A 33-Story Office Building to Be Constructed on Cheonggyecheon Tool Street

Passed Seoul City Urban Planning Committee Review
Stepwise Maintenance to Preserve Gonggu Industry

A 33-story office building will be constructed in the tool district along Cheonggyecheon Stream in Seoul, where old buildings are densely packed.

On the 4th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that at the 3rd Urban Planning Committee meeting held on the 20th of last month, the amendment to the “Supyo Urban Maintenance-type Redevelopment Project Maintenance Plan” for the area around 237 Ipjeong-dong, Jung-gu was approved with modifications.

The Supyo area, located east of Euljiro 3-ga Station on Subway Lines 2 and 3 and north of Cheonggyecheon Stream, has been known as the "Cheonggyecheon Tool District" since the 1960s when tool shops were established. However, due to the concentration of old and deteriorated buildings, there has been a continuous need for environmental improvement. It was designated as a redevelopment maintenance zone in 2010, and the project implementation plan was applied for approval in 2018.

Example of office facilities in the redevelopment project of Supyo District, Ipjeong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Seoul City

According to this review, a single building with 33 floors above ground will be developed on the site as an office facility. Neighborhood living facilities will be concentrated from the basement level 1 to the 2nd floor to activate the street. Additionally, a sunken plaza and exhibition hall directly connected to a large-scale open green space on the west side will be arranged to create a spatial connection between the interior and exterior of the building.

To preserve the existing tool industry ecosystem, a cyclical maintenance method has been introduced in the Supyo area redevelopment. This cyclical maintenance method involves partial demolition during construction, creating alternative business spaces on the demolition site so that existing store tenants can continue operating, and a phased redevelopment approach where tenants reoccupy the public rental industrial facilities upon their completion. The project implementer will construct public rental industrial facilities for existing tenants and then donate them to the city.

Public rental industrial facility rendering for the redevelopment project of Supyo District, Ipjeong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Seoul City

Plans also include creating an open green space. A large-scale (approximately 2,300㎡) citizen resting area will be secured by linking the building’s west side with Cheonggyecheon Stream and the green space. Open green spaces connected to the streets will be created along the northern Cheonggyecheon riverside and the eastern Chungmuro side to facilitate pedestrian convenience. This will connect with the green space in the Euljiro 3-ga area, decided last year, forming a major pedestrian axis from Euljiro to Cheonggyecheon.

The city stated, “The Supyo area redevelopment is expected to contribute to enhancing urban competitiveness by preserving the existing tool industry ecosystem, realizing a green ecological urban center, promoting coexistence through urban industry preservation, and restoring citizen-centered public spaces that reflect the local characteristics.”

At the 4th Urban Planning Committee meeting held the day before, proposals to create cultural and sports facilities in the Shinguro Retention Basin in Guro-gu and within Korea National Sport University in Songpa-gu were also approved.

The Shinguro Retention Basin, which had been used as a resting space for residents with natural ecological parks and walking decks installed in the 1970s, faced demands for multifunctional use. Following this review, part of the retention basin will be covered, and two multipurpose sports fields and a complex cultural facility supporting residents’ leisure activities will be installed in the upper space. The cultural complex will include a library, resource room, book caf?, cultural lecture rooms, and sports support facilities.

At Korea National Sport University, a new golf practice range with a total floor area of approximately 1,987㎡ and 1 basement floor to 4 floors above ground will be constructed on the site of the demolished student union building. The current golf practice range, a temporary structure installed in 1989, is outdated and raises safety concerns. Additionally, with only 12 available hitting bays, sports golf students have had to use external facilities, causing inconvenience. The new golf practice range will have 46 hitting bays, with construction starting in October this year and completion scheduled for September 2025. This project is fully funded by national government subsidies.

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