Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Cityplaza

Cityplaza , located in Taikoo Shing in the of Hong Kong Island, is one of the shopping malls operated by . The mall forms the Island East development with Taikoo Shing and Taikoo Place. The mall is divided into two Phases, Cityplaza I and Cityplaza II , connected by three parallel bridges on 2/F. There are also two large commercial buildings, Cityplaza III and Cityplaza IV, connected to Cityplaza II. A popular ice skating rink, Cityplaza Ice Palace, was first built at level 1 of Cityplaza I and relocated to Level 1 of Cityplaza II, upon Cityplaza II's completion in 1986.

Cityplaza constantly updates its seasonal decor, and also has frequent art, sport and other exhibitions in the public space near the MTR station.

History and development



Phase I


Cityplaza was completed in 1982. As there was no MTR connection yet, double decker buses were used as a free shuttle service when the highway was finished in 1984.

There are six stories in Phase I, with many locations having changed.

The 1/F used to be a Standard Chartered Bank with the remaining space for car parking, until 1987 when a big renovation saw the area converted into retail stores, including Marks & Spencer.

After Wing On department store moved to its current location, the former space was left unoccupied for over three years, with Park n Shop once expressing interest in a lease. Only in 1999 was it leased to Toys R Us, and later fashion store UNIQLO.

Phase II



Phase II was completed in 1987. As there was a hole in the southwest corner of 2/F , one could see part of Whimsy's mini roller coaster ride, but this was filled after the latter's closing down in 1990. There were also large neon advertisements in the middle of Phase II, but these were removed after the big renovation in 2002.

The food court, including Burger King, Oliver's Super Sandwiches, Mario's, , were originally situated next to the ice rink. It was closed in 2001 and replaced by the new food court on 3rd floor in Phase I.

Office space


Cityplaza has 1.7 million sq ft of Grade A office space, in Phases I, II and IV. One Island East, a 70-storey Grade A office building, is due for completion in March 2008. This new development will add another 1.55 million sq ft of office space to the Island East portfolio.

Anchor stores



Cityplaza I


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*Marks & Spencer
*Toys "R" Us
*Food Republic Food Republic food court
*Pizza Hut
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*Mannings
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*Pacific Coffee Company
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Cityplaza II


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*McDonald's

Transport


The 2nd floor of Cityplaza is linked to the directly by escalators. Shoppers can also get to the shopping centre by .

Nearby shopping malls


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*Kornhill Plaza

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