[Seoul District News] Guro-gu to Begin Construction Early Next Year for Youth Housing (3-12 Floors Above Ground), Parking Lot (1-3 Floors Underground), and Public Support Facilities & Agreement Signed with SH Corporation on 16th for Free Use of District Land and Joint Project Funding ... Dobong-gu Opens Pedestrian Passage Connecting Dong-A Cheongsol Apartment and Changdong Station, a Long-Standing Resident Wish ... Seongdong-gu Conducts Winter Safety Inspections on Aged Apartment Complexes Over 30 Years Old
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] The former Garibong market site in Guro-gu, a long-cherished wish of residents, is being transformed into a new space.
Guro-gu (Mayor Moon Heon-il) announced on the 15th, "We will sign a business agreement with Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation (hereinafter SH) to build a complex facility including youth housing, parking lots, and public support facilities on the former Garibong market site," adding, "Based on the agreement, the project will be actively promoted early next year."
According to the business agreement to be signed with SH on the 16th, the district will grant free use of the district-owned land, and Guro-gu and SH will invest project funds to construct a complex building. Construction will be carried out by a private specialized company.
The complex facility will be built on the Umagil area (19-3 and 18 other parcels) with a site area of 3,708.2㎡, consisting of 3 basement floors and 12 above-ground floors. From basement level 1 to basement level 3, a total of 228 parking spaces, including 176 public parking spaces, will be created to alleviate parking difficulties for market merchants, visitors, and nearby residents. From the 3rd to the 12th floor above ground, 174 units of youth housing will be provided. These will be high-quality rental homes in two sizes, 25㎡ and 32㎡, tailored to tenant demand. On the 1st and 2nd floors above ground, public support facilities such as a comprehensive childcare support center, market customer support center, and youth center will be established for the benefit of nearby market merchants and residents.
A Guro-gu official stated, "Once the project on this site is completed, it is expected to play a significant role as a hinterland city for the G-Valley transformed Guro Digital Complex area," adding, "It will attract young people, create a vibrant atmosphere, and greatly contribute to regional economic development."
Meanwhile, the former Garibong market site had been neglected for over 20 years, with continuous resident demands for redevelopment. After facing difficulties such as the 2009 Garibong market fire, designation as a balanced development promotion district in 2003 and its cancellation in 2014, the project gained momentum after being selected in 2019 for the 'Traditional Market Parking Environment Improvement Project' led by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. Since then, the project has been progressing through a business agreement with SH.
Dobong-gu (Mayor Oh Eon-seok) held a pedestrian path opening ceremony on the 9th together with the residents' representative meeting of Changdong Donga Cheongsol Apartments (Chang 4-dong 808) and the Pedestrian Path Promotion Committee.
The newly opened pedestrian path is a 3-meter-wide walkway between buildings 102 and 105 on the south side of Donga Cheongsol Apartments, connecting directly to the center of Changdong via Changdong Aurene (Madeullo 13-gil 84) and Exit 1 of Changdong Station on Line 4.
Previously, this area was blocked by parking lots and fences, forcing residents to take a long detour to use Line 4 and other facilities despite the short distance. Residents formed a promotion committee in June 2022 to request the creation of this pedestrian path.
The promotion committee and residents emphasized the need for a new pedestrian path toward Changdong Aurene for a long time. Mayor Oh Eon-seok inspected the site and requested related departments to actively review the matter.
First, Dobong-gu led prior consultations with the Seoul city department from a public interest perspective since the Changdong Aurene section is city-owned land. After completing administrative procedures such as maintenance of underground sewage facilities and traffic impact assessments, construction began in October and the path opened in November.
The opening ceremony on the 9th was attended by Song Pil-geun, residents' representative chairman; Jo Seong-moon, pedestrian path promotion committee chairman; Kim Hae-ju, senior citizens' center chairman; members of the pedestrian path promotion committee; Mayor Oh Eon-seok of Dobong-gu; city council members; and district council members.
Mayor Oh Eon-seok of Dobong-gu said, "I am deeply moved that the Donga Cheongsol pedestrian path, a long-standing wish of residents, has finally opened. This was possible thanks to the unified efforts of Seoul City, Changdong Aurene, and related Dobong-gu departments for the public good. I hope residents who had to take long detours will now use it conveniently, and I will continue to monitor the site to address any shortcomings following the opening."
Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jung Won-oh) announced that from November 15 to 25, it will conduct safety inspections on 12 apartment complexes that have been approved for use for over 30 years.
This safety inspection will be conducted jointly by public officials, external experts, and apartment management entities, examining not only the management status of facilities and equipment but also whether replacement plans according to aging, such as long-term repair plans, are appropriate for each facility.
The inspection will be conducted meticulously with participation from external experts in architecture, electricity, gas, and fire safety fields.
Key inspection items include: ▲In architecture, checking for building cracks and tilting to assess facility safety management appropriateness; ▲In electricity, assessing the condition of distribution boards, sub-distribution boards, and wiring; ▲In gas, verifying the installation of gas and piping facilities and the condition of valve connections; ▲In fire safety, checking the management status of automatic fire detectors, fire hydrants, sprinklers, and other fire extinguishing equipment; and ▲In long-term repair planning, focusing on whether the timing of facility replacement is appropriate and whether the long-term repair reserve fund is adequate.
For minor hazards found, the respective apartment management entities and residents' representative meetings will be immediately guided to carry out repairs and reinforcements. For serious issues, temporary measures will be taken, and a notification will be issued to undergo detailed safety inspections by specialized safety inspection agencies.
The district expects that through this inspection, it will be able to thoroughly identify risk factors in aging apartment complexes vulnerable to safety accidents and prevent such accidents in advance, thereby protecting the precious lives of residents.
Meanwhile, the district regularly conducts safety inspections twice a year on 144 locations including apartment complexes and auxiliary facilities within Seongdong-gu, not only on aging apartments. It also conducts annual periodic safety inspections of small-scale apartment complexes lacking management entities and steep slopes to prepare for natural disasters such as heavy rain and typhoons, striving to prevent safety accidents among residents.
Mayor Jung Won-oh said, "Preventing safety accidents beforehand is far more important than post-accident measures," adding, "Since over 80% of residents live in apartment complexes, we will conduct even more thorough apartment safety inspections to create a safe residential environment."
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