The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) tomorrow (Friday) will invite interested parties to submit expressions of interest for the Main Operator of the Mallory Street/Burrows Street Revitalisation Project "Art Community" in Wan Chai.

The project, comprising a cluster of 10 pre-war Grade 2 historic buildings, will be revitalised into a hub for culture and creative industries.

The Main Operator of the revitalised building cluster will serve as a facility manager, an event organiser as well as a branding agent responsible for property management, organising events and daily operation, in addition to teaming up with various tenants/operators.

Operated in the form of an "Art Community", the Main Operator will have to promote culture and creative industries in Hong Kong with the following objectives:

• Community ¡V enhance, collaborate and co-own among diverse and cross-disciplinary operators/tenants
  
  
• Sense of belonging ¡V advocate a higher degree of participation amongst tenants 
  
  
• Space usage ¡V achieve better and full utilization of space with all participating tenants in the community  
  
  
• Diversity ¡V bring in non-residential arts organisations/artists so as to diversify the types of events taking place in the Mallory Street project.

It is expected that the management contract for the Main Operator will be awarded by end of 2010.  Construction works of the project will be completed by mid-2012.

Submissions should be made to the URA Headquarters at 10/F, Low Block, Grand Millennium Plaza, 181 Queen¡¦s Road Central, by 5 pm on 16 August 2010 (Monday).

Interested parties with relevant experience, track records and capability to establish and manage a creative community comprising operators from various sectors of the creative industry will be shortlisted and invited for tender submission in due course.

(ENDS)