Seoul City to Promote Integrated Renovation of 'Public Vacant Houses + Private Old Homes' in Eunpyeong-gu

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] The Seoul Metropolitan Government and Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH Corporation) are attempting the nation's first small-scale redevelopment project that combines publicly owned vacant houses with privately owned old houses to build new buildings.

On the 4th, Seoul announced that it will promote the first project of this type, called the 'Vacant House Utilization Public-Private Joint Autonomous Housing Redevelopment Project,' in the Gusan-dong area of Eunpyeong-gu. The site covers a total area of 355㎡, consisting of two vacant house lots owned by SH Corporation and one adjacent privately owned lot.

This project was initiated after SH Corporation, while exploring ways to utilize vacant houses purchased for urban regeneration, proposed an integrated redevelopment plan combining the privately owned lot. The private landowner agreed to the proposal, allowing the project to proceed.

The site will be redeveloped into a building with one basement floor and five above-ground floors, comprising a total of 21 households. Construction permission is scheduled to be applied for in June, with construction starting thereafter and completion targeted by the end of the year. The floor area ratio is 225.6%, benefiting from a relaxation of floor area ratio regulations under the Special Act on the Maintenance and Improvement of Vacant Houses and Small-scale Housing, securing approximately 40% more housing units compared to pursuing projects on individual lots. Since the private landowner has agreed to sell all the housing units to SH Corporation after completion, all units will be supplied as rental housing.

Seoul City and SH Corporation plan to expand the project to other vacant houses owned by SH Corporation, starting with this first project. Ryu Hoon, Director of Urban Regeneration at Seoul City, stated, "This redevelopment method, attempted for the first time in Korea, is a new urban regeneration model where SH Corporation directly participates with private landowners as a resident consensus body to renovate old houses while securing rental housing. We will supply rental housing and regenerate deteriorated low-rise residential areas through project expansion in the future."