MTR Corporation (MTRC) has announced plans to revitalize the ex-Upper Levels Police Station on High Street - a Grade III historic building built in 1935 - as part of the West Island Line (WIL) railway project.

     The ex-Upper Levels Police Station is a five-storey building with a floor area of 1,800 sq m. Until it was vacated in mid-2005, the building served as the Regional Headquarters of the Hong Kong Island Crime Wing of the Hong Kong Police Force.
     The vacant building will be restored, together with a new annex building, to provide rehabilitation services including psychiatric daypatient and outpatient services, occupational therapy and physiotherapy services provided by the current David Trench Rehabilitation Centre on Bonham Road. It will have to be relocated in order to allow a new entrance to be built for the future Sai Ying Pun Station of the WIL. The MTRC will undertake to retain the architectural features of the ex-Upper Levels Police Station, the design of which was influenced by Stripped Classical, Art Deco and Streamline Moderne styles. These features include the columns, window frames and balconies, as well as the curves and patterns of the external walls.

     The building will also be fitted out to meet the special needs of rehabilitation services and their users. The balconies of the main building will be retained but need to be fully enclosed with glazing for safety and security reasons. Users of the building will have spectacular views of King George V Memorial Park and the Sai Ying Pun area. In addition, a new external glass lift tower and other installations will provide barrier-free access to the building and enable the mobility-impaired to move from floor to floor inside the building.

     The new annex will be built to the north of the former Police Station. A simple design will be adopted for the new annex to ensure harmony between the two whilst highlighting the architectural features of the old Police Station. On the ground floor, the two buildings will be connected by a covered weather-proof walkway.