LAND, PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES
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Various projects for the disciplined services were also completed. These included Phase I of Tai Lam Prison, a new workshop at Pik Uk Prison and Phase II of the expansion of the Drug Addiction Treatment Centre on Hei Ling Chau. Temporary reprovisioning of the Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force Headquarters was completed in October and demolition work for the first stage of the new Police Headquarters, at Arsenal Street, commenced at the end of the year. Sub-structure work will begin in mid-1986, and Phase I of this development, comprising a six-storey podium, is due for completion in 1988. Phases II and III of the development, comprising two adjacent 40-storey tower blocks, are in the planning stages.
In addition to its own building contracts, the Architectural Office increased its involve- ment in joint ventures with private developers and with community facilities that are subvented by the government. Among the joint venture developments completed in 1985 were 142 residential flats in Ventris Road in Happy Valley, 84 of which were for the government, the new Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal and the new Stock Exchange in Central District, 31 houses for high-ranking government servants in three mixed residential developments on Hong Kong Island, and 200 flats in King's Park, Kowloon, 120 of which were for the government.
Private Building
In 1985, there was a higher level of private building activity than in each of the previous two years, and the number of new building proposals submitted to the Buildings Ordinance Office for approval increased in comparison. Private developers also showed interest in resuming several development schemes which had earlier been shelved to await a more favourable investment climate.
During the year, 644 proposals for private building development were submitted for approval. The usable floor area of building projects for which consent to begin work was given totalled 2712 416 square metres, which represented an approximate increase of 20 per cent compared with 1984. Occupation permits issued for completed buildings numbered 415, providing a total usable floor area of 2 906 556 square metres, an increase of 50 per cent over the previous year. The total sum spent on private building works, excluding land values, was $10,370 million, an increase of 49 per cent.
New residential developments still occupied a significant position. Phase I of the extensive Hung Hom Estate, managed by the Hong Kong Housing Society, and a large Private Sector Participation Scheme housing project at Kowloon Bay were both completed. Other sizeable residential developments at various stages of construction included the Whampoa Dockyard Redevelopment, the Kornhill Development and the Heng Fa Chuen Development.
Commercial developments completed during the year included the new 46-storey headquarters of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, and Phase I of the Exchange Square project. Development proposals for the Bank of China were approved and construction work on a new 70-storey building began.
Other types of development completed in the year included the Academy for Performing Arts, a second grandstand at the Sha Tin Racecourse, and Phase I (tower and podium) of the new Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal. Proposals for a new Hong Kong-Canton Ferry Terminal Building, and for the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on the Wan Chai Reclamation were submitted in 1985.
There was a marked increase in the number of new hotel projects submitted to the Building Authority for approval. These numbered 15.