Inducing the Introduction of Residential Mixed-Use Functions
Plan to Create Pocket Parks
Providing Daily Life Services in the New Station Area
The area around Hwagye Station in Gangbuk-gu, Seoul will be transformed into a local hub space equipped with cultural and commercial functions.
On June 26, Seoul City announced that it had approved with modifications the "Designation and Planning Decision (Draft) for the Hwagye Station District Unit Planning Area" at the 11th Urban and Architectural Joint Committee meeting held on June 25.
The target area is where Hwagye Station on the Ui-Sinseol Line light rail opened in 2017. With the aim of providing a variety of daily life services and fostering a local hub in the Hwagye Station area of Gangbuk-gu, the city established a plan to create a new district unit planning area covering 111,179 square meters.
The city formulated this district unit plan to encourage rational and efficient use and to introduce only minimal regulations. First, the Hwagye Station area will be divided into three zones, and customized specialized uses such as street activation and youth entrepreneurship support will be introduced according to the characteristics of each zone.
In addition, two special planning zones will be newly established in the Hwagye Station station area to secure public interest through public contributions and to encourage the introduction of residential mixed-use functions. The city plans to set recommended uses to strengthen neighborhood support and cultural facilities as core functions, thereby laying the groundwork for enhancing neighborhood support and culture-centered functions in the station area.
Alongside this, the city plans to use public contributions from the special planning zones to improve roads, such as widening side roads for vehicle entry and exit, secure public open spaces at major street intersections, and expand lacking daily life SOC facilities such as welfare facilities and youth-related facilities.
For the low-rise residential area on the west side of Samyang-ro, which is designated as a height restriction zone, a joint development (special designation) area will be designated. In this area, if public interest-related relaxation items such as the introduction of daily life SOC facilities are implemented, the legal floor area ratio can be relaxed up to a maximum of 1.2 times.
To improve the poor pedestrian environment around Hwagye Station, the city also plans to create pedestrian-friendly streets by establishing building setback lines and pocket parks. Through this, the city aims to create spaces that can be comfortably used by both residents and visitors.
Cho Namjun, Director of the Seoul City Urban Space Headquarters, stated, "We expect that, in connection with the Suyu and Beon-dong district unit planning areas, the daily life zone around Hwagye Station will become even more vibrant."
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