Global real estate investment firm Hines has entered the Hong Kong co-living market.
The company has acquired the Butterfly on Prat Hotel in the heart of Tsim Sha Tsui(TST), Hong Kong, on behalf of its Pan-Asia fund, Hines Asia Property Partners (HAPP), in partnership with MindWorks Properties, a Hong Kong-based real estate and technology firm.
Hines and Mindworks Properties plan to convert the hotel into a tech-driven rental housing offering for young professionals.
The asset will serve as the co-living flagship for DASH Living, Hong Kong’s largest operator of urban professional housing.
“Butterfly’s strategic location made it an ideal acquisition for living conversion. The asset is adjacent to parks and restaurants and convenient to both Hong Kong metro and the China High-Speed Rail to the Mainland, providing unparalleled access to the Greater Bay Area,” shared Arthur Hui, director at Hines who led the transaction.
Currently, a 158-key hotel, the asset will be rebranded as DASH Living on Prat, following renovations to become a premier co-living complex featuring design, amenities, and community programming targeted at today’s young professionals. In addition, the renovated asset will include ground-floor retail.
“We are excited to bring a differentiated residential offering to TST, driven by technology and the ESG principles of community,” said Claire Cormier Thielke, senior managing director and country head of Greater China at Hines. “Hines continues to expand in Greater China and we look to add to our existing portfolio compelling new investment opportunities across product types.”
According to the company, Hong Kong’s median home price is over twenty times median household income, yet institutional rental options for young professionals remain limited.
“We are pleased to partner with a global leader, Hines, to provide alternative living solutions in one of Hong Kong’s most important districts,” said Tong Lynn Yu, Investment Partner at MindWorks Properties.
The asset of approximately 70,000 square feet is the newest addition to the open-ended HAPP fund, which launched in April 2021 and most recently purchased New Stage Yokohama, an office tower in the Greater Tokyo market.
“We are excited to expand and diversify our portfolio with the addition of Butterfly. The living sector in Hong Kong provides a unique opportunity for our fund to gain exposure to the growth and strength of the Greater Bay Area, in particular as we look to the economic recovery beyond COVID,” commented Simon Shen, the fund manager responsible for HAPP.
