Seoul City Expands Public Rental Area to Maximum 85㎡ in 'Station Area Revitalization Project'

[Asia Economy Reporter Onyu Lim] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 1st that it has expanded the area of public rental housing within the project sites for the 'Transit Station Area Revitalization Project' from the existing 59㎡ (exclusive area) to up to 85㎡.

Through this, it is expected that a variety of housing can be supplied to accommodate not only single-person youth households but also 3-4 person households and middle-aged households.

The Transit Station Area Revitalization Project is a method where the city increases the floor area ratio of land meeting certain conditions within transit station areas, and private developers use 50% of the increased floor area ratio to supply local essential living service facilities such as daycare centers and public health centers, as well as public rental facilities. Here, the transit station area refers to within a 250m radius from subway or national railway station platforms.

Since announcing the plan to promote the Transit Station Area Revitalization in 2019, Seoul has selected 13 project sites through two rounds of public contests and is conducting pilot projects.

To activate the transit station area projects, the city will accept project applications on an ongoing basis starting this month. Interested project applicants can apply to the 25 autonomous districts from the 5th.

Additionally, the city has strengthened the authority and responsibility of autonomous districts so that they will lead the establishment of project plans going forward. Once the autonomous districts create plans, the city will hold a selection committee composed of experts from various fields quarterly to make the final selection of target sites.

Through the Transit Station Area Revitalization Project, Seoul plans to accelerate the expansion of non-Gangnam commercial areas and the securing of long-term lease housing, which were campaign pledges of Mayor Oh Se-hoon.

Specifically, the new commercial area quotas concentrated in non-Gangnam areas will be actively utilized in the Transit Station Area Revitalization Project, and some of the public rental facilities secured through public contributions will be converted into long-term lease housing to supply public rental housing.

Lee Jeong-hwa, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Urban Planning Bureau, said, "The Transit Station Area Revitalization Project will be a practical means to realize Mayor Oh’s key pledges of expanding non-Gangnam commercial areas and supplying housing through long-term lease housing."

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