[Report] Turning Old Villa Areas into Large Residential Complexes... Gangbuk Beondong, Moa Town Kicks Off

Gangbuk Beondong Area Selected as Seoul City Moa Housing Pilot Project Site
Moa Town > Moa Housing > Street Housing
Transformed into a Large Complex with up to 35 Floors and 1,262 Households
Integrated Underground Large-Scale Parking Lot and Green Spaces Created

Low-rise residential area in Beondong, Gangbuk-gu, Seoul, selected as a pilot site for the Moa Housing project. The lack of parking spaces is noticeable, with cars parked along the street.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] "The roads are narrow and there are no separate parking spaces, so every evening it was a parking war. There were limits to increasing space through the street housing maintenance project, but now that the underground can be integrated and used as parking space, expectations are high."

Residents in the Beondong area of Gangbuk-gu, Seoul, where the pilot project of ‘Moa Housing’ was visited on the 13th, showed great anticipation for the improvement of their living environment. Residents gathered in small groups around Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who promised rapid project implementation during his visit. Resident A, who has owned a three-story multi-family house for 23 years, expressed hope, saying, "At night it was a parking war, and in winter we worried about frozen pipes, but now that an apartment complex with over 1,000 households is coming in, I think things will change here too."

Moa Housing is a new type of maintenance model that collectively develops individual plots in aging low-rise residential areas on a block basis. In areas where redevelopment is difficult due to not meeting criteria, street housing maintenance projects are commonly chosen, but Mayor Oh introduced the concept of Moa Housing, which supports these project sites with national and city funds when developed collectively. Furthermore, areas where such Moa Housing projects are collectively promoted can be grouped and systematically managed as ‘Moa Towns.’ This expands options to allow even areas difficult to redevelop to be systematically maintained.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Beondong area in Gangbuk-gu is as old as 87% in terms of aging but is a region where redevelopment is difficult. Although it has old houses and winding road conditions, the plot density was low. A Seoul city official said, "For redevelopment to be possible, not only aging but also plots must be narrow or densely packed with old houses," adding, "Many low-rise residential areas in Seoul remain neglected without proper measures because they do not meet these conditions."

For this reason, the Beondong area had also been pursuing street housing maintenance projects, but with the introduction of the Moa Housing concept, five previously segmented project zones can now be developed into a single residential town. Through this project, the area will be transformed from 357 households into a large complex of 1,262 households with buildings up to 35 stories high.

By combining plots, a large-scale integrated underground parking lot can be created. In street housing maintenance projects, parking space was secured through pilotis structures, which had clear limitations. However, in Moa Towns, underground land can be combined to use the area more efficiently. As a result, the number of parking spaces is expected to increase about tenfold, from 129 to 1,344. Additionally, with national and city funding support, communal community facilities and green spaces will be created, effectively forming a large-scale newly built apartment complex.

Since it follows the procedures of small-scale housing maintenance projects, the speed is faster than redevelopment. Seoul City plans to designate this area as a Moa Town next month and finalize the project plan within this year. A Seoul city official said, "Next year, relocation procedures will begin, and by 2025, residents will be able to move in, with rapid progress being made."

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