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28/2/98), it was finally proposed in February 1902 to purchase, at an outlay of $508,280, that portion of the recently reclaimed area on the west side of Pedder Street, containing 25,414 square feet and belonging to Sir Robert Jardine.
This proposal was confirmed by resolution of the Legislative Council on the 10th April 1902 and the purchase was subsequently completed.
The sanction of the Secretary of State to invite competitive designs was obtained and the Conditions of Competition were published in December 1902, Shanghai and Singapore Architects being invited to compete. The building was specified to be three stories in height with a basement underneath for storage purposes, etc., and the limit of cost, exclusive of Architects' fees, was stated as $500,000.
Only three designs were submitted,—two by Hongkong firms and the third by a Shanghai firm. Of the three, that prepared by Messrs. Denison, Ram & Gibbs was selected, official intimation of the fact being communicated to them on the 17th July 1903. The designs had been adjudicated upon by the Public Works Committee, who, in forwarding their report to Government, recommended that a fourth storey should be added to the building and this recommendation was approved.
Messrs. Denison, Ram & Gibbs, having expressed some doubt in the report accompanying their design as to the adequacy of the sum mentioned in the Conditions of Competition as the limit of cost of the building, namely, $500,000, to provide for granite dressings and the use of teakwood, &c., the matter was referred to Government and it was decided by the Governor, then Sir Henry Blake, that a very important public building such as this should be constructed of first-class materials and of granite where the Architects considered it desirable to introduce it in the principal fronts.
To facilitate the erection of the building, it was arranged that a Contract for the foundations and basement only should be let in the first instance and tenders were invited accordingly.
Difficulty was experienced in obtaining reasonable tenders but ultimately a Contract for this portion of the work was let in November 1903. Delay was caused in the execution of the work by the loss of a vessel containing a cargo of piles and by unexpected difficulties which were encountered when the foundations were opened up, and the Contract was not completed until January 1906. Meanwhile a Contract for the superstructure had been entered into in July 1905 but the Contractors were not given possession of the site until the 23rd January 1906.
When the foundations were nearing completion, Sir Matthew Nathan, who had succeeded Sir Henry Blake as Governor, proposed that a Clock Tower should be added to the building. This proposal was adopted and the necessary alterations in the foundations were carried out, contributing towards the delay in their completion.
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