Legendary actor and master of Kung fu Bruce Lee's former Hong Kong, China home will be up for sale following numerous failed attempts to transform the property into a museum dedicated to the icon, according to the New York Daily News.
Lee's former home had fallen into a dismal state in recent years, and had been operating as a rundown "love hotel," the kind of hotel where couples pay by the hour, if you catch our drift.
The owner of the palatial residence, philanthropist Yu Pang-lin, said he was planning to sell the property for $23 million after talks with the government for the museum collapsed in 2011.
Lee's former home is a 5,000 square foot two-story house in Hong Kong's upscale residential district of Kowloon Tong.
Speaking to the South China Morning Post, Pang-lin said he originally wanted to see residence turned into a museum dedicated to Lee before he died. He also said he would only rent, not sell, the land on which it stood. The Town Planning Board rejected Yu's plan to build two floors under the Kowloon Tong house for formal exhibitions.
Pang-lin told the Singtao Daily the government rejected his proposal to expand the by adding three floors to include a cinema, library and martial arts training centre, which were his conditions to donate the property.
"I'm no longer considering (the museum plan) since the government is not supportive," the 90-year-old billionaire told Hong Kong's Chinese-language Singtao Daily in an interview.
"I'm running out of patience, I don't want to wait anymore," he said. Proving that even the oldest profession isn't recession proof, he added that the hotel owner hadn't paid rent in two-years because of poor business. The property is in disrepair and is in urgent need of renovation, he said.
Famous for bringing martial arts international acclaim and recognition with classic Kung fu films like "Fists of Fury," and "Enter the Dragon," unsurprisingly, Lee's rabid army of fans have demanded a hometown tribute to the martial arts star since his untimely death in 1973 at the age of 32.
For whatever reason, the local Hong Kong government seems utterly apathetic to preserving Lee's legacy in a formal museum. In June of 2011, it said the group failed to reach a consensus with Pang-lin after two years of negotiations, without providing further details.
Lee's fans have vowed to not stop fighting for a monument worthy of their hero's legacy.
"If the house is sold and re-developed or demolished later, I think the Hong Kong people and Bruce Lee fans worldwide will be very disappointed," Wong Yiu-keung, chairman of the Bruce Lee Fan Club in Hong Kong, told AFP, according to the Daily News.
"We hope the government can try to persuade Yu again," he added.
Lee died in Hong Kong after a sever reaction to medication. The star's fans have long criticized the city for not providing a larger memorial than the statue that is currently on the town's waterfront Avenue of Stars.
