitory King Yin Li was listed on the Queen's Hill historic building. The Indian temple was in disrepair. Scholars said that the world’s unique district councilor urged the Office of Conservation and Monuments to refuse to disclose the pictures of 8,800 historic buildings. It’s hard to understand the cause of death

01News

Source: hk1

All news articles on 2021-11-14

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