As the deadline for the application for the selection of the aging city redevelopment pilot district approaches, it is expected that more than five complexes, including Parktown, Saetbyeol Village, and Pilot Complex 2, among the complexes in Bundang pushing for pilot district applications, have secured over 90% consent rates for the pilot district application.
Among them, the only integrated redevelopment complex exceeding 3,000 households that has adopted the public implementation method for redevelopment and secured a 92% consent rate solely through the efforts of volunteer members of the Redevelopment Promotion Preparation Committee and owners' redevelopment support funds?without the help of private trust companies or maintenance firms?is the heartwarming rapid progress of Bundang Parktown.
Although the standard floor area ratio of 326% announced by Seongnam City in early September is relatively lower than the standard floor area ratios of first-generation new towns such as Sanbon and Jungdong (around 330% to 350%), the competition among Bundang redevelopment complexes for pilot district selection remains intense even during the Chuseok holiday.
Looking at the evaluation criteria for first-generation new town pilot districts, there are slight differences in evaluation standards among local governments. However, industry insiders believe that Seongnam City highly evaluates redevelopment feasibility but includes many toxic clauses that could significantly lower redevelopment feasibility.
The toxic clauses specified in Seongnam City's evaluation criteria refer to factors that may hinder or delay redevelopment projects. For example, Seongnam City added evaluation items that award points if the pilot district application includes establishing relocation measures (2 points), long-life housing (excellent or highest grade, 1 or 3 points), district regularization (2 points), small complex combination (2 points), and additional public contributions (6 points).
These items can act as factors that significantly worsen or delay redevelopment feasibility. In fact, compared to the "Housing Supply Expansion Plan for National Housing Stability" announced by the government on August 8, there is public regret that Seongnam City's pilot district selection criteria were chosen to suppress rather than promote redevelopment.
Nevertheless, as the final race to select the pilot district heats up among approximately 50,000 households in Bundang, it is understood that some complexes are considering adopting the toxic clauses mentioned above. Meanwhile, Park Si-sam, chairman of the Bundang Parktown Redevelopment Promotion Preparation Committee, said, “Securing a 92% consent rate solely through the sacrifices and efforts of owner volunteers is unprecedented in the history of redevelopment promotion. An integrated promotion complex that has secured such a high consent rate on its own must be selected as a pilot district to enable rapid redevelopment.”
He continued, “Parktown has a portfolio of unit sizes consistent across four integrated complexes, with large units of 48 pyeong or more as the main type, and the land share ratios of the four complexes are not significantly different, so conflicts of interest among complexes are inevitably less than in other complexes. Also, regarding long-life housing, there are no domestic cases constructed with excellent or highest grades of long-life housing, and adopting these grades is expected to increase construction costs by 15% to 20% or more, so this choice should be made carefully.”
He added, “The decision on whether to provide additional public contributions, district regularization, small complex combination, and establishment of relocation measures?items that receive bonus points?should also be made after a detailed review of redevelopment feasibility. Lastly, out of 3,028 households, about 2,800 have consented to the pilot district application. Considering their hopes for redevelopment, we will do our best with the volunteers of the Parktown Redevelopment Promotion Preparation Committee to raise the consent rate to a perfect score level of 95% during the remaining period and establish a differentiated ‘urban function revitalization’ strategy to submit the pilot district application.”
Parktown, which has adopted the public implementation method of redevelopment for the first time in Korea and secured a high consent rate through resident autonomy, is drawing attention as to whether it will be selected as the Bundang pilot district in Seongnam City.
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