The former site of the National Institute of Health, adjacent to Bulgwang Station on Subway Lines 3 and 6, has been selected as Seoul City's first target site for pre-negotiation under the balanced development initiative.
Seoul City announced on the 21st that it approved this plan at the 4th Balanced Development Committee meeting held on the 20th.
This large-scale public idle site, covering an area of 48,000㎡, was purchased by the city in 2008 to develop it into an economic hub leading regional development. However, due to the typical characteristics of a residential area, development conditions have been insufficient, and no development has taken place to date.
Accordingly, the city plans to introduce the balanced development-type pre-negotiation system for the first time on this site to promote the development of a creative industry hub. The site will be developed as a white site with conditions for attracting jobs and companies related to digital media and content, and the public contributions generated here will be reinvested in spaces for creating a creative industry ecosystem and purchasing high-cost versatile equipment.
The target site is considered an optimal strategic location to support the creative industry, as it is within 5 km of digital media-related companies such as Sangam DMC and prestigious universities like Hongik University. Once the GTX-A line opens, accessibility will be greatly improved, allowing travel to downtown Seoul in about 5 minutes and to Gangnam in around 10 minutes, increasing its potential to grow as an economic hub in the northwest area.
The balanced development-type pre-negotiation is a core foundation of Mayor Oh Se-hoon's 'Great Transformation of Gangbuk Area' plan announced in March this year. It is a system designed to realize regional balanced development by revitalizing development through drastic deregulation in the Gangbuk area. Depending on the ratio of job-creating uses introduced, the public contribution ratio can be relaxed up to 30%, and additional incentives for maximum floor area ratio are provided for developments that comply with policies such as carbon-zero buildings and tourism accommodation facilities, significantly improving project feasibility.
The city aims to complete the Creative Town project by 2033 after processes such as a sale announcement in the first half of next year.
Kim Seung-won, head of Seoul City's Balanced Development Headquarters, said, "We will swiftly promote the project by attracting high-quality job-creating companies and reinvest public contributions into facilities necessary for creative enterprise activities, creating a business-friendly environment to rebirth the Gangbuk area as a new economic hub centered on jobs."
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