A conflict is growing over whether to exclude Olympic Plaza Arcade, the complex's central commercial center, from the redevelopment zone amid a reconstruction plan for the Olympic Athletes and Press Village Apartment in Bangi-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul. As the large shopping center in the middle of the complex was left out of the reconstruction target, shop owners are protesting, calling it a "half-baked reconstruction," but the apartment reconstruction promotion committee says changing the plan is difficult, citing concerns about project delays.
According to the maintenance industry on the 13th, the Songpa District Office has been conducting a public viewing for residents of the "draft redevelopment plan establishment and redevelopment zone designation and draft strategic environmental impact assessment for the Olympic Athletes and Press Village Apartment reconstruction" from Apr. 30 to June 1. After the public viewing, the redevelopment zone designation will be finalized following a hearing of the local council's opinions and deliberation by the urban planning committee.
Under the draft redevelopment plan, the Olympic Athletes and Press Village will be rebuilt from the current maximum 24 floors and 5,540 households to a maximum 45 floors and 9,218 households. However, while the redevelopment zone includes the apartment complex and ancillary welfare facilities around 89 Bangi-dong, Songpa-gu, the Olympic Plaza Arcade (lot 89-11) in the center of the complex and the BNK Sports Center (lot 89-12) were excluded.
Olympic Plaza Arcade is the complex's central commercial facility adjoining Exit 2 of Olympic Park Station on subway Lines 5 and 9. The site area is 20,495 square meters (about 6,200 pyeong), with a total of 374 units. Because the entire complex is arranged in a fan shape centered on the arcade, the arcade side argues that if only the apartments are reconstructed and the arcade remains, problems could arise with the complex's appearance and function.
Representatives of the arcade side, who are demanding integrated reconstruction, submitted an appeal to the Songpa District Office in March, arguing that "rebuilding only the apartments while excluding the arcade undermines the complex's symbolism and structure." They said, "The complex was designed with the ancient Greek amphitheater as a motif, with the central arcade as the axis and the residential buildings radiating outward," adding, "It is like rebuilding only the body while cutting out the heart."
The apartment reconstruction promotion committee, on the other hand, says the arcade side did not express an intention to participate in integrated reconstruction in the past. A committee official said, "When we gathered consent forms in 2023, we checked three times with the arcade side about participating in the reconstruction, but through their legal representative we were told they intended to rebuild independently," adding, "The current plan was drawn up accordingly."
In fact, Olympic Plaza Arcade has pursued a separate reconstruction since 2019, but the project reportedly made no progress due to issues such as securing owner consent rates.
The committee also maintains that Olympic Plaza Arcade is on a separate parcel from the apartment complex, so there is no legal or administrative problem with proceeding with reconstruction excluding the arcade. In response, the arcade side raises fairness concerns, saying, "Other dispersed arcades within the complex are also on separate parcels but were included in the redevelopment zone." In reality, some dispersed arcades in the complex were included in this redevelopment plan.
The reconstruction committee is concerned that revising the redevelopment plan at this stage could delay the overall project schedule. A committee official said, "To reflect the arcade's opinions, we would have to go through the owner consent process and a general meeting again, which would likely extend the project timeline," adding, "Since the Songpa District Office is currently conducting the resident public viewing based on the existing plan, it would not be easy to review it from scratch."
The Songpa District Office says it is currently gathering resident feedback and reviewing the matter. A district official said, "Various opinions are being submitted during the public viewing process," adding, "We are comprehensively examining whether there are reasonable grounds for excluding the arcade."