A total of six locations in Deungchon-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, and Junghwa 1-dong, Jungnang-gu, have been additionally designated as Moa Towns. Until now, the Deungchon-dong area has faced difficulties in redevelopment due to its dense multi-family housing near Bongje Mountain, while residents in Junghwa 1-dong had strong demands for residential environment improvement. With this, the number of designated Moa Town areas has increased from five to eleven, transforming a total of about 19,000 households into Moa housing complexes.
The area around 515-44 Deungchon-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, designated as Moatown. [Image provided by Seoul City]
On the 19th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it held the 7th Urban Regeneration Committee (Small-scale Housing Subcommittee) the day before and passed the review of the 'Moa Town Management Plan (draft)' for two locations in Deungchon-dong 515-44 and four locations in Junghwa 1-dong 4-30, totaling six locations.
So far, 67 sites have been selected as Moa Town targets. Among them, 11 sites have completed Moa Town designation, and 55 Moa housing projects are underway. Since February this year, the city has changed the application method from a fixed period to a rolling application, holding selection committees regularly to select target sites.
At the newly designated Moa Town site in Deungchon-dong 515-44, six Moa housing projects will be promoted, supplying a total of 2,387 households by 2027.
Until now, parts of Deungchon-dong 515-44 have been adjacent to Bongje Mountain (Hwagok-dong, Gangseo-gu) and fall under the first-class general residential area and natural scenic district, restricting construction. The height difference between plots reaches up to 27 meters, and old multi-family and multi-household residences are densely packed, causing narrow roads and parking difficulties, necessitating residential environment improvement.
With the approval of the Moa Town Management Plan (draft), low-rise buildings will be arranged in areas adjacent to the natural scenic district around Bongje Mountain to protect the landscape, while the area around Deungchon-ro 39-gil will feature street-type activation facilities and mid- to high-rise buildings, creating various designs of Moa housing that suit the local characteristics and scenery.
The Moa Town Management Plan (draft) includes ▲upgrading zoning areas ▲improving infrastructure and planning shared facilities ▲arranging buildings with diverse designs reflecting local characteristics ▲linking green corridors and expanding park creation ▲open communities shared with local residents.
In the natural scenic district around Bongje Mountain, the first-class area will be upgraded to second-class (7 floors) within the scope of maintaining landscape protection, allowing apartment construction. The city has presented guidelines based on upgrading zoning to second and third classes within the area.
The area around 4-30, Junghwa 1-dong, Jungnang-gu, Seoul, designated as Moa Town. [Image provided by Seoul City]
Four locations, including Junghwa 1-dong 4-30, where residents have high demands for residential environment improvement, will be promoted through the 'Moa Town Prior Designation' method to support rapid projects. The Moa Town Prior Designation method applies relaxed criteria such as project area and aging degree when promoting Moa housing, allowing procedures like association establishment to proceed by designating the Moa Town target site as a 'management area' before establishing the management plan, thereby supporting swift project progress.
Han Byung-yong, Director of the Seoul Housing Policy Office, said, "We expect the Moa Town project period to be drastically shortened through this Moa Town Prior Designation method," adding, "We will continue to prepare various administrative supports so that Moa Town projects can proceed quickly to improve low-rise residential areas vulnerable to disasters such as flooding and fire and with poor environments."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
