Gangdong-gu Cheonho 3-2 District Designated as 'Sintong Planning' Maintenance Zone... First Redevelopment Case

90% Are Aging Low-Rise Residential Areas... Transformed into Apartments up to 23 Floors, 420 Households

Location map of Cheonho 3-2 District, Gangdong-gu. (Provided by Seoul City)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] The Cheonho 3-2 district in Gangdong-gu, Seoul, has been designated as a redevelopment maintenance zone one year after the promotion of the Rapid Integrated Planning (Shintong Planning). This area, consisting of old low-rise residential buildings, is expected to see the construction of up to 23-story buildings with 420 households through redevelopment.

On the 24th, Seoul City held the 2nd Urban Planning Committee Shintong Planning Special Subcommittee Authorization Subcommittee and approved the housing maintenance-type redevelopment maintenance plan for the Cheonho 3-2 district in Gangdong-gu, according to an announcement on the 25th. This is the first case among redevelopment districts under Shintong Planning to pass the designation review as a maintenance zone.

The area around 397-419 Cheonho-dong is a densely populated area of old detached and multi-family houses with over 90% of deteriorated and substandard buildings. Since residents established a maintenance plan in 2018, it was submitted twice to the Urban Planning Committee in 2019 and 2020 but failed to pass the review.

However, it was selected as a Shintong Planning target site last year, and Seoul City accelerated the project by lifting six major redevelopment regulations, including the removal of the 7-story height limit in the Category 2 General Residential Area. The city applied the relaxed regulations through Shintong Planning and shortened the maintenance zone designation period from the usual around five years to one year by gaining residents' consent through briefings and other means.

The Cheonho 3-2 district, previously a 'Category 2, 7-story' area, was upgraded to the level of a Category 2 General Residential Area, increasing the floor area ratio to 215.4%. Accordingly, the old low-rise residential area with 307 households will be reborn as an apartment complex with 420 households and a maximum of 23 floors. Among them, 77 units will be public housing.

The approved maintenance plan includes an integrated guideline considering the development of the adjacent Cheonho 3-3 district. The two districts will be regarded as one complex, and plans for integrated infrastructure maintenance and unified complex planning will be prepared. A Seoul City official said, "The Cheonho 3-2 district is a pilot case of redevelopment through Rapid Integrated Planning proposed by residents and supported by Seoul City. We expect that applying redevelopment deregulation measures will not only simplify the project procedures but also greatly improve project feasibility."