Resident Briefing Sessions on Maintenance Plans for 13-14th Held
Seoul City Likely to Choose Fast Track to Speed Up
High Floor Area Ratio but Investment Value Due to Development Prospects
One of the "Olympic Big Three," the reconstruction of Olympic Family Town in Munjeong-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, has gained momentum. After passing the first hurdle of the safety inspection in January this year, the project is now collecting residents' consent forms with a target of 80% to establish a maintenance plan, the next step in the process. At the same time, the plan is to accelerate the reconstruction by promoting Seoul City's fast-track maintenance project called the Rapid Integrated Planning.
According to the maintenance industry on the 11th, the Olympic Family Town Reconstruction Promotion Preparation Committee plans to hold four resident briefing sessions over two days on the 13th and 14th.
Olympic Family Town, along with Olympic Athletes' Press Village in Bangi-dong and Asia Athletes' Village in Jamsil-dong, Songpa-gu, was built for the 1988 Seoul Olympics and is known as one of the "Olympic Big Three" apartments. Thanks to government deregulation, it was the first among the three complexes to pass the safety inspection in January. The Olympic Athletes' Village passed the safety inspection in February, and the Asia Athletes' Village cleared it in June.
The Olympic Family Town Reconstruction Promotion Preparation Committee plans to provide guidance on establishing the maintenance plan, a follow-up procedure after the safety inspection, and obtain consent from the owners during this briefing. The collection of consent forms has already begun, with a target of 80%.
At the same time, to speed up the project, explanations about Seoul City's fast-track maintenance project called the "Consultation-based Rapid Integrated Planning" will also be provided.
The "Shin Tong Planning," a maintenance project under Mayor Oh Se-hoon's administration, refers to a method where Seoul City significantly reduces the time required for designating maintenance zones through integrated reviews of transportation, architecture, environment, and more. Typically, the period to designate a maintenance zone can be shortened from about five years to two years. In particular, the consultation-based method allows Seoul City to proceed with consultations only, without commissioning planning and design services, for projects where resident proposals or district unit plans have already been established, further reducing time and reflecting residents' opinions. To apply for the fast-track, consent from more than 30% of all landowners is required.
A representative of the Olympic Family Town Promotion Preparation Committee said, "Not only in Seoul City but also within Songpa-gu, there is fierce competition among reconstruction projects in terms of speed, so we plan to apply for the Shin Tong Planning consultation project to proceed quickly."
Olympic Family Town was originally used as accommodation for athletes' families and VIP guests during the Olympics and was later sold to the private sector. It is a mammoth complex with 56 buildings, up to 15 stories high, and 4,494 households, boasting wide spacing between buildings and lush landscaping like a forest. It is close to Garak Market Station on subway lines 3 and 8, and Munjeong Station on line 8. To the north, beyond Garak Market, lies Helio City in Garak-dong, the largest single-scale apartment complex with 9,510 households.
With a floor area ratio of 194%, the project’s profitability is not very high. The height restriction due to the nearby Seongnam Airport is also cited as an obstacle to reconstruction. Nevertheless, the establishment of the Munjeong Legal Complex and the modernization of Garak Market have improved residential infrastructure, and benefits from the Suseo Station area development project are expected.
The recent actual transaction price for the standard 84㎡ unit, which is the popular size, is around 1.7 billion KRW. Although it has not reached the peak of 2 billion KRW in 2021, it has recovered more than 400 million KRW compared to the 1.3 billion KRW transaction price in December last year. A maintenance industry official said, "Although the floor area ratio is higher than that of Olympic Athletes' Village (137%) and Asia Athletes' Village (152%), making the profitability not very high, it is relatively affordable and has development prospects, so it has investment value."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
