[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] A 20-story office and retail facility will be built in the Seosomun area of Jung-gu, Seoul.
On the 19th, Seoul City held its first urban planning committee meeting of the year and announced on the 20th that it had approved a revised maintenance plan for the 'Seosomun Urban Maintenance-type Redevelopment Districts 11 and 12' in the area of 58-9 Seosomun-dong, Jung-gu.
The area was designated as a maintenance district in 1973 but has been neglected as an isolated space in the city center due to over 40 years of no progress in development. In particular, the vitality of the area has rapidly declined recently after the JoongAng Ilbo headquarters relocated to Sangam-dong.
Accordingly, Seoul City decided to integrate and develop a total of four sites, including a nearby steel parking lot and old building sites, to improve the deteriorated urban landscape and optimize land use. The plan is to construct office and retail facilities with a total floor area of 122,000㎡, applying a floor area ratio of up to 999%, with seven basement levels and 20 floors above ground.
The lower floors will house retail facilities, and the third floor will be dedicated to venture companies and direct venture company facilities. Additionally, the plan includes creating a cross-shaped public pedestrian passage linked with the Donghwa Building and Samsung Life Seosomun Building, which are currently under redevelopment nearby. The publicly accessible space will also be connected to the central plaza created during the redevelopment of the Samsung Life Seosomun Building, serving as an open space within the city center.
Furthermore, to improve traffic flow and the pedestrian environment on Seosomun-ro, the road will be widened by 5 meters, and a public office building will be constructed as part of the public contribution. The public office building will be 11 stories tall and will include the Sogong-dong Community Center, a daycare center, shared offices, and a social economy support center.
A Seoul City official stated, "Although located at a major gateway on the west side of the historic downtown, this area was inefficiently used. With this revised maintenance plan, we expect to build a landmark office facility that will contribute to revitalizing the city center and enhancing urban competitiveness."
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