Revitalising Historic Buildings
through Partnership Scheme
A case study of the Mei Ho House in Hong Kong
Esther Cheung
College of Humanities and Law, School of Professional and Continuing Education,
Hong Kong University, Hong Kong, and
Albert P.C. Chan
Department of Building and Real Estate, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University,
Hong Kong
Abstract
Purpose – Hong Kong has undergone a rapid transformation from a small fishing village to one of
Asia’s top commercial cities. With the booming economic development that it has undergone, heritage
has been criticised as largely neglected. To respond to this criticism proactively, the local government
introduced a “Revitalising Historic Buildings through Partnership Scheme” which is considered an
innovative social public-private partnership initiative. However, it is still early stages and the
effectiveness of this scheme is yet to be evaluated. The purpose of this paper is therefore to evaluate
the success of this innovative scheme by means of a case study.
Design/methodology/approach – The case study approach has been adopted to analyse the
effectiveness of this scheme. The Mei Ho House is a Grade I listed building marking the history of
early public housing in Hong Kong. This project was studied thoroughly by looking at the historical
background, the selected service provider, project details, historical significance, social benefits and
public opinion.
Findings – The findings indicate that the scheme has been implemented effectively to revitalize
historical buildings such as Mei Ho House. Efforts have been made to preserve these buildings into
innovative use, uplift local culture and social benefits. In addition, an effective partnership
arrangement between the public and private parties has been established.
Originality/value – The analyses will help to assess whether the proposed scheme has been
successfully implemented. As a result, the suitability of using this scheme for future projects in Hong
Kong or even other jurisdictions will be recommended. The proposed scheme will be an innovative and
alternative approach for preserving and restoring historical buildings if proved to be feasible.
Keywords Construction industry, Heritage, Procurement, Hong Kong, Building conservation,
Partnership
Paper type Research paper
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The work described in this paper was fully supported by a grant from the Research Grants
Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project No. PolyU
5002-PPR-10). This paper forms part of the research project entitled “Evaluating the social,
economical, cultural and heritage impacts of the ‘Revitalising Historic Buildings through
Partnership Scheme’ in Hong Kong”, from which other deliverables will be produced with
different objectives/scope but sharing common background and methodology. The authors also
wish to acknowledge the contributions of other team members including Dr Kim-wah Chung and
Dr Chi-pang Lau.
PM
30,2
176
Received March 2011
Revised August 2011
Accepted September 2011
Property Management
Vol. 30 No. 2, 2012
pp. 176-189
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0263-7472
DOI 10.1108/02637471211213415