The government has begun in earnest to build apartments instead of commercial buildings in the third new towns. The intent is to ease the housing supply crunch in the greater Seoul area by increasing apartment supply.
Bucheon Daejang district was the first among the third new towns to cut back on commercial space and instead increase the supply of dwellings. The supply in Bucheon Daejang will rise by about 1,300 households from the previous plan. The increase is expected to center on public dwellings with small floor plans. Starting with Bucheon Daejang, the government plans to add 22,000 households through land readjustment in the third new towns.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) on the 26th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) the previous day announced approval of a plan change for the Bucheon Daejang public dwelling district. Under the change, the dwelling construction plan for Bucheon Daejang increased from 19,046 to 20,318 households.
While the volume of dwelling construction increases, commercial facilities will be cut in half. Commercial facilities were originally to be developed in two districts with a total area of 23,973㎡. However, under the revised district plan, commercial facilities in the Bucheon Daejang new town will be built in a single district with an area of 11,874㎡.
Of the additional 1,272 households of dwellings in Bucheon Daejang, the types are apartments (396 households) and mixed-use complexes such as residential-commercial complexes (876 households).
For apartments, the increase will mainly be in small floor plans. Previously, 10,069 apartments with exclusive areas of 60㎡ or less were to be built, but after the plan change, 10,734 will be supplied, up by 665. In contrast, dwellings with exclusive areas of more than 60㎡ up to 85㎡ will total 3,116 households, down 269 from 3,385. Supply of apartments with exclusive areas exceeding 85㎡ will remain the same at 647 households.
Because the added apartment supply is mostly in the 60㎡-and-under range, an expansion of public dwellings rather than private-sector units is expected. This is because more than 90% of apartments with exclusive areas of 60㎡ or less are supplied as public sales or rentals. A real estate industry official said, "The increase in supply of small units with exclusive areas of 60㎡ or less in Bucheon Daejang seems to reflect both the need to increase supply in the greater Seoul area and the government's policy direction to expand public dwellings."
Supply of mixed-use complexes such as residential-commercial complexes will increase from 4,746 to 5,622 households. Among these, the numbers with exclusive areas of 60㎡ or less and more than 60㎡ up to 85㎡ will rise by 951 and 473 households, respectively, while those exceeding 85㎡ will decrease by 548 households.
Starting with Bucheon Daejang, dwelling supply is also expected to increase in third new towns such as Namyangju Wangsuk, Hanam Gyosan, and Goyang Changneung.
The increase in dwelling construction instead of commercial buildings in the third new towns stems from measures released in the Sept. 6 package. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) at the time said it would add 22,000 households by raising floor area ratios in the third new towns and converting non-dwelling land to dwelling land. The ministry has been reviewing converting non-dwelling land such as commercial sites into dwelling land to prevent large-scale commercial vacancies seen in the second new towns and to address supply shortages. In second new towns previously developed, such as Namyangju Byeollae, Gimpo Hangang, and Paju Unjeong, commercial vacancy rates once neared 30%.
An LH official said, "We are implementing all the measures from the Sept. 7 package to expand dwelling supply," adding, "Depending on government policy, other districts after Bucheon Daejang also have the potential to expand dwelling supply."