Operators invited for Central Police Station heritage site

02/28/2013

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust (the Trust) today announced that it is inviting interested operators to join it to revitalise the Central Police Station compound (the CPS) into an integrated cultural destination with heritage, contemporary art and leisure facilities for all to enjoy from 2015 onwards. 

The operators will be required to introduce to the CPS a rich variety of heritage and contemporary art programmes, as well as compatible cultural and leisure services that serve a broad range of community needs.

A partnership between the Hong Kong SAR Government and the Trust, the Central Police Station Revitalisation Project (the Project) will comprise a total construction floor area of around 300,000 square feet after revitalisation works.  Approximately 37% of the construction floor area will be used for heritage appreciation and contemporary art, 36% for public circulation and electrical and mechanical plant space, and 27% for commercial activities to provide leisure and entertainment to the visitors.  There will also be over 40,000 square feet of open spaces for public programmes.

The Trust, through a not-for-profit company, the Jockey Club CPS Limited (JCCPS), will manage the Project.  JCCPS will be responsible for guiding the development of the CPS site into a cultural destination, managing and maintaining the site, developing and co-ordinating site-wide activities and programmes involving all site occupants, and developing partnerships with the key stakeholders of the Project.

The Trust has now extended invitations for:

• Expressions of interest (EOI) to operate the heritage and contemporary art elements at the site,
• EOI for food and beverage (F&B) operations, and
• A request for proposals (RFP) for operating an integrated cultural and leisure offering at the Central Magistracy building.

“The engagement of an independent heritage and contemporary art operator for the site is in line with the Trust’s intention to support the development of culture and nurture talent in curatorial management and administration of cultural venues in Hong Kong,” a spokesperson for the Trust said.

The Trust’s preference is for a Hong Kong-based, not-for-profit operator to manage the CPS heritage and contemporary art elements.  Recognising that some operators may not possess the full range of required skills and experience, the Trust welcomes expressions of interest by joint ventures formed by local operators or by local operators partnering non-Hong Kong based operators. 

The heritage and contemporary art operator will actively support the overall vision of the CPS and will work collaboratively with JCCPS and other site occupants to achieve the shared vision.  It will be responsible for the daily operation of the heritage and contemporary art facilities under its control.  This would entail operating the performance and exhibition venues; organising and co-ordinating the contemporary art programmes, heritage events and exhibitions; and developing and managing the educational and outreach programmes at the CPS. 

The heritage and contemporary art operator will not be charged a rental for occupation of the facilities that it operates on behalf of JCCPS, and will have booking priority and rent-free use of other CPS space designated for heritage or contemporary art programmes.  In line with the user-pays principle, a management fee will be levied for the occupation and use of these facilities. 

The ongoing costs of running the heritage and contemporary art programmes will be substantial.  The Trust recognises that it has a significant role to play in supporting the heritage and contemporary art activities.  Apart from funding the revitalisation works, the Trust will use all incomes from the commercial operations on the CPS site for management of the site, with the surplus used for supporting the heritage and contemporary art programmes.  In addition, the heritage and contemporary art operator can apply to the Trust for major programme-specific funding to support heritage and contemporary art activities on the site.  It is expected that the operator will generate additional funding for its programmes from other sources such as ticket sales, merchandising, sponsorship and donations, in line with other not-for-profit cultural organisations.  

The F&B operators and the Central Magistracy operator are parts of the mix of commercial tenants who will also include specialist stores, commercial art galleries and other appropriate establishments.  They are expected to offer products, services and activities that complement the unique character of the heritage site. 

Not only will the commercial operators provide services to the visitors, they will also help attract visitors to the site and the various heritage and contemporary art programmes.  In addition, the commercial operators will contribute to heritage conservation and contemporary art development by providing rental income to JCCPS and hence enable the CPS site to become self sustaining.

“A guiding philosophy of the Trust for the CPS Project is that the commercial activities are to raise funds for the self-sustainability of the site with any surplus funds made available for the benefit of sustaining the overall operation of the CPS,” the spokesperson said.

Interested parties will be assessed based on the selection criteria for the respective operations, which may include the operators’ vision for the site, track record in their areas of expertise, compatibility of their offerings with the unique character of the site, financial capability and capacity, people development capability and governance.  All selected operators will be required to protect their premises on the heritage site and support JCCPS’ site-wide activities such as open days and promotions of appreciation of heritage and contemporary art.

EOI and RFP documents and background information of the Project are available on the project web site: www.centralpolicestation.org.hk/infoforoperators.  The invitations are also being advertised in major Hong Kong newspapers in March 2013. 

Between 2013 and 2014, another major exercise will be launched to invite other site occupants, including not-for-profit organisations and retail operators.  Revitalisation works are planned to be complete in 2015, after which the site will be open to the public.

About the Central Police Station Revitalisation Project

The Central Police Station Revitalisation Project is an important initiative to conserve and revitalise the heritage site comprising the former Central Police Station, the Central Magistracy and the Victoria Prison for adaptive reuse.  The Project includes the conservation of 16 buildings of historical or architectural significance and several open spaces on the approximately 3.37-acre site.  To support activities on the revitalised site, an international renowned firm of architects, Herzog & de Meuron, has been engaged to design two new buildings, tentatively named the Old Bailey Wing and Arbuthnot Wing.  These new buildings will provide additional floor space for contemporary art and exhibition areas and plant rooms, and will help to reduce interventions to the heritage buildings.  Project website:www.centralpolicestation.org.hk.