1. From government offices to five-star suites
Built for the government in 1969 and named the Murray Building, the Murray has been one of the city’s most iconic edifices for almost 50 years, and a historic remnant of colonial-era Hong Kong. The site became an empty shell at the end of 2011, when its occupants decamped to the new government headquarters in Admiralty.
Two years later, Wharf Holdings—the real estate developer that Peter Woo was head of until 2015, when he handed the baton to his son Douglas—won the site at an auction for HK$4.4 billion. They injected another HK$3 billion redeveloping it into a 336-room hotel with all the bars, restaurants and amenities of a five-star establishment.
See also: First Look: Inside The Murray, Hong Kong
Woo and his team worked tirelessly on the venture with the Conserving Central Project, a government-backed initiative that works to preserve the heart of Hong Kong's heritage.
“I used to go past it as a young man and marvel at how majestic it was. To now be able to bring it back to life is an honour,” says Woo of the property. “The Murray, Hong Kong [the full name of the hotel] is our newest strategic long-term project and a dream come true for us.”