Busan 'Miworld' Ahead of Resident Briefing... "We Must Go Together with Residents"

Conditions for Busan's Former 'MiWorld' Landscape Review Approval... Expanding Public Interest and Holding Resident Briefings
TI Busan PFV Co., Ltd. CEO Ma Seung-pyo: "We Will Promote the Project Through Communication with Local Residents"
Residenti

Perspective rendering of the residence planned to be built by TI Busan PFV Co., Ltd. on the former Miworld site.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Yong-woo] On the 23rd of last month, the landscape review of Suyeong-gu, Busan, regarding the development plan for the site of the former Mi World in Millak-dong, Suyeong-gu, was conditionally approved (Internet edition of this paper dated June 24, 2020). According to the review materials, among the three residential lodging facilities (residences) to be built on approximately 27,800㎡ of accommodation facility land, two buildings will be 42 stories high, and one building will be 41 stories high. A tourist commercial facility, 1.6 times the size of a soccer field, will be created in the low-rise section connecting these residences.

As the Landscape Review Committee required the project to proceed by reflecting the opinions of local residents through expanding public interest and holding residents' briefings as conditions for approval, the implementing company expressed its intention to actively communicate with residents while promoting the project.

However, about 200 residents of nearby apartments protested against the passing of the landscape review, and voices opposing the development are still emerging, drawing attention to the results of future permits such as Busan City's architectural review, traffic and environmental impact assessments, and implementation approvals.

Before the residents' briefing required by the landscape review is held, this paper decided to directly hear the explanation from the project implementer, TI Busan PFV Co., Ltd., regarding some residents' opposing opinions. The following is a Q&A with CEO Ma Seung-pyo of TI Busan PFV Co., Ltd.

TI Busan PFV Co., Ltd. CEO Ma Seung-pyo.

Q) Building three residence buildings alone is seen as ‘lenient administration’ that does not align with the original purpose of developing Millak Recreation Area, and there are concerns that it will transform into a residential complex rather than a tourist area. What is the project operator’s position on this?

A) Residences (residential lodging facilities) are accommodation facilities defined by the Building Act and can be lawfully established in commercial or tourist districts, so we do not consider this preferential treatment. Also, compared to apartments, they have acquisition taxes more than four times higher, lower exclusive use rates, relatively fewer parking spaces, and no schools since they are not residential districts, so we believe they cannot replace apartments as residential complexes.

Although designed to allow cooking and laundry, which sometimes causes them to be mistaken for residential facilities, residences are originally accommodation facilities for long-term tourists, and in many cases, they are used as residence hotels for long-term stays through business registration or consignment operation.

If high-end residences are built, they become somewhat different competitors to nearby tourist hotels, and from the tourists’ perspective, the range of choices expands.

Due to the impact of COVID-19, travel patterns where families stay in one place for a long time to enjoy vacations are spreading, and resort-type accommodations with multiple rooms and spacious areas will become increasingly common.

Existing luxury hotels, which mostly had studio-type rooms, are also considering diversifying room types, such as boldly modifying room sizes, in preparation for the post-COVID era.

Q) There is a view that Suyeong-gu lowered the building height for the previous operator due to resident complaints and demanded a luxury hotel, but this time passed the review unanimously by attaching a formal condition of a residents' briefing. What is your position on this?

A) The previous operator received approval in 2014 with a building height of 150.4m and attempted to raise it to 178m in 2017 through another landscape review.

However, TI Busan underwent the landscape review at a slightly lower height of 149.8m than the previously approved 150.4m. While we would have liked to raise the building height somewhat for business feasibility, if not as much as the previous operator, we agreed to prioritize minimizing the impact on the views and sunlight of nearby residents over business profitability.

The previous operator tried to meet business viability by increasing floor height but eventually went bankrupt due to low business returns. This is evidence that successfully promoting this project is by no means easy.

TI Busan’s project plan considers the minimum business viability necessary to develop a landmark that contributes to increasing regional value while minimizing harm to residents.

Q) Expanding public interest is also a condition for passing the landscape review. Residents are concerned about the privatization of parks, demanding that city-owned park land be excluded from the project. What is your position and plan regarding this?

A) The previous operator received project approval without conditions such as public facility donations, but now we must contribute more to expanding public interest, including purchasing and donating park land and building a cultural center. We consider this necessary for regional revitalization and have the will and plan to carry it out perfectly.

First, 41,670㎡ of land, accounting for 71.5% of the 58,318㎡ Millak Park site, is privately owned by about 30 individuals. TI Busan plans to purchase all this land and donate it to Busan City. After the donation, Busan City will redevelop the entire Millak Park, and TI Busan will build park access stairs and elevators at the project operator’s expense.

If development does not start by September 2021, the sunset clause will apply, lifting development restrictions on privately owned land in Millak Park. Although Millak Park is separate from the lodging facility site we are building, the entire project must proceed smoothly to prevent indiscriminate development of privately owned land within the park.

From the residents’ perspective, if they have been using privately owned land, i.e., someone else’s land, as a park, after the operator’s donation and Busan City’s redevelopment at its expense, Millak Park will be restored as a genuine park in front of their homes. Donating Millak Park land to Busan City and creating access facilities is akin to returning part of the operator’s profits to local residents.

Additionally, within the lodging facility site we are building, we plan to construct a cultural center with community spaces such as a book caf? freely accessible to residents, in consultation with Suyeong-gu, at our expense.

To implement public interest expansion measures such as purchasing and donating Millak Park private land, creating access facilities, and building a cultural center for residents’ convenience, we plan to contribute about 20 billion KRW worth of resources to the region.

Furthermore, we plan to create a skybridge connecting two residence buildings and tourist commercial facilities with a total floor area 1.6 times that of a soccer field, making them convenient for residents to use.

Usually, when donating land, incentives such as increased floor area ratio are granted in return, but this time there are no such incentives. Rather than regretting this, we want to use it as a small stepping stone to overcome the difficult local economic situation and as an opportunity to gain trust from the local community.

Q) Is there anything else you would like to convey to the local community and residents?

A) I believe the landscape review result reflects a strong demand to successfully complete this long-stalled project and make it a stepping stone for regional economic recovery. We promise to humbly communicate with the local community throughout the entire project process by opening various channels, including residents' briefings.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.