April 1 Olympic Athletes' Village Reconstruction Briefing
Procedure for Designating Maintenance Zone After Safety Inspection Approval
From 1.61 Billion on December Last Year to 1.83 Billion in March This Year
The 'Olympic Triplets' in Songpa-gu, Seoul, consisting of a total of 11,390 households, have gained momentum in their redevelopment projects thanks to the easing of safety inspection regulations for reconstruction. The main players are the Asia Athletes' Village in Jamsil-dong (1,356 households), the Olympic Press Athletes' Village in Bangi-dong (5,540 households), and the Olympic Family Town in Munjeong-dong (4,494 households). With growing expectations for reconstruction and the relaxation of loan regulations, the market prices, which had declined due to high interest rates, are gradually recovering.
According to the maintenance industry on the 30th, the redevelopment promotion group for the Olympic Press Athletes' Village apartment in Bangi-dong, Songpa-gu, will hold an explanatory meeting for reconstruction at the Pilsung Hall of Korea National Sport University on the 1st of next month. This meeting is intended for owners to present the current status of the project, the promotion procedures, and future plans.
The Olympic Athletes' Village, which is in its 36th year since completion, was confirmed for reconstruction in mid-last month. This came about approximately 11 months after receiving a conditional reconstruction judgment with a D grade in the first detailed safety inspection in March last year. Originally, this apartment was awaiting a second safety inspection by a public institution for appropriateness review, but reconstruction was finally decided after the government rationalized reconstruction safety inspection regulations in January. Currently, owners are being asked for consent to proceed with subsequent procedures such as establishing a maintenance plan and designating the area.
The Olympic Athletes' Village has a very low floor area ratio of 137% and building coverage ratio of 12%, which is highly evaluated for its excellent business feasibility. It is expected to be reborn as a super-large complex with 12,000 households through reconstruction. Additionally, it was used as the foreign press village (Complex 1) and athletes' village (Complexes 2 and 3) during the 1988 Seoul Olympics, boasting excellent transportation, school districts, and green environments. It is close to Olympic Park and adjacent to subway lines 5 and 9, providing excellent accessibility to major business districts such as Yeouido and Gangnam, and has a solid school district.
The Olympic Family Town also confirmed reconstruction after receiving an E grade in the detailed safety inspection in January. This was 1 year and 4 months after the reconstruction promotion preparation committee was formed in September 2021. Originally used as accommodation for athletes' families and VIP guests during the Seoul Olympics, it was later sold to the private sector. Although its floor area ratio is about 194%, which is not as high as the Olympic Press Athletes' Village, it is expected to benefit from developments such as the Suseo Station area development project.
The Asia Athletes' Village, one of the representative affluent neighborhoods, is also recently pushing forward with reconstruction safety inspections again. Built with strict quality control from design to construction as accommodation for athletes participating in the 1986 Seoul Asian Games, this apartment was considered part of the 'Gangnam Landmark Troika' in the 1990s along with Hyundai Apartments in Apgujeong-dong and Sampung Apartments in Seocho-dong. It is close to Sports Complex Station, a transfer station for Seoul Subway Lines 2 and 9.
Due to the high interest rates that swept through in the second half of last year, the actual transaction prices of the Olympic Triplets fell significantly from the peak when real estate prices surged. However, recently, with the easing of loan and tax regulations through the 1.3 measures and growing expectations for reconstruction, buying demand has increased and prices are rising again. An 84.7㎡ unit in Olympic Family Town changed hands for 1.64 billion KRW on the 15th. Although this price is far below the record high of 2.08 billion KRW reported in September 2021, it is 300 million KRW higher than the 1.34 billion KRW in December last year. This is the first time in seven months since August last year that units of the same size have recovered to the 1.6 billion KRW range.
Rebound transactions are also appearing one after another in the Olympic Athletes' Village. For example, an 83㎡ unit, which had dropped to 1.61 billion KRW in December last year, was traded for 1.835 billion KRW on the 6th. A real estate agent office in Bangi-dong explained, "Because there is a lot of greenery and it is a very pleasant place to live with high business feasibility, buying demand has revived after real estate regulations were eased."
However, the reconstruction of the Olympic Triplets is still in the very early stages, and there is a long way to go until completion. Even if designated as a maintenance area, the process must go through forming a promotion committee, establishing a union, obtaining project implementation approval, management disposition approval, relocation, and demolition.
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