Introduction of the Nation's First 'Villa Management Office'
Siheung City Hall Officials Visit Gangbuk-gu for Benchmarking
Benchmarking as Part of the Seoul Moa Center Project
Gangbuk-gu, Seoul (Mayor Lee Soon-hee) has introduced the ‘Villa Management Office’ project for the first time nationwide in 2023, which is emerging as an excellent case of residential environment improvement, attracting benchmarking interest from other local governments.
The Villa Management Office is a project directly operated by Gangbuk-gu to support the management of common facilities, cleaning, patrols, and parking in villas, which often experience frequent conflicts among residents due to the lack of a management entity, thereby addressing the shortcomings of villas.
Officials from Siheung City visiting Gangbuk-gu for benchmarking the villa management office business are touring the site together with the manager of the villa management office in Beon 1-dong. Provided by Gangbuk-gu.
According to the district, on the 20th, officials from the Housing Division of Siheung City Hall and the Siheung City Urban Regeneration Support Center in Gyeonggi Province visited Gangbuk-gu to benchmark this project. After receiving an explanation of the Villa Management Office project, the visiting group toured the Villa Management Office site in Beon 1-dong.
Siheung City officials showed deep interest in the overall project, including the implementation procedures and operational methods, and conducted a Q&A session for about an hour. At the meeting, one Siheung City official said, “This project started with a truly good purpose,” adding, “The outcomes such as resident satisfaction are excellent, providing many points of reference.”
The Villa Management Office project promoted by Gangbuk-gu supports various living management services for residents of small-scale multi-family housing who are struggling due to aging and lack of management.
Villa Management Office managers hired by the district patrol each project area, providing services such as cleaning, safety patrols, facility maintenance, and parking management. This contributes to improving the residential environment and enhancing residents’ quality of life.
The Villa Management Office project has been recognized for its excellence, winning the Grand Prize in the Community Strengthening category at the ‘2023 National Basic Local Government Manifesto Best Practice Competition’ held in July 2023, and the Policy Award at the ‘Good Local Autonomy Policy Conference’ in December last year.
So far, the project has attracted attention as a benchmarking target and related projects are being promoted in places such as the Seoul Moa Center, Dongjak-gu, Gangseo-gu, and Dobong-gu.
A Gangbuk-gu official stated, “We will continue to complement and expand the Villa Management Office project according to regional characteristics to improve the residential environment,” adding, “We will do our best to establish the Villa Management Office project as a leading case of small-scale multi-family housing management.”
Meanwhile, Gangbuk-gu opened Villa Management Offices in Beon 1-dong starting in March 2023, followed by Mia, Songjung, and Suyu 2-dong last year. This year, the project area will be expanded to a total of eight neighborhoods, and new initiatives such as village cultural events to revitalize resident communities, free legal counseling offices, and efforts to establish crime prevention environments will be launched.
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