Seoul said on the 12th that it will drastically expand eligibility for the "SH (Seoul Housing and Urban Development Corporation) participation Moa Town initiative public management project" to speed up the supply of dwellings. The Moa Town initiative is a redevelopment program that quickly integrates and redevelops four to five associations of multi-household and multi-family dwellings, in blocks of 100 to 400 households, into a large apartment complex.
Newly, areas that wish to join the Moa Town initiative and areas where residents themselves are struggling to push the project forward have also been included as eligible for support. Previously, the city mainly selected areas that could secure profitability through deregulation and areas where it was easy to apply incentives such as upgrading zoning districts.
The call for applications targets Moa Town initiative and Moa Housing project sites among areas designated for the Moa Town initiative that are preparing or have completed a management plan. Newly established "public-proposal Moa Town desired areas" are project sites between 30,000 square meters and less than 100,000 square meters.
Applications can be submitted with the consent of 10% or more of land and other owners, and the consent rate must be raised by Jan. 27 next year before final selection. Public-proposal desired areas and areas preparing a management plan require 30% or more, and areas with a completed management plan require 50% or more.
If selected as a target site, the project area can be expanded from 20,000 square meters to up to 40,000 square meters. Also, when upgrading the zoning district, generally 50% of the increased floor area ratio must be secured as rental dwellings, but with public participation only 30% needs to be secured. Applying the business feasibility adjustment coefficient scheduled to take effect in Jan. next year lowers this ratio to 20%, significantly improving business feasibility.
Financial benefits will also be strengthened. Starting next year, a new dedicated main construction cost loan product for SH-participation public projects, which is under development this year, will be available. Borrowers can access an interest rate up to 0.6 percentage points lower than the Korea Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG).
SH will support each stage of work at target sites, including establishing (or changing) management plans, establishing associations, and implementing joint projects. In particular, until the association is established, SH will assist association formation tasks such as issuing and collecting consent forms and holding general meetings through a maintenance firm selected by SH.
The city will announce on the 13th the call for applications for target sites for this year's SH-participation Moa Town initiative public management project and will accept applications from Dec. 8 to 19. Applicants should apply by email during the application period and then submit the originals by mail by Dec. 26. After a business feasibility analysis, the city will convene a selection committee in Feb. next year and finalize the project sites.