Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon on the 19th visited the Sillim 7 redevelopment zone in Gwanak District, which has faced difficulties pushing the project after the Oct. 15 real estate measures were announced, and pledged to actively pursue improvements in project feasibility, including floor area ratio.
Meeting with residents of the Sillim 7 zone on the morning of the same day, Oh said, "Redevelopment projects must be carried out consistently without being swayed by changes in the policy environment," and added, "For places like Sillim 7, where improving the residential environment is urgent, we will mobilize all administrative capacity the Seoul city government has so the project does not run aground due to regulations, and we will take responsibility to the end."
Sillim 7, around 675 Sillim-dong in Gwanak District, is a low-rise residential area with an 89% aging rate located on the sloped foothills of Mokkolsan. It was designated as a planned maintenance zone in 2011 but was lifted in 2014 due to low feasibility caused by a 170% floor area ratio cap.
To improve the residential environment in this area, the Seoul city government used the fast-track integrated planning process to upgrade the zoning from type 1 to type 2 and, unusually, raised the floor area ratio from 170% to as high as 215%, among other support measures. Afterward, in Sep. 2024 it was reassigned as a maintenance zone and is slated to be transformed into a large complex of about 1,400 households adjacent to forest. The city is currently pursuing "direct association establishment," which skips forming a promotion committee and establishes an association immediately with public support from the city.
The problem is that, after the Oct. 15 measures last year, residents' anxiety grew due to restrictions on the transfer of association-member status and regulations on relocation loans, making it difficult to secure consent rates. The consent rate for establishing the association is reportedly stuck around 70%.
To boost residents' resolve and accelerate the project, the city will implement additional support measures. First, it will apply 2.0, the maximum "project feasibility adjustment coefficient," doubling the allowable floor area ratio incentive, and additionally apply Deregulation No. 3, "easing public contribution requirements in height-restricted areas." As a result, the number of saleable units will increase by more than about 40 compared with the current plan, and the public contribution rate will be sharply lowered from 10% to 3%. Association members' cost shares will decrease in line with the increased sales revenue. In addition, if the public contribution burden is reduced, construction costs will fall, easing the financial burden on association members.
Following the government's regulations, the city aims to realize a goal of breaking ground on 310,000 homes by 2031 through proactive additional support for zones like Sillim 7 that are struggling to advance projects. In the case of Gwanak District, starting with about 1,400 households in Sillim 2 this year, a cumulative 13,000 homes are scheduled to break ground sequentially by 2031.