Hang Lung Buys Luxury US Consulate Plot For $2.56bn

Hang Lung Properties, led by tycoon Ronnie Chan, has bought its first property in Hong Kong in years, spending HK$2.56 billion for the US consulate staff compound on Shouson Hill Road.

The developer, which has been active in the mainland market in recent years and has repeatedly said it was not the right time to buy property in Hong Kong, said the deal was a vote of confidence in the city's future.

China Resources Land had bought an adjacent plot two years ago for HK$5.9 billion.

News that the luxury property on 37 Shouson Hill Road – comprising six low-density apartment buildings over nearly 95,000 square feet overlooking Deep Water Bay – was up for sale surfaced in late May, amid escalating Sino-US tensions.

A spokesman for the US Consulate said the transaction is a business decision, dismissing suggestions it had to do with tensions between Beijing and Washington, and that the sale won't affect their presence and operations in Hong Kong.

The compound has served as staff quarters since 1948.

The consulate said portions of the proceeds will be reinvested "into multiple US Government-owned properties in Hong Kong".

The sale price, announced on Thursday by CBRE Group which handled the transaction, was at the low end of market expectations.

Hang Lung Properties says it's pleased to have won the tender, saying the price was reasonable.

It said the plot will be redeveloped into luxury houses, to be completed by 2024.