Passed the 4th Seoul Metropolitan City Urban and Architectural Joint Committee Review... Promoting Advanced Industry Hubs and Large-Scale Development by Relaxing Floor Area Ratio and Height Regulations... Floor Area Ratio and Maximum Height Relaxed for Advanced Industry Recommended Sectors (IT & R&D Industry)
[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jung Won-oh) announced on the 10th that at the 4th Urban and Architectural Joint Committee held by Seoul City, the “Designation and Planning Decision (Draft) of the Seongsu IT Industry and Distribution Development Promotion District Unit Plan Area” for the area around 277-28, Seongsu-dong 2-ga was approved with modifications.
According to the promotion plan for the Seongsu IT Industry Development Promotion District, if IT and R&D-related industries designated in the announcement locate in the area, the floor area ratio (FAR) and maximum building height can be relaxed depending on the secured area for recommended industries, and if more than 50% of the total building floor area is secured, the relaxation can be up to 1.2 times.
Additionally, when planning for securing recommended uses (recommended industries, convenience facilities for industrial workers) and creating pedestrian hubs with public open spaces, the FAR can be further relaxed by up to 1.2 times. Therefore, if advanced industry recommended industries and public open spaces are planned together, the FAR can be relaxed up to 560%, and the height can be relaxed up to 84?120 meters, enabling large-scale development.
The target site is a semi-industrial area located between Seongsu Station and Konkuk University Station, included in the Seongsu regional center according to the 2030 Seoul Urban Basic Plan’s central system. It has good accessibility to the Gangnam downtown area and is a region where various industrial facilities coexist, including advanced industries, ventures, and traditional industries.
It was designated as a semi-industrial area in 1964, and in 1969, the land readjustment project (Ttukdo district) established the current urban area.
In the 1970s, the industry developed mainly around light industry, but in the 1980s, Seoul City policies encouraged relocation of industries unsuitable for the downtown area. In the 1990s, construction of apartment-type factories (renamed knowledge industry centers in 2010) began to improve the urban environment, and in the 2000s, the decline of manufacturing-centered industries led to aging industrial facilities.
The district proposed development plans for the semi-industrial area of Seongsu-dong to Seoul City to foster the aging manufacturing-centered industrial functions into a core base for ICT-based advanced industries and to improve poor pedestrian and industrial environments. As a result, it was designated as an industrial development promotion district in 2010, and the industrial development promotion district promotion plan was established in 2013.
According to the promotion plan, various promotion programs such as operating the Seongsu IT Comprehensive Center (renamed Startup Hub Seongsu Center), supporting small and medium-sized enterprises’ funds, and startup support have been operated. Along with this, to induce the location of recommended industries, the district unit plan was promoted to seek urban planning support measures such as relaxation of FAR and height.
The semi-industrial area of Seongsu-dong had already installed public open spaces when constructing knowledge industry centers and received FAR relaxation up to 480%. However, according to Seoul City’s district unit plan establishment standards, FAR relaxation due to public open space installation was not applicable within district unit plan areas, and only FAR relaxation due to installation of recommended industries was possible when establishing district unit plans within the industrial development promotion district.
Accordingly, through five years of consultation with Seoul City, the district achieved a revision of the 2020 Seoul City district unit plan establishment standards to allow FAR relaxation when public open spaces are installed in semi-industrial areas. Reflecting the revised standards, the district unit plan was established to regenerate aging low-density industrial facilities and attract advanced industries by relaxing FAR and maximum height when securing recommended industries (IT and R&D industries).
According to the promotion plan for the Seongsu IT Industry Development Promotion District, if IT and R&D-related industries designated in the announcement locate in the area, the floor area ratio (FAR) and maximum building height can be relaxed depending on the secured area for recommended industries, and if more than 50% of the total building floor area is secured, the relaxation can be up to 1.2 times.
Additionally, when planning for securing recommended uses (recommended industries, convenience facilities for industrial workers) and creating pedestrian hubs with public open spaces, the FAR can be further relaxed by up to 1.2 times. Therefore, if advanced industry recommended industries and public open spaces are planned together, the FAR can be relaxed up to 560%, and the height can be relaxed up to 84?120 meters, enabling large-scale development.
Along with this, although the target site is densely populated with industrial facilities, convenience facilities such as restaurants, clinics, and fitness centers are insufficient compared to the number of workers. Therefore, convenience facilities for industrial workers are planned as recommended uses on the lower floors of major pedestrian streets, and plans for creating front open spaces have been established to improve the poor pedestrian environment, preparing measures to improve the industrial living environment.
The draft district unit plan for the Seongsu IT Industry and Distribution Development Promotion District will reflect the modifications approved during the review, be re-exhibited for 14 days in April, and be finalized and announced in May.
A Seongdong-gu official said, “We expect that the maximum height regulations, which were difficult to utilize even for small parcels with a 400% FAR in semi-industrial areas, as well as large parcels in the region that have been waiting for this district unit plan establishment, will be significantly relaxed, promoting redevelopment of aging buildings in the area.”
Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “Through the establishment of the Seongsu IT Industry and Distribution Development Promotion District unit plan, we will relax regulations such as FAR and height to induce large-scale development, improve the industrial environment, and make Seongsu-dong a new growth center for the 4th industrial revolution based on ICT and a city favorable for businesses.”
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