This was disclosed on Sept 21 by Labor Attaché Jalilo dela Torre, who told The SUN that POLO had already paid rental deposit for the property.
He said the move would take place in December as renovation work would take two months. In the meantime, POLO will extend its lease on its offices at Admiralty Centre Tower 1.
Clinched at a monthly rent of $42 per square foot, or $504,000 for the 12,000 sq ft space, the Mass Mutual property unit will have more space for training programs and the long queues for the overseas employment certificate exemptions, Labatt Dela Torre said.
Mass Mutual Tower is about 8 minutes away by foot from Admiralty, where POLO and the Consulate are both located neighboring buildings.
People who need to go to the new POLO offices will have to walk from the Admiralty MTR station, or take the tram to the stop next to the Hong Kong Police headquarters on Arsenal St. then walk north to Gloucester Road.
For those going or coming from the Immigration Tower, the new POLO site will just be a few blocks away, as Mass Mutual stands midway between Admiralty and the Immigration.
Earlier, Labatt Dela Torre said the site selected was Sunlight Tower on Queen’s Road East, but the deal fell through because the property agent was asking for a bigger fee and management was not prepared to handle big crowds of people.
However, the rent Sunlight could have been cheaper than Mass Mutual, at $38 per sq. ft. or $440,800 a month.
POLO’s first choice was, however, the more upmarket Lippo Tower, also in Admiralty. But it was snapped up by another tenant after POLO failed to pay the required deposit on time.
Labatt dela Torre chose not to renew the lease on its 11th and 16th floor offices in Admiralty Centre because the current monthly rent of more than $500,000 is projected to rise considerably on renewal.
Many visitors to its present offices also complain about the rough treatment they get from security officers in the building, especially on Sundays. - VBL
