Baeksa Village, known as Seoul's last hillside shantytown, will be reborn as a residential complex with up to 35 stories and 3,178 households.
At 10:20 a.m. on the 1st, the Seoul city government held a groundbreaking ceremony for a housing redevelopment project in Baeksa Village, 30-3 Junggye-bon-dong, Nowon District.
In 2009, the city designated Baeksa Village as a redevelopment zone and decided to develop it into 2,758 households. However, the project stalled as residents said separating for-sale dwellings from rental dwellings fostered a sense of division, and that a development approach retaining the existing terrain and alleys could infringe on privacy. A regulation to preserve low-rise residential areas also held the project back.
From April 2022 to February last year, the city communicated with residents and experts more than 150 times and concluded with an integrated maintenance plan. As a result, the first shovel will be turned 16 years after the area was designated as a redevelopment zone. Under the plan, the area will see the creation of a nature-friendly apartment complex with 26 buildings, from four stories underground to 35 stories above ground, totaling 3,178 households.
The city improved project viability by converting the area, previously designated for residential preservation, into a "apartment land." Along with a project viability adjustment coefficient, it also took steps to raise the land-use zoning, among other measures to boost feasibility. It also applied a social-mix model without separating for-sale and rental blocks.
Demolition in Baeksa Village began in May. Demolition will be completed this month, with construction to begin in the first half of next year. The city said it will expedite construction, completion, and move-in to finish occupancy in 2029.
Oh Se-hoon, the mayor, said, "Baeksa Village is a place where the lives and sorrows of residents have accumulated layer upon layer, and it is also a key pillar of the Gangbuk grand remodeling project to redraw the future of northeastern Seoul as we move toward a new future," adding, "For the transformation of Baeksa Village, we will take responsibility from groundbreaking to completion and move-in, and handle every step swiftly and transparently to the end."