Kennedy Town

Located at the western tip on the north of Hong Kong Island, Kennedy Town was first developed as a suburban area to absorb the rapidly growing population of the neighbouring Sai Ying Pun. The district in recent years has attracted a growing number of expatriates looking to rent and buy property in Hong Kong, attracted by the increasing number of new apartments built on the waterfront and the popular Belchers development.

The apartments in Kennedy Town range from the older low-rises at the top of Sands Street and older local style apartments, to luxury waterfront apartments with superb facilities and the famous Belchers development. The Belchers is an expansive residential development with a large podium area and numerous facilities to cater for the 8 apartment blocks, each at least 44 storeys high. The development is especially popular for expatriate and local families, attracted by the large range of facilities, kid friendly environment and the community like feel of the Belchers.

Property prices in Kennedy Town have risen significantly in the recent years, with buyers and investors anticipating the arrival of the MTR extension in 2014. Currently the popular means of transport are buses and trams which can be seen as an inconvenience to some. Once the Kennedy Town MTR is operational the trip to Central will only take 8 minutes. There is already an increasing number of new restaurant and bars near the waterfront and it is certain that many new amenities and improvements will accompany the MTR station’s completion.

Kennedy Town also known as “Sai Wan” or West Bay to the older residents was named after Sir Arthur Kennedy, governor of Hong Kong from 1871 to 1877. The area is built partly on reclaimed land, and the extensiveness of the reclamation can be seen from the tramline which originally ran along the coast of the island. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the Shek Tong Tsui part of Kennedy Town was a very popular area for Chinese restaurants, high class brothels, opium dens and gambling.