Page 14 - Sphere No.25 (Aug 2009)

12 SPHERE
project converted an area formerly dedicated to heavy indus-
try into a whole new community, and the estate now has an
estimated population of 50,000. Amenities include schools,
sporting facilities, quality retail in supermarkets and shopping
malls, numerous restaurants, a cinema and a public transport
terminus. The initiative radically revitalised Hung Hom.
Hutchison’s second Garden City project, South Horizons, be-
ginning in the same year Whampoa Gardens was completed,
occupies the site of the former Hongkong Electric Power Sta-
tion on Ap Lei Chau, decommissioned in 1989.
Again, the creative contrast in use of the space is dramatic. A
high-rise low-density development with first class recreational
facilities, offering its residents a stress-free lifestyle just a short
distance from the business districts, South Horizons utterly
transformed the formerly industrial island of Ap Lei Chau.
Today the development, completed in 1995, has over 40,000
residents who enjoy facilities including a residents’ club with
one indoor and two outdoor swimming pools, flood-lit tennis
courts, golf practice driving ranges and well-equipped children’s
playgrounds, as well as a jacuzzi, a gymnasium and fitness cen-
tre, squash, badminton and basketball courts, an aerobic dance
room, two golf practice rooms, each equipped with an elec-
tronic golf simulator, and function rooms for entertaining.
Bo Bo Luk has lived in Ap Lei Chau for more than 15 years
and has watched the area develop into a thriving community.
“My first impression of Ap Lei Chau was that it was a bit iso-
lated. In the early days, the transport network was insufficient
but this changed when South Horizons was completed in 1995.
Now it’s easy to get anywhere in Hong Kong,” she said.
“The fact that there are so many middle-class families living
‘When you open a five star hotel it upgrades the entire area, and
I think North Point will gradually change to something more upscale’