No_2_January_and_February__1950 — Page 27

EDINBURGH HOUSE

1

THW

Edinburgh House, situated on the corner of Queen's Road and Ice House Street, is the latest of the office buildings to be completed by the Hongkong Land Invest- ment & Agency Company, Ltd., in their schedule of modernising their commercial properties situated in the heart of the City of Victoria, Hongkong.

Unfortunately for the many firms that are still short of offices, very little of the floor space in Edinburgh House will be available for their requirements because of the necessity to provide alternative accommodation for the occupants of Alexandra Building which is next on the list of the Company's properties to be re-built. Since the Land Investment Company intend to proceed immediately with the demolition and the subsequent rebuilding of the Alexandra Building, most of the former occupants were transferred to Edinburgh House, still leaving the shortage of office accommodation as acute as it was before this building was completed.

At the annual meeting of the Land Investment Com- pany held on 20th March, 1950, Mr. Landale, the Chairman, said: "As shareholders are no doubt aware, your Company owns a very large section of the Central district. Because of this a large measure of responsibility for providing the nccessary amount of accommodation for the expanding needs of the commercial community falls on your Company. This has been no easy task; the responsibility has had to

be related to ordinary economical prudence and everyday practicability. The re-development of any particular building could not be undertaken until existing tenants had either alternative premises or had been re-accommodated by your Company. Progress made since 1945 has been steady, albeit slow; the three floors have been added to Marina House, Edinburgh House, as you all know, has just been completed and, as I told you at our last meeting, we are about to embark on the last stage of our first post-war development programme with the re-building of Alexandra Building. Plans are well ahead for the re-development of the Alexandra Building site. We have already many more applicants for space than could be housed in it, and fresh enquiries are being received every day."

Edinburgh House stands on the site which was formerly occupied by No. 9 Ice House Street, probably one of the oldest of the office buildings in the Colony, and the

BA

Two photographs taken from practically the same view-point. Left) The old St. Francis Hotel just prior to demolition, and

(right) the building which now stands on the site.