This article was published on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 3:57 p.m. on Oct. 29, 2025.
D-Cube City in Sindorim, which had suffered conflicts with residents after Hyundai Department Store withdrew, will resume its renewal project after about a year. D-Cube City in Sindorim had faced the risk of becoming a "ghost building" amid a dispute between IGIS Asset Management, which wanted to refurbish it primarily as an office building, and residents who opposed the plan.
On the 29th, investment banking industry sources said IGIS Asset Management, the project operator of the "Sindorim D-Cube City revitalization project," finally signed an agreement with residents of the D-Cube City apartment building on the 20th.
According to the agreement, some of the existing retail facilities will be converted into offices, and the lower floors (basement 2 to ground 1, part of ground 2), the annex, and the sixth floor will be maintained as retail facilities. Compared with the plan IGIS Asset Management originally proposed, the proportion of commercial facilities increased. The building exterior, which had been a point of contention over whether to change it, will be kept as is.
The Seoul Guro District Sindorim D-Cube City revitalization project was launched after Hyundai Department Store D-Cube City branch, which had operated there for 10 years, decided to withdraw. Earlier, last year IGIS Asset Management submitted a major renovation and change-of-use report to Guro District, planning to expand the proportion of office space to 59% and create an office building where more than 500 people could work per floor. It also planned to bring in Shinsegae Property's "Starfield Village," and in the process determined that a change to the building exterior was necessary.
But residents thought differently. They held weekly protests, saying more retail space should be secured for daily convenience and the exterior should be preserved to maintain the symbolism of being "the only department store in Sindorim."
As talks to find a compromise dragged on, the project was delayed for about a year. Since Hyundai Department Store closed in June, the space has remained vacant for four months.
After both sides reached a compromise, Guro District Office is proceeding with the change-of-use review process. Looking closely at the coexistence plan, residents' opinions were reflected to a considerable extent on the issues that had caused conflict between the parties.
IGIS Asset Management decided to use 76,800㎡ (65.9%) of the department store facilities' total gross floor area of 116,588㎡ at D-Cube City for retail. This is similar in scale to the retail facilities of One Grove in Magok developed by EGIS. The building exterior will be maintained, and, as IGIS proposed, office facilities will be included in the building. IGIS aims to begin facility operations in early 2027.
IGIS Asset Management plans above all to focus on attracting growth corporations. It hopes to highlight Sindorim's potential as an international economy-specialized cluster. IGIS judged that Seoul's "Southwest Region Transformation" strategy, which aims to convert aging industrial areas in the southwest into hubs for future new industries, will act as a boon for Sindorim. Until now, there have been many voices saying Sindorim lacks content that would make people stay compared with its floating population, and that active solutions such as attracting new corporations to the area are needed.
An IGIS Asset Management official said, "The goal is not simply to fill vacancies at D-Cube City but to raise Sindorim's local value," adding, "We will create a mixed hub where daily convenience spaces, cultural experience spaces and workspaces are organically integrated to boost Sindorim's competitiveness."