LH-Led Seoul Moatown Projects in 4 Areas Gain Management Plan Approval in 1 Year...Fast-Track Supply of 3,500 Units

Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) announced on the 10th that it completed approval and public notice of management plans for four small-scale housing maintenance management areas (Moatown) in Seoul just one year after joining the projects. The corporation significantly shortened the process of establishing management plans, which normally takes several years, and is being credited with resolving the chronic issue of slow project speed in small-scale maintenance projects.

The target areas are Nangok-dong in Gwanak-gu, Hongje-dong in Seodaemun-gu, Noryangjin-dong in Dongjak-gu, and Gugi-dong in Jongno-gu. The total planned supply is about 3,500 housing units. The background to LH achieving such rapid results lies in its "parallel promotion" strategy. In consultation with local governments, LH pursued the management plan approval procedures while simultaneously securing residents' consent forms needed for designation of project implementers and establishment of associations.

Partial perspective rendering of 697-20, Nangok-dong, Gwanak-gu. Korea Land & Housing Corporation

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This strategy has led to tangible results. In Zone A2 of Nangok-dong, Gwanak-gu, the consent rate reached about 67%, satisfying the legal requirement of at least two-thirds, just two months after the collection of consent forms began in December last year. In the Hongje-dong area of Seodaemun-gu, the rate exceeded 50% within one month of initiating the procedures. In the remaining areas of Noryangjin-dong in Dongjak-gu and Gugi-dong in Jongno-gu, LH plans to hold project briefings for all residents in the first half of the year, after which it will formally begin the consent process.

With the public notice of the management plans now complete, LH plans to sequentially carry out follow-up procedures such as designation of project implementers or establishment of associations, conclusion of agreements, and integrated reviews.

Unlike general redevelopment or reconstruction projects, LH-participating street housing maintenance projects can omit steps such as establishing maintenance plans, which is advantageous for shortening the project period. In fact, Deoksu Row House in Yeomchang-dong, Gangseo-gu, the first completed case in the Seoul area, was completed in 2021, five years after the association was established. Based on LH's creditworthiness, it is also possible to secure project financing and provide relocation expenses by using low-interest loans from the Housing and Urban Fund.

Bird's-eye view of 322 Hongje-dong, Seodaemun-gu. Korea Land and Housing Corporation

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Once an area is designated as a management area, the project site can be expanded up to 40,000 square meters (compared with 20,000 square meters for private-sector projects), and the land-use zoning can be upgraded through review. A contribution in kind ratio of 30% is applied, which is lower than the 50% applied to private-sector projects, and the requirements for street-block road width and the aging standard (from 60% to 50%) are also eased.

Park Hyungeun, Head of the Metropolitan Maintenance Project Special Headquarters at LH, said, "A maintenance method in which the public sector shares management and risk while residents make the choices is becoming the new standard for small-scale maintenance," adding, "Going forward, we will continue to spread a sustainable maintenance model that reduces the burden on residents and expands housing supply in urban areas, with public-participation management areas at the center."

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