City Shortens Administrative Procedures for Complex Shopping Mall by 8 Months
Completion Expected in 2027... 5,000 Jobs to Be Created
The complex shopping mall 'The Hyundai Gwangju' has entered full-scale construction preparations after making the final payment for the land purchase and applying for a building permit to the local district office on the 28th of last month. It is expected to break ground around July after obtaining the building permit from the district office and selecting a construction company.
According to Gwangju City on the 3rd, as the region's first complex shopping mall and a core infrastructure to realize an era of 30 million annual urban users, the city has actively pursued administrative procedures by operating a 'New Vitality Administrative Council,' shortening and completing the process by eight months.
The city completed all administrative procedures for 'The Hyundai Gwangju,' which will be built on the site of the old textile factory in Buk-gu, including district unit plan approval, traffic impact assessment, landscape and architectural review, and more, by December 30 last year. After the proposal for the district unit plan in February last year, it took a total of 11 months to complete the district unit plan approval, traffic impact assessment, preliminary review of fire safety design, landscape and architectural review, and demolition work.
These administrative procedures were completed eight months ahead of schedule. Establishing a district unit plan usually takes at least 10 months due to procedures such as strategic environmental impact assessment and traffic impact assessment, but the city shortened this by more than four months, completing it in just six months.
Traffic impact assessments for individual buildings typically take several months, but for 'The Hyundai Gwangju,' the New Vitality Administrative Council held multiple pre-cooperation meetings with relevant departments, passing the traffic impact assessment in just three months. Subsequent landscape and architectural reviews, which each usually take about two months, were conditionally approved in two months for both. In addition, by simultaneously carrying out related procedures such as the preliminary review of fire safety design and demolition work on the shopping mall site, all major administrative procedures were completed by the end of last year.
The only remaining administrative procedure is the building permit from the local district office (Buk-gu). The city's swift administration was largely due to the 'Complex Shopping Mall New Vitality Administrative Council,' established to facilitate interdepartmental cooperation. In September 2022, the city formed the council with relevant departments and district offices, proceeding with administrative procedures under the three principles of speed, fairness, and transparency.
'The Hyundai Gwangju' applied for a building permit to the Buk-gu office on February 28. After obtaining the building permit and selecting a construction company, construction is scheduled to begin around July, with completion expected by the end of 2027. 'The Hyundai Gwangju' will be a large-scale complex shopping mall with shopping, cultural, and leisure facilities, featuring a land area of 32,364 square meters, a height of 59.19 meters, a length of 214 meters, a width of 111 meters, and a total floor area of 273,895 square meters across six basement levels and eight above-ground floors.
Once construction begins, 'The Hyundai Gwangju' is expected to create up to 3,000 construction jobs per day on average over the approximately 30-month construction period. When the mall opens, it is anticipated to generate direct and indirect employment for about 5,000 people, including full-time and partner staff.
Gwangju City also plans to concretize discussions on coexistence measures between the complex shopping mall and local commercial districts alongside the construction of 'The Hyundai Gwangju.' These discussions will be led by the 'Complex Shopping Mall Coexistence Development Council.' Based on the results of a commercial district impact assessment analyzing the mall's effect on the local economy, the council will discuss specific coexistence measures such as introducing local stores within the mall, linking the mall with traditional markets, and converting purchase points to local currency.
Lee Seungkyu, head of the New Vitality Promotion Headquarters, stated, "The Gwangju complex shopping mall has made steady progress through active cooperation among related departments and is now set to break ground this year," adding, "After construction begins, we will focus on creating a complex shopping mall that coexists with small business owners, centered on the 'Complex Shopping Mall Coexistence Development Council.'"
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