7234 Households Including Haengdang Hanjin Town
High Floor Area Ratio Lowers Reconstruction Feasibility
Negative Perception of Remodeling Poses Obstacle
Some remodeling projects in Seoul are showing signs of vitality. In particular, several large apartment complexes with over 2,000 households in Seongdong-gu have jumped into remodeling projects. These complexes have high floor area ratios, making it difficult to expect redevelopment feasibility, so they are putting great effort into securing residents' consent rates.
According to the industry on the 16th, large apartment complexes near Haengdang Station on Subway Line 5 are all undergoing remodeling simultaneously. The total number of households in these complexes reaches 7,234.
Haengdang Hanjin Town, with 2,134 households, is currently making every effort to secure the final consent rate for establishing a union. The current consent rate is close to 59%, and about 7% more is needed to reach the legal consent rate (approximately 66.7%) required for union establishment approval. The remodeling project promotion committee is disclosing the current consent status within the complex and persuading residents by explaining the reasons why remodeling is necessary. They also plan to hold an explanatory meeting for residents by the end of the year.
Yeon Gyu-yong, the promotion committee chairman, said, "About 150 households' consent is needed in terms of the number of households," adding, "We are aiming for a union establishment general meeting in the first half of next year and are persuading newly incoming households." He added, "The consent rate rose rapidly to 40% within six months of starting to collect consents, but it stagnated as government policies changed and the market cooled down. Recently, as the market atmosphere has revived and turnover within the complex has become active, the consent rate is rising again," sharing the current mood.
Haengdang Daerim, facing Haengdang Hanjin Town across Haengdang Station with a total of 3,404 households, is also currently collecting residents' consent forms for union establishment. Kumho Byeoksan, located just behind Haengdang Hanjin Town with 1,707 households, is moving the fastest. This complex passed the architectural review in July this year and is proceeding with the remaining permit procedures. The architectural review is considered the most challenging process in remodeling projects.
These complexes chose remodeling because their floor area ratios are in the 200% range, making redevelopment feasibility difficult to expect. The complexes are situated on hills, so even with redevelopment, high floor area ratios are hard to anticipate. Haengdang Hanjin Town has a floor area ratio of 294%, and Haengdang Daerim reaches 254%. In the case of Haengdang Hanjin Town, they also examined the possibility of switching to redevelopment through a maintenance company earlier this year but concluded it was impossible.
However, the perception of remodeling has deteriorated over the past two years, acting as an obstacle to project promotion. Under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, redevelopment regulations have been eased, but remodeling projects have become more stringent, leading to negative evaluations regarding the speed of remodeling projects.
In particular, it is known that residents who have lived in the complexes for a long time tend to oppose remodeling. In fact, in these complexes, banners persuading residents to secure consent and banners opposing it are mixed in a disorderly manner. A representative from a nearby real estate agency said, "As Kumho Byeoksan is gaining momentum, a consensus on remodeling projects has formed, but the voices of residents opposing it are also not insignificant."
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