The urban public housing complex project (hereafter the urban complex project) being promoted near Hyochang Park in Yongsan District, Seoul, has gained consent from land and other owners after four years and is picking up speed. The urban complex project is a public redevelopment that offers floor area ratio increases and shorter project timelines for station areas, quasi-industrial zones, and low-rise residential areas where redevelopment is difficult as a private project due to low profitability.
The site is close to Yongsan Station and Hyochang Park Front Station, and a large complex with more than 2,000 households is planned, drawing interest from major builders such as Samsung C&T and DL E&C in securing the construction work.
According to the Hyochang Park Front Station urban complex project promotion committee on the 20th, the project has obtained the consent of two-thirds (about 66.7%) of land and other owners. The urban complex project is a system introduced in 2021 in which public entities such as the Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) act as implementers for vacant land in city centers such as station areas, quasi-industrial zones, and low-rise residential areas. For district designation, the consent of at least two-thirds (about 66.7%) of land and other owners and more than half of the land area is required, and at least 60% of the buildings within the site must be buildings older than 20 years.
An industry source said, "The baseline consent rate has been exceeded, and additional consent forms are being accepted through Apr. 2," adding, "The collected consent forms have been compiled by LH." After that, based on the consent forms gathered by LH, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) will select the site as an urban complex project target. An LH official said, "It is finalized as a project site after deliberations by the Central Urban Planning Committee and the Central Land Expropriation Committee under the ministry, and it takes an average of about three months."
The site is about 60,683 square meters spanning 1-126 Yongmun-dong, Yongsan District. It is a station area at Hyochang Park Front Station where Seoul Subway Line 6 and the Gyeongui-Jungang Line meet, and it is also close to Yongsan Station. It had remained a blighted low-rise apartment cluster within Yongsan District. A redevelopment promotion committee was formed in 2007, but the maintenance zone designation was lifted, and a subsequent attempt to pursue the Seoul City long-term jeonse housing (so-called station area Shift) project also fell through. The station area Shift is a project in which, when the private sector carries out redevelopment or reconstruction near subway stations (station areas), the Seoul Metropolitan Government provides an upzoning (floor area ratio incentive) and supplies part of the increased floor area ratio as long-term jeonse housing (Shift) for more than 20 years.
This was because some land and other owners opposed public-led redevelopment. However, the current administration has designated the urban public complex project as one of the key policies for supplying dwellings and is actively encouraging its promotion. A floor area ratio of 499% will be applied for high-density development, creating a complex of around 2,384 households in total. Among major builders, Samsung C&T and DL E&C are interested in securing the construction rights.
Professor Ko Jun-seok of the Sangnam Institute of Management at Yonsei University said, "The location is good, as it is close to the Yongsan JSR redevelopment area and has convenient transportation," adding, "The application of a floor area ratio close to 500% is also a considerable advantage for the redevelopment project."