Cheonho District 6 in Cheonho-dong, Gangdong District, Seoul, will resume a redevelopment project 12 years after it was lifted from a maintenance zone. After being selected in May as a candidate site for the expedited integrated planning redevelopment, Gangdong District ordered a service to establish a plan to incorporate the area into the Cheonho reorganization promotion zone. The plan is to boost project feasibility by applying a more relaxed floor area ratio standard than general redevelopment.
On the 14th, according to Seoul City and Gangdong District, Gangdong District announced on the 7th the "service for establishing the Cheonho District 6 reorganization promotion zone and promotion plan for the area around 392-9 Cheonho-dong." The project cost is 587.4 million won, and the service period is 20 months from the start date.
The target site is about 40,000 square meters around 392-9 Cheonho-dong. Aging low-rise dwellings are concentrated there, and infrastructure such as roads is poor. Gangdong District plans to consult with Seoul City on a plan to incorporate this area into the existing Cheonho reorganization promotion zone and then establish a reorganization promotion plan.
A reorganization promotion zone is a system that groups multiple redevelopment and reconstruction projects and infrastructure such as roads and parks into a single area for maintenance. The Cheonho reorganization promotion zone includes Cheonho Districts 1, 2, and 3. Districts 1 and 2 have been completed, and District 3 began move-ins after partial completion this year.
Cheonho District 6 is where a reconstruction project was pursued under the former Cheonho new town development plan. It was designated as a maintenance zone in Dec. 2013 but was lifted in Nov. the following year, halting the project. After a long pause, the path to resume the project opened again when it was selected in May as a candidate site for expedited integrated planning redevelopment.
Gangdong District initially reviewed a plan to establish a general redevelopment maintenance plan under the Act on the Maintenance and Improvement of Urban Areas and Dwelling Conditions for Residents. During this process, Seoul City, considering its past inclusion in the Cheonho reorganization promotion zone, proposed re-incorporating it into the promotion zone.
When Gangdong District conveyed Seoul City's opinion to the residents' representative, the representative, after consulting with the city's department in charge, submitted an intention to proceed using the reorganization promotion project method. Based on this, the district began procedures to incorporate the area into the promotion zone and to establish a reorganization promotion plan.
A Gangdong District official said, "Seoul City noted that using a reorganization promotion plan could be more advantageous to residents than a general redevelopment maintenance plan," adding, "based on the existing Cheonho reorganization promotion zone's plan direction, we will consult with Seoul City on the detailed plan."
The biggest reason for changing the project method is the floor area ratio. Last year, Seoul City revised the standards for establishing reorganization promotion plans, expanding the relaxation range of the baseline floor area ratio for housing-maintenance-type redevelopment projects to up to 30%. The legal maximum floor area ratio can also be applied up to 1.2 times the limit under the Enforcement Decree of the National Land Planning and Utilization Act.
If Cheonho District 6 is incorporated into the reorganization promotion zone and becomes subject to these standards, there will be more room to increase the floor area ratio than under general redevelopment. However, the specific floor area ratio and number of households will be decided after the expedited integrated planning, the establishment of the reorganization promotion plan, and deliberation by the Seoul City Urban Reorganization Committee.
Jangwi Districts 13-1 and 13-2 in Seongbuk District are also pursuing the project in a similar way. These districts were lifted from the Jangwi reorganization promotion zone in 2014, then pushed redevelopment again through expedited integrated planning. Applying the relaxed standards for reorganization promotion projects, Seoul City raised the floor area ratio from about 230% in the existing plan to 300% and increased the planned number of households from 4,128 to about 5,900.
A Seoul City official said, "There are areas that were previously designated as promotion zones, then lifted, and now seek to push projects again," adding, "once the expedited integrated planning is completed, Gangdong District will draft the plan and Seoul City will proceed with the decision process."