In its push for education, a US-based art school finds itself embroiled in a dispute over a court building in Hong Kong.

The former North Kowloon Magistracy is embroiled in a heritage dispute

Hong Kong - JMSC - On the edge of Sham Shui Po district, a densely populated area that houses many old residential buildings, evidence of urban decay features strongly on the aged façade of the last remaining building of Hong Kong’s first public-housing estate, the Mei Ho House.

Sham Shui Po, a densely populated area with many old buildings

A few minutes walk up Tai Po road, groups of children attending the Saviour Lutheran School, a special-needs institution, chatter excitedly and sing along enthusiastically to songs.

Another couple of minutes walk up the same road, two imposing staircases lead to a sombre, granite-faced building.

For four decades, the former North Kowloon Magistracy was a daunting place for defendants, accused of offences ranging from petty crimes such as shoplifting and traffic convictions to more serious ones such as drug trafficking and manslaughter.

The former North Kowloon Magistracy is a four-decade old building

Today, although unoccupied for the last four years, the site of the former magistracy – an 80,000-sqft seven-storey building with grey walls and decorative blue strips – has inadvertently become the source of a heritage dispute.