Hong Kong Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin confirmed that the famous Choi Hung Estate will be rebuilt over 15 years to provide more flats to its residents. The public housing estate, famed for its rainbow-hued facade, will make way for 9,200 new flats, up from the current 7,400 units.
The current estate in Wong Tai Sin was built between 1962 and 1964, and comprises 11 buildings that are between seven and 20 storeys high. According to a South China Morning Post report, Ho said that despite the government’s efforts to maintain the 60-year-old estate, the time has come to completely redevelop the project.
In a Facebook post, Ho added that the redevelopment work will be completed in three stages, and that during the first phase, about 1,500 residents will be moved to the Mei Tung Estate, the site of two redeveloped blocks that will have 2,860 flats between by 2028. Residents who wish to buy subsidised flats will get priority on the sale of 1,460 units at Wang Chiu Road opposite Choi Hung, which will be ready by 2026.
Ho added that the government aims to retain the characteristics that make Choi Hung unique in the redeveloped housing estate, and that authorities will visit residents and tenants after the upcoming Lunar New Year to get their opinions on how to best achieve this goal. Announcements about when the rebuilding work will begin after the government completes its redevelopment study on the estate.
Choi Hung — meaning ‘rainbow’ in Cantonese — is supposed to have been named after the appearance of rainbows on the farmland on which the estate was originally built. The most famous photo spot is the basketball court on the on the carpark rooftop, which has the rainbow blocks in the background. Apart from residential units, the estate is also home to traditional Shanghai-style barber shops and old-school eateries.
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