Mr. McBain's House in Bubbling Well Rd. to Be Bought and Made into a Hotel The announcement was made on}
Saturday that the Shanghai Hotels, Ld., have abandoned their scheme of building a new hotel on the site facing the Race Course, and have definitely decided to carry out a new scheme further west. Tne} McBain property, consisting of a magnificent residence and 60 mow of land, with Bubbling Well Road. Gordon Road and Avenue Rol for its boundaries, has been purchased, and plans are in course of preparation for a very ambitious scheme. The existing res11- ence will be retained as the nucieas of the new hotel, and two sev wings are to be added, in keeping with the handsome style in whi: h the existing building has beea designed and decorated. It is said that plans of the new hotel will provide for 300 rooms, including a number of suites de luxe, and it is understood that the reception, dining and ball rooms will be on scale which will enable the management, to dine and dance 2.000 people in comfort.
Ju addition to the hotel, it +s eposed to erect two blocks of reential one on the western beundar ing Gordon Road aad the other on the eastern boundary, facing a new road which will ye put through from Bubbling Well Road to Avenue Road. These flats will have from three to five rooms and will be fitted up with the latest. modern conveniences. a The feature of the scheme which has weighed most with the directors is that the spacious grounds will be an asset of great value from the joint of view of both health and comfort. The old scheme provided for buildings only on 10 mow of land. The new one gives 20 mow of land for buildings, leaving 40 mow of pleasant park-like grounds the use of residents and visitors. Their present character will as far as possible be retained, and features to be added will be! provision for al fresco dancing in summer, and an open air swimming bath.
For the service of the hotel and flats, a. special garage will be built.
addition, land has been acquired on the opposite side of Avenue Road uwnon which cold-storage chambers and an up-to-date laundry are to be built. From every point of view, the new scheme is considered ie be superior to the old, and we understand plans as here outlined are definitely in hand. It is also understood that, upon completion of. this scheme, the directors propose tu: rebuild the Astor House Hotel.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.