Districts once erased from Seoul's redevelopment map are coming back. Areas that were removed from designated redevelopment zones or saw projects collapse because of resident opposition and weak profitability are trying again, using deregulation such as the city's fast-track planning program and upgrades to land-use zoning as a springboard. As buildings age further and the price gap with nearby newly built complexes widens, resident sentiment is also shifting quickly toward pushing the projects forward.
The Yeomni 4 district in Mapo-gu received approval to establish a redevelopment association on the 14th of this month, according to the redevelopment industry on the 22nd. The area was incorporated into the Ahyeon New Town project in 2003 and pursued redevelopment, but was dropped from the zone in 2015 after residents repeatedly demanded its cancellation.
The mood changed as redevelopment complexes in the surrounding Ahyeon New Town were completed one after another and home prices rose. Expectations of improved profitability combined with demand to upgrade aging housing conditions rebuilt support for redevelopment, and the area was re-designated as a redevelopment zone in December last year. It won approval for a preparatory committee in January this year and completed the establishment of an association eight months later. A plan is currently being pursued to develop 12 buildings of up to 35 stories with a total of 1,120 units.
Cases of redevelopment and rebuilding demand reviving in areas where projects once fell apart are spreading across Seoul. As housing continues to age and the price gap with nearby new apartments widens, residents who once opposed the projects have changed their views, according to the redevelopment industry.
The Imkwang 1 and 2 complexes in Bangbae-dong, Seocho-gu, are also pursuing rebuilding again. The complexes were designated as a redevelopment zone in 2019, but the formation of a preparatory committee was delayed for a long time as residents split over issues including the share of rental housing and the floor area ratio. The deadline was extended once, but the committee was never formed and the designation was revoked in 2024.
Recently the complexes began a second push for rebuilding through the fast-track planning program. The consent rate surpassed 75% in the middle of this month, about a month after owners began collecting consent forms.
The Hongeun 15 district in Seodaemun-gu is another area that returned to the redevelopment track after being removed. It was designated as a candidate redevelopment zone in 2009 but was dropped in 2013 at residents' request. Demand for redevelopment later grew again, and the area was named a fast-track planning candidate site in 2021. It was designated as a redevelopment zone last year and received approval to establish an association on March 20 this year. A redevelopment project of 1,834 units is currently under way.
Sites that were dropped from redevelopment zones over profitability are also trying again on the back of various regulatory easings. The Ssangmun 2 district in Dobong-gu, around 81 Ssangmun-dong, was removed from an existing rebuilding zone in 2017 for reasons including weak profitability. It was later selected as a fast-track planning candidate site in 2024 and, after steps including an upgrade to its land-use zoning, was re-designated in April this year as a redevelopment zone for 1,919 units. In June it also won approval for a preparatory committee to establish an association.
The Jangwi 13-1 and 13-2 districts in Seongbuk-gu have likewise regained momentum for redevelopment through better project conditions. The area was included in the Jangwi redevelopment promotion district in 2006 but was dropped from the zone in 2014 and converted into an urban regeneration area the following year. Redevelopment procedures began again in April this year when a fast-track plan was confirmed, and approval for a preparatory committee to establish an association followed in June.
Seoul in particular applied revised standards for drawing up redevelopment promotion plans to raise the area's floor area ratio to 300% from 230%. As a result, the planned number of units also rose to about 5,900 from 4,128.
Given how widely redevelopment zone designations were revoked in Seoul in the past, the restart of these projects is expected to tie into an expansion of housing supply. According to the city, 163 of the 389 sites that lost their designations are pursuing redevelopment again since 2021 through methods such as redevelopment or Moa Town projects. The housing planned at these sites totals 128,550 units.
"Deregulation in redevelopment — fast-track planning, land-use upgrades and profitability adjustments — is reaching even areas that had weak profitability in the past, so the pool of redevelopment sites in Seoul is widening again," an official in the redevelopment industry said. "Cases will keep emerging in which areas that once dropped out of redevelopment secure owner consent and profitability and return to the formal redevelopment framework."
