Former view of the GG Block.
GG Block is now enclosed by new structures.
The Asia Society's application to develop the former Explosive Magazine Site into an office and exhibition centre in 2002 sparked off a furore. The plan, approved by the Town Planning Board on 11th October 2002, included a brand-new building extending to a total floor area of 1,300 square metres, with a luxurious reception assembly hall six meters in height. Footbridges and subways would also be constructed.
The Conservancy Association supported the compatible and beneficial use of historical buildings, but the scale of the captioned plan was so large that it would intrude to the ecological and historical environment.
The upper platform of the site contains old military building structures built in the 1840s and 1860s for storage of explosives. The Antiquities Advisory Board has given the site a Grade I grading in recognition of its historical significance. The lower platform contains a masonry building named GG Block, erected in the 1930s.
