Can a former factory turned art space help sell real estate? Hongkong Land intends to find out. The property developer is spending millions to convert an ageing electrical switch factory in Beijing into a leading arts centre.
Three buildings are being transformed into art venues including a dance and music space, several restaurants, an experimental theatre and a dance club.
The project, which will open next month, will have a short lifespan. After just 20 months, it will be torn down to make way for an apartment block.
The arts venue is part of Hongkong Land's plan to create an upscale environment for a massive new residential development called Central Park, a joint venture with developer Beijing Vantone.
Located on the edge of the fast-growing central business district in downtown Beijing, the project will have four residential towers of as many as 33 storeys each. The first tower will be completed next spring and 90 per cent of its 558 apartments have already been leased.
The former factory will be torn down in 2005 to make way for Tower Four. Yet Hongkong Land plans to refurbish the switch factory, turning it into an arts space to attract Beijing's cultural elite.
The idea is to cultivate wealthy buyers - a necessity given that Central Park's one- to four-bedroom apartments range in price from 1.1 million yuan (HK$1 million) to 4.8 million yuan.
