HKU Bulletin January 2011 (Vol. 12 No. 1)

41 Campus Development Councillors who were teachers and students of the school. We also talked to people in the neighbourhood and they supported us, too. They were worried about the noise and dust if the building were demolished.” There were some stumbling blocks to overcome. The school building dates back to 1965 and in the 1980s the area was zoned residential, meaning a change of use required special permission from the Buildings Department and Town Planning Board. The Buildings Department initially insisted that the school should be demolished. However, the University and its architects offered a plan that included knocking out a small part of the building at the back to create a courtyard. Floor plans were devised with apartments sharing common areas. Support from the community and District Council helped the case, as did the need to minimize disturbance to three historical buildings that share the terrace with Hon Wah. The Lo Pan Temple is a Grade 1 historic building built in 1884 and there are also two Grade 3 blocks nearby. The Buildings Department finally gave support to the plans in the summer and the Town Planning Board approved the project in October. More detailed plans are now being drafted and will be submitted to the Buildings Department for further approval. Having overcome these hurdles, the University still faces a serious housing challenge. Some 1,900 student hostel places need to be found to meet demand when the new four-year curriculum starts in 2012. This is in addition to the 140 places created by Hon Wah and the 1,800 places to be provided by Lung Wah Street Hostel, which is under construction. Suitable sites for hostels are rare in the HKU neighbourhood and those that do come up also tend to attract developers with deep pockets. HKU paid about $60 million for the Hon Wah School building. “This has been a hard won battle but fortunately we had people’s support. I think the District Councillors and others in the neighbourhood appreciate our efforts to rejuvenate the local community,” Mr Ho said. A new student hostel is being created out of a disused school block, thereby preserving the building and its unique environment. Rejuvenating an Old School Ching Lin Terrace is an ideal place for young scholars, a tranquil oasis tucked between busy Pokfulam Road to the north and bustling Kennedy Town to the south. It was once home to a middle school and is now preparing to house HKU postgraduate students. HKU acquired the old Hon Wah Middle School building after the school relocated to Siu Sai Wan and is planning to convert the nine-storey block into 140 much-needed places for postgraduate students. The decision to renovate rather than rebuild was the University’s first choice because the site is in a tight spot with little road access, and the University wanted to preserve the look and feel of the neighbourhood. “This building has been an important part of the collective memory of this neighbourhood,” says HKU Senior Manager in charge of community relations, Henry Ho, who helped to steer consultations on the project with the local community and the Central and Western District Council.” “The District Council unanimously supported preservation of the school, including several ‘ " * 3 ‘ > 8 ! 6 I , $ & F ' $ ( # ! & 3 @ / ‘ ! & Q 3 ’ G & & ! . ( ! ' / 7 3 @ " 3 ‘ $ $ ( / I $ ' : ' > 8 $ ' ' 3 + 3 ' # & 3 ' ! / January 2011