Geumcheon-gu Confirmed as Air Force Base 'Space Innovation Zone Pilot Project'
Regulations on Building Use, Building Coverage Ratio, Floor Area Ratio, etc. Relaxed for Converged Urban Development
Rapid Development into a Residential and Business Complex City Adjacent to G-Valley
Geumcheon-gu (Mayor Yu Seong-hoon) announced on the 1st that the site of the 3rd Missile Defense Brigade in Doksan-dong (Air Force base site) has been selected as a 'Spatial Innovation Zone Pilot Project Site' by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
The Air Force base site covers approximately 125,000㎡ and has been located in the heart of Geumcheon-gu since the 1940s. It has long disrupted the local living area around Doksan-dong, hindering regional development and causing inconvenience to residential life.
Accordingly, the district proposed the Air Force base site as a candidate for the Spatial Innovation Zone pilot project to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport last year. The ministry judged the Air Force base site, a large-scale idle national property in the city center, as an area requiring new functional development due to urban expansion, changes in surrounding conditions, and industrial structure changes, and confirmed it as a target site for the Spatial Innovation Zone pilot project.
The 'Spatial Innovation Zone' is a special urban planning area where regulations such as permitted building uses, building coverage ratio, and floor area ratio are relaxed, allowing for the integration of various functions to create a growth hub in the city center.
The district plans to develop the Air Force base site, adjacent to G-Valley, into a high-tech industrial hub and a mixed-use dense urban area combining residential and office functions that enable proximity between workplace and residence.
A district official stated, "To institutionalize the Spatial Innovation Zone, we will promptly establish a spatial restructuring plan and collaborate with central government agencies such as the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and the Ministry of National Defense to accelerate the project."
Yu Seong-hoon, Mayor of Geumcheon-gu, said, "This pilot project for the military base site will serve as a model for cooperation among the public, private, and military sectors, and the selection as a pilot project site will accelerate the long-awaited development of the Air Force base site for our residents. We will restore the disrupted local living area and develop it into a new central city in the southwestern gateway of Seoul, laying the foundation for strengthening urban competitiveness."
The Air Force base site is expected to be designated as a Spatial Innovation Zone after going through legal procedures such as the review by the Central Urban Planning Committee and the Local Urban Planning Committee following the establishment of the district's spatial restructuring plan containing specific development plans.
Since 2005, the district has been negotiating with the military base and several local governments to relocate the entire Air Force base and promote urban development projects, but all attempts failed due to opposition from the target local governments.
Accordingly, the district and the Ministry of National Defense reached a bold agreement to compactly arrange the Air Force base within the current site (constructing an urban-type base) and develop the remaining land to contribute to regional development using national land, strengthen urban competitiveness, and improve the working environment and welfare of military personnel.
Through active efforts including meetings between Geumcheon-gu Mayor Yu Seong-hoon and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, as well as dozens of working-level meetings with related organizations such as the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Seoul City, the site was successfully selected as a Spatial Innovation Zone pilot project site.
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