An investigation of private-owner-led heritage property adaptive reuse

This paper provides a new approach to examine privately-owned heritage property for their adaptive reuse. Two cases from Tasmania and Hong Kong were investigated. Private owners’ roles in adaptive reuse of property while effectively conserving heritage values is evaluated for their incentives and costs in the course of adaptive reuse innovation. Details from the two cases from different jurisdictions reveal: first, private ownership may allow higher degree of innovation in heritage building adaptive reuse. Second, the private property owner is entitled to stronger control of the heritage property’s use. However, privately owned heritage property does not guarantee free will in transforming heritage value; the process may incur extra social cost when the owner tends to pursue her own interest that needs be self-enforced. Thirdly, the control right over heritage buildings conservation and transformation vary by their adaptive reuse conservation strategies. For example, business operation (the Hobart case) and owner public use (the Hong Kong case). This study contributes insights to the adaptive innovations in the context of privately-owned heritage properties