Nowon District's Proposals Reflected in August 13 Measures... Faster Reconstruction and Lower Member Contributions

Relaxation of Park and Green Space Requirements Expected to Supply 500 Additional Households in Five Complexes

On August 25, the Nowon District Office in Seoul (headed by Mayor Seo Joono) announced that it expects the profitability and implementation conditions of reconstruction and redevelopment projects in the district to improve, following the government's August 13 real estate measures. The district office analyzed that 14 maintenance project sites in the area will be directly affected by these measures.

Seo Joonoh, Mayor of Nowon District, answering residents' questions at a reconstruction project residents' briefing session. Provided by Nowon District Office.

The Nowon District Office explained that the new measures include relaxing the requirements for donations of parks and green spaces, rationalizing the purchase price of rental housing units, and making housing relocation loans more practical—all of which the district had previously discovered at maintenance project sites and recommended to the government. Nowon-gu has a high ratio of aging apartment complexes and a concentration of areas pursuing reconstruction, so the district expects the effects of the policy improvements to be relatively significant.

The aspect that the district is paying the closest attention to is the relaxation of park and green space requirements. Previously, projects with a high ratio of small-sized housing units had to secure a larger park area based on the number of units, which undermined project profitability. The district explained that, given that many complexes in the area are adjacent to existing green spaces such as Buramsan and Suraksan mountains, it has consistently called for a more flexible approach instead of a blanket standard. The district office estimates that, should the mandatory provision requirements be relaxed, approximately 500 additional households could be supplied across five projects in the district.

Rationalizing the purchase price of rental housing units is also expected to affect project profitability. Using Sanggye Jugong Complex 5, which is awaiting approval for its management disposition plan, as an example, the district estimates that for 55 planned rental units in the project, the average purchase price for each unit under 85 square meters of exclusive area could increase by about 100 million won, while each cooperative member’s individual share could decrease by about 600,000 won as a result.

Conditions for relocating residents are also set to improve. Previously, relocation loan limits were calculated based on the appraised value of homes before redevelopment, but now the appraised value of the newly built homes can also be reflected. The district expects this to expand the availability of loans for cooperative members in areas such as Sanggye 2 Urban Renewal Promotion Zone, where residents are preparing to relocate. In addition, a new guarantee product will be introduced to support cases where construction companies and cooperatives raise funds from financial institutions to lend additional relocation funds to cooperative members.

Nowon District is also implementing its own measures in parallel to accelerate the benefits of the government’s regulatory improvements. Since taking office, Mayor Seo Joono has launched a “Task Force for Expedited Reconstruction and Redevelopment,” and the district office is preparing “project duration reduction management plans” that include preliminary consent form review systems, parallel processing of administrative procedures, and standardized negotiation guidelines for relevant departments. The core is to move away from a step-by-step approach to administrative procedures and instead expand preliminary reviews and parallel processing to reduce waiting times for permits and approvals. The district also plans to provide customized consulting to cooperatives and promotion committees regarding the August 13 measures.

Mayor Seo Joono stated, “The August 13 measures are significant because they translate improvement initiatives—which Nowon District discovered and continuously recommended through experience at maintenance project sites—into actual policy. By relaxing park and green space requirements, we will enhance our supply capacity, and by rationalizing rental housing purchase prices and improving relocation loan systems, we will ensure residents feel a tangible reduction in their burdens at the project level.”

He added, “We will combine the government’s regulatory easing with swift administrative support from Nowon District, aiming to improve both the profitability and speed of reconstruction and redevelopment projects. Our administrative resources will be focused on delivering the comfortable living environment that our residents want as soon as possible.”

Apartment complex view in Nowon-gu. Courtesy of Nowon-gu.

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