1novels Chapter 52: Jianning, Go for it boldly!
Chapter 52: Jianning, Go for it boldly!
After taking Chen Wenyu home.
Li Jiagang went directly to the "Hong Kong Electric" company.
The appliance company is still producing washing machines at full capacity, in preparation for the upcoming season.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong Electric has also been extremely busy lately. The new power plant project is undergoing various explorations and tests, the power plant units are being upgraded, and the old power grid equipment has been dismantled and replaced with new circuits throughout Hong Kong Island.
In addition, the real estate project department is about to enter into land development with Cheung Kong Real Estate, and also needs to form a team to develop small plots of land.
Especially Huo Jianning.
Now he's busy with one thing and several others.
He is in charge of the HK Electric property project, and is also busy building the group's framework, as well as serving as the spokesperson for the chairman of HK Electric.
Meanwhile, the "Qingzhou Yingni" cement plant, which was just acquired, is currently undergoing integration, and he is still in charge of the handover work.
It's fair to say that he hasn't even had time to eat lately, but despite being very busy, he feels highly motivated and is very satisfied with his current job.
For no reason.
Because his boss trusted him completely and entrusted him with important responsibilities, and because the group had a very promising future, he saw unlimited hope for the future.
Lijiagang enters the office area.
Seeing all the staff in the office working enthusiastically, he was very satisfied with the company atmosphere. This was exactly the effect he wanted, with everyone highly motivated.
"Hello, Chairman."
"Chairman, you're back."
"Chairman, General Manager Huo, the Administrative Manager, and General Manager Li Haiming have all come to see you."
"Chairman, Yangtze Real Estate has sent you a project development document that requires your signature."
"Chairman, the survey for the project we developed independently has been completed, and the report is on your desk. We need your signature."
"In addition, there are two documents on Lamma Island that require your personal signature."
Faced with documents handed to him by secretaries from various departments, Li Jiagang could only hurry back to his office.
Seeing the pile of documents waiting for his signature on his desk, he couldn't help but smile wryly.
Take off your coat and get to work immediately.
Open the file and review it carefully.
We are collaborating with Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong Properties to develop a former power station in Causeway Bay. The site, which is 16.2 acres in size and more than 1 square meters, has been surveyed and the design drawings and plans have been completed.
When he saw the construction blueprints, Li Jiagang couldn't help but gasp.
Li Ka-shing's people actually planned to build six buildings on a plot of land of just over 10,000 square meters.
Based on the land area of 16.2 mu × 666 square meters, it is approximately 10800 square meters.
According to Hong Kong's current building regulations, the density cannot exceed 25% of the building area. Therefore, 10800 square meters × 25% = 2700 square meters of building land.
2700再除以6栋＝平均每栋450平方建筑地，而450平方还要除了每栋8个单元＝56.25平方。
This doesn't even include the shared area.
You should know that every building must reserve common areas such as safety passages, stairwells, corridors, and elevators. This should account for at least 15% of the 450 square meters as common area.
450 × 15% = 67.5 squared.
450 - 67.5 = 382.5 squared.
And what about the building's recessed area?
This should take up at least 5% of the area.
That is, 382.5 × 5% = 19 square meters.
382.5 - 19 = 363.5 squared.
363.5 square meters divided by 8 equals an average of 45.43 square meters per unit.
This formula is actually the correct calculation method, and it's the most reliable one from Lijiagang. If we were to calculate it accurately, the average size of each unit would probably not even be 45.43 square meters.
But Li Ka-shing's people were able to plan the land into buildings where each unit would have at least a small two-bedroom apartment of 56 square meters, and some units would even have a small three-bedroom apartment of 78 square meters.
Li Jiagang doesn't know how he did it.
He read on intently.
Li Jiagang tapped his fingertips on the table.
His gaze kept shifting between the precise lines and data on the blueprints.
The more he looked at it, the more it broadened his understanding.
He thought to himself, Li Ka-shing truly lives up to his name. In real estate development, the other party's use and planning of space is so meticulous that he can turn the impossible into the possible.
At that moment, Li Jiagang felt that he was not just looking at a blueprint, but also attending a vivid architecture class.
He looked closely and finally discovered its subtlety.
The structural design has been optimized to the extreme, compressing the ground floor space to the limit, while cleverly utilizing the high-rise interval space and the hollow space above to reduce building density, thus incorporating it into the calculation of area density.
More importantly, the layout of the elevator shafts and stairwells is designed to be extremely compact, making the most of almost every inch of land.
The remaining 75% of the land was originally intended for roads, setbacks, green spaces, and supporting facilities, but they have made full and rational use of it.
Apart from the necessary street-facing red lines, ground roads, fire lanes, etc., the ground land is almost "fully built," stacking space upwards, relying on high plot ratios to maximize building area and solve the density regulations.
In any case, by shrinking upwards and moving the hollow spaces around, the original 25% density space was reduced entirely through high-rise buildings to meet the building regulations at the time.
In this way, the underground footprint can be rationally planned to the extreme, maximizing the spatial value of the land.
"Brilliant, truly brilliant," Li Jiagang murmured in admiration. This almost "exploitative" development model, while perhaps not offering the most comfortable living experience, maximizes commercial profits in the prime location of Causeway Bay. This is precisely the consistent style of Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong Holdings: precise, efficient, ruthless, and focused on maximizing value.
Li Jiagang finally understood why there were so many "pigeonhouses" and "subdivided flats" in Hong Kong.
So that's how it was planned.
No wonder people in later generations have been criticizing those in the real estate business, saying that almost all of them are unscrupulous merchants.
Now he truly agrees.
But when he thought about how he might be insulted like that in the future, he immediately shook his head and started to mock himself.
He then picked up a red pen and wrote in the review comments section of the drawing: "The plan is highly reasonable and feasible after evaluation. I agree to proceed. However, we must ensure building safety and facility redundancy, and there can be no carelessness -- Lijiagang."
He then opened the survey report for the company's self-developed project.
The self-developed land consists of two plots, one in the north corner, which is 3.32 mu (2211 square meters).
The other one is in Kwun Tong and Lam Tin.
The plot of land in Lantian is slightly larger, at 4.65 mu, or about 3100 square meters.
The first plot of land, located on North Point Road, is only a little over three acres in size and was originally an abandoned small base station. Although its size and value cannot be compared with the Causeway Bay project, Li Jiagang regards it as a "test site" for training the team and exploring independent development.
The main thing is to accumulate development experience.
In the report, Huo Jianning's team proposed a relatively conservative plan to build two ten-story commercial and residential buildings.
Having just reviewed Li Ka-shing's development project proposal, Li Jiagang shook his head heavily as he looked at his own.
"Too conservative, not aggressive enough." He muttered to himself, then picked up the internal phone and dialed the secretariat: "Inform Mr. Huo to come to my office in ten minutes. I want to talk to him about the planning of the North Point Road project."
"Yes, Chairman."
It took about 10 minutes.
Huo Jianning knocked on the door and entered.
He looked slightly tired, but his eyes still shone with excitement.
"Chairman," Huo Jianning greeted respectfully, his back ramrod straight, "You wanted to see me?"
"Sit down." Li Jiagang gestured to the chair opposite him and pushed the North Point Road development report in front of him. "Jinning, were you involved in this North Point Road project? Who did the planning?"
"Chairman, I was involved in the project. After repeated discussions, the team believes that a ten-story commercial and residential building is the safest option, as it can control costs and the risks are relatively manageable," Huo Jianning replied neither humbly nor arrogantly.
Li Jiagang leaned forward, his hands clasped: "Playing it safe? We acquired Qingzhou Yingni and assembled our own construction team; we're not doing 'safe' business. Take another look at these blueprints and plans."
Li Jiagang gave him the project proposal for a joint development project with Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong Properties.
More than ten minutes later...
Huo Jianning looked shocked.
"Were you shocked? What are your thoughts after seeing it?" Li Jiagang's eyes were burning. "This plot of land on North Point Road, although small, has a good location and is right next to the bustling Chun Yeung Street. Ten stories is too wasteful. I want you to redo the plan, aiming for fifteen stories. I want you to squeeze every last drop of value out of this land."
"Furthermore, it would be a waste to build buildings on that land in Kwun Tong and Lam Tin; a shopping mall project should be proposed instead."
"The land in Lantian will be located about 100 meters from the subway station in the future. It will be a subway-connected development and can be positioned as a long-term rental property."
He continued without waiting for Huo Jianning's response, "Jianning, although our company has no experience in real estate development, that's not an excuse for being overly cautious."
"What we lack is experience, not specialized talent, and experience can be acquired through brainstorming. What are you worried about?"
"I believe in you, just go for it." Li Jiagang returned the two documents to him.
"Understood, Chairman! I'll go back and organize the team to discuss it again, and redo the survey, budget, and design. I guarantee I'll produce two solutions that will satisfy you."
Li Jiagang nodded in satisfaction.
He believed that Fok Kin-ning could overcome this problem, and he was not worried that no one would buy the building after it was completed. In two years, Hong Kong's economy would be fully recovering, and the buildings would be in high demand.
Let alone building a 15-story building.
If the construction conditions are met and a 25-story building can be built, Lijiagang will still apply for approval.