Aegis Asset Management and Trophy Asset at Seoul Station Space Innovation... Setting a New Milestone for Urban Regeneration

Seoul Station Metro Tower, Seoullo Tower Acquisition Completed on the 15th
Linked with Hilton Hotel Site, Completing 'Entrance to Namsan' Connecting Seoul Station, Namsan, and Baekbeom Park
"Will Showcase Korean-style Urban Regeneration Like Hudson Yards in the US and Azabudai Hills in Japan"

Aegis Asset Management has succeeded in establishing an important turning point for the space innovation project around Seoul Station.

Aegis Asset Management announced on the 18th that it has completed the acquisition of Metro Tower and Seoulro Tower, located side by side in Namdaemunro 5-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul, through ‘YD816PFV,’ the project development entity.

Redevelopment Bird's-eye View [Image provided by Aegis Asset Management]

Metro Tower (total floor area 41,139.6㎡) and Seoulro Tower (27,897.5㎡) are buildings located side by side at Exit 8 of Seoul Station, connected to the Millennium Hilton site behind them, completing the ‘entrance to Namsan’ that leads directly to Namsan Baekbeom Park.

Following the approval of the redevelopment plan for the Hilton site by the Seoul City Urban Planning Committee last November, the acquisition of these two buildings, which will play a major role in the overall development plan, is expected to accelerate the project.

Once the necessary procedures such as detailed building permits are completed this year, full-scale development will begin, aiming for completion in 2029.

Aegis Asset Management plans to drastically transform the area extending from Seoul Station to Namsan Hilton under the motto ‘Namsan for the citizens.’ A public green space approximately the size of one soccer field (about 7,000㎡) will be created on the site, and an escalator-type pedestrian walkway connecting Exit 8 of Seoul Station to Namsan will be installed, allowing citizens to comfortably access the entrance to Namsan.

Additionally, a large-scale complex facility of about 460,000㎡, including offices, hotels, and shopping facilities, will be established, expected to become a new landmark of Seoul. Aegis Asset Management anticipates that once development is completed in five years, this complex will become a new ‘trophy asset’ representing the Korean commercial real estate market following IFC. ‘Trophy assets’ are characterized by maintaining high asset value regardless of market conditions and attract interest from major institutional investors such as global pension funds.

An Aegis Asset Management official stated, “Large-scale urban developments combining green spaces and complex facilities, like New York’s Hudson Yards or Tokyo’s Azabudai Hills completed late last year, are a global trend in urban regeneration. This project aims to inject new vitality into the relatively underdeveloped area around Seoul Station compared to other cities.” He added, “We will introduce a new ‘area management’ model unique to Seoul, where a mountain unfolds in front of the national central station, combining the city’s distinctive natural environment with third-generation offices that integrate cutting-edge technologies from Korea’s top companies, and commercial facilities entering the market for the first time in Korea.”

Public Green Space Bird's-eye View [Image provided by Aegis Asset Management]

The third-generation offices are characterized by actively incorporating the latest technologies such as IoT and robotics throughout office operations, going beyond simply providing workspace. ‘Factorial Seongsu,’ completed last month, is the first third-generation office introduced by Aegis Asset Management. This building offers services such as Hyundai Motor Group’s unmanned parking robots, electric vehicle charging robots, and delivery robots, and Samsung Electronics implemented the building’s IoT solution, ‘Smart Things’ technology.

Meanwhile, Aegis Asset Management is actively communicating with various stakeholders during the development process. In 2022, during the acquisition of the Hilton Hotel, they quickly reached a cooperative agreement with the labor union. They also respect the significance of Hilton in architecture and various opinions from the architectural community, establishing a policy to actively preserve key elements such as the existing lobby, and are currently discussing detailed implementation plans with the design firm.