Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon vowed Wednesday to accelerate plans to create large-scale housing complexes in northern Seoul through redevelopment and reconstruction projects.
In his Facebook post titled “A Seoul with homes: The first puzzle piece is Gangbuk,” Oh stressed his determination to expand housing supply in northern Seoul, citing the city’s plan to build 310,000 new homes by 2031 as part of efforts to stabilize the housing market.
Last month, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced an initiative to begin construction on 310,000 housing units by 2031 and complete 377,000 units by 2035, with 198,000, or 63.8 percent of the total, to be built along the Hangang River belt, which refers to riverfront districts such as Mapo, Yongsan and Seongdong in central and northern Seoul that are less developed than the Gangnam area across the river.
Among the key plans is to build a 45-story residential complex with 4,003 units in the Mia 2 Redevelopment Zone in Dobong-gu by 2030. The city recently eased regulations for the project, raising the base floor area ratio from 20 percent to up to 30 percent and expanding the legal upper limit by 1.2 times.
“What I find most regrettable is that redevelopment in the northern districts has long been at a standstill. If there had been more active interest and effort, the speed and results of Gangbuk’s development would have been very different,” Oh wrote.
“The transformation of Gangbuk is not just about housing supply. It marks the emergence of a large-scale residential district comparable to a new town and will usher in a new heyday for the area."
cjh@heraldcorp.com
