[Seoul Autonomous District News] Approval of Seoul Urban Architecture Joint Committee Review on the 26th for Urban Management Plan Change
▲Commercial area around Gunja Station increased by 24,720㎡ from 47,016㎡ to 71,736㎡ ▲Conditions established for high-density mixed-use residential development centered on double station areas, planning a business town blending commercial, office, and cultural spaces... Songpa-gu to develop 6.2km Songpa-daero as 'Korean Champs-?lys?es (Luxury Street)' with phased projects in 4 zones... First phase introduces design concept... Seogangseok, Songpa-gu Mayor, “Adding style to attract people and businesses”
[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Gwangjin-gu (Mayor Kim Kyung-ho) has achieved the first success in urban restructuring by upgrading the commercial area, a key project of the 8th term of Gwangjin-gu, as the district unit plan change (draft) to expand the commercial area around Gunja Station passed the Seoul City Urban and Architectural Joint Committee on the 26th.
The district unit plan target area is approximately 160,000㎡ around Gunja Station in Gwangjin-gu, and with this approval, the commercial area will increase by 24,720㎡ (from 47,016㎡ to 71,736㎡).
This decision creates conditions for high-density mixed-use residential development in the double subway station area served by Lines 5 and 7, enabling the rapid promotion of urban development plans to foster the Gunja Station area as a business hub where culture, work, and residence harmonize.
The main points of the district unit plan include ▲ upgrading the land use designation to commercial area (24,720㎡) to strengthen business and commercial functions around Gunja Station ▲ focusing on allowing residential mixed-use to promote mixed-use development along Cheonho-daero.
Kim Kyung-ho, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, said, “The approval by the Seoul City Urban and Architectural Joint Committee is a valuable achievement made possible by the support of residents eager for urban development and relentless efforts to make up for delayed regional progress.” He added, “Starting with the development of Gunja Station area, we are actively promoting various projects for urban restructuring, including upgrading land use designations around Dongil-ro and Junggok Station areas.”
He continued, “We will devote full efforts to ensure that Gwangjin-gu leads change and development 10 to 20 years from now, becoming a city where residents are happy and everyone wants to live, through urban space recreation such as the establishment of the 2040 Gwangjin Plan, complex development of the KT site, modernization of East Seoul, and complex development of the Hwayang Substation.”
As Seoul recently announced plans to create the so-called ‘Korean Champs-?lys?es,’ Songpa-gu (Mayor Seo Gang-seok) has begun full-scale efforts to transform its main road, Songpa-daero, into a luxury street.
‘Songpa-daero’ is a road stretching from Jamsil Station to the outskirts of Seongnam City. It is the face of Songpa and the gateway to southeastern Seoul, but it has been left out of development benefits for over 30 years, making environmental improvements and high-density development urgently needed to meet changing times.
Accordingly, Seo Gang-seok, Mayor of Songpa-gu, selected ‘Creating a Luxury Street on Songpa-daero’ as a major campaign pledge and established the ‘Strategic Development Promotion Team,’ a rare administrative organization among Seoul’s autonomous districts, on the 1st to swiftly advance the pledge.
On October 13, a task force (TF) team was formed to begin basic research. The TF team includes 14 departments such as Future Space Development, Parks and Greenery, and Urban Transportation. On the 26th, an expert advisory meeting was held to discuss sector-specific tasks to be included in the research, covering urban planning, roads, environment, greenery, and design.
The research target area is 6.2 km of Songpa-daero (from the southern end of Jamsil Bridge to the Seongnam city boundary). It includes ▲ basic concepts for improving street facilities and creating designed urban spaces ▲ setting basic directions for revitalizing areas around Songpa-daero ▲ feasibility studies for expanding commercial areas along the street and high-rise development.
The district plans to divide Songpa-daero into four zones?▲ from the southern end of Jamsil Bridge to Seokchonhosu-ro ▲ Seokchonhosu-ro to Garak Market Intersection ▲ Garak Market Intersection to Jangji Station ▲ Jangji Station to Bokjeong Station?and proceed with phased projects.
As the first step, the district plans to introduce design concepts to Songpa-daero so that residents can feel noticeable changes in their daily lives. Improvements to public facilities, such as green street maintenance and flower path creation, have already begun in high foot traffic areas like Jamsil Station Intersection and the Olympic-daero and Songpa-daero area.
In the long term, Songpa-daero will serve as the north-south axis, and development along the east-west axis centered on Olympic-ro will also be pursued. The project is designed so that the development effects from the creation of the Jamsil MICE complex do not become isolated in Jamsil or skewed toward Gangnam-gu but extend along Olympic-ro to the Olympic Park area.
Seo Gang-seok, Mayor of Songpa-gu, said, “The fact that Songpa-daero has remained unchanged for over 30 years is largely due to administrative neglect. We will first apply design concepts to Songpa-daero to create a stylish street that attracts people and businesses, making it a luxury street comparable to the Champs-?lys?es in France.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
