Autonomous Renovation Project for Aging Residential Areas in Myeonmok-dong and Mia-dong... Apartments to Be Built

[Asia Economy Reporter Onyu Lim] In the aging residential areas of Myeonmok-dong, Jungnang-gu and Mia-dong, Gangbuk-gu, 60 and 73 apartment units respectively will be built through the autonomous housing maintenance project.

On the 10th, Seoul City announced that the Small-scale Housing Authorization Subcommittee of the Urban Regeneration Committee held on the 9th approved the implementation plan for the autonomous housing maintenance project for 297-28 and one other parcel in Myeonmok-dong, Jungnang-gu, and 791-2691 and two other parcels in Mia-dong, Gangbuk-gu. Accordingly, 60 apartment units will be built in Myeonmok-dong and 73 apartment units in Mia-dong. All units will be constructed as public rental housing, applying the floor area ratio up to the legal maximum limit.

The autonomous housing maintenance project is a project where residents themselves renovate or construct old single-family and multi-family houses. If 20% or more of the total floor area or number of units are built as rental housing, the floor area ratio can be increased after review by the Seoul Urban Regeneration Committee. Additionally, the simplified procedures allow for faster project implementation, and the Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG) can provide project funds at low interest rates.

The day before, the Small-scale Housing Authorization Subcommittee newly designated four areas as housing performance improvement support zones: the area around 8-417 Hong Eun-dong, Seodaemun-gu; the highest altitude district around 535 Insu-dong, Gangbuk-gu; the area around Ssangmun 1-dong, Dobong-gu; and the highest altitude district around Dobong 1-dong, Dobong-gu.

With this designation, owners who wish to repair old houses in the designated areas can receive subsidies from the 'Seoul Beautiful House Project' covering 50 to 100% of construction costs depending on the housing type, up to a maximum of 5 million to 20 million KRW. They can also receive low-interest loans at an annual interest rate of 0.7%. The loan limit is up to 60 million KRW for repairs of single-family houses and up to 100 million KRW for new construction.

Seoul City plans to continuously improve the residential environment in aging low-rise housing dense areas through small-scale housing maintenance projects and home repair support projects. Ryu Hoon, Director of the Seoul Urban Regeneration Office, said, “The small-scale housing maintenance project is expected to be a key method for renovating old houses and improving the residential environment in low-rise residential areas. We will continue to improve systems and provide administrative support so that housing can be well maintained through the small-scale housing maintenance project within the framework of urban regeneration.”