An aerial view of apartment complexes in the Yeonsu district. [Yonhap]
An aerial view of apartment complexes in the Yeonsu district. [Yonhap]

A large-scale redevelopment effort targeting Incheon's most densely aging apartment neighborhoods has officially gotten underway.

The Incheon Metropolitan Government announced Tuesday that it has finalized six pilot zones to lead its aging planned-city renewal project.

The six zones together cover 16,267 households, making it the largest such designation in the country.

The Yeonsu-Seonhak district accounts for two of the six zones, while the Guwol, Mansu 1·2·3, Galsan-Bupyeong-Bugae and Gyesan districts each contributed one zone.

The largest zone is in the Yeonsu-Seonhak district, which will see 5,605 households enter the renewal process — 4,748 in Zone A7 and 857 in Zone A12.

Seven complexes are included: Hyundai 1st, Yeonsu Punglim 2nd, Mujigae Maeul, Hanyang 2nd, Yeonsu Punglim 3rd, Joheung and Lotte.

In the Guwol district, Zone B1 was selected with 2,756 households. The zone encompasses seven complexes: Dong-A, Samhwan 1st, Gwangyo KGM, Punglim, Seongji, Samhwan Gwangyo 2nd and Dongbu.

Zone A3 in the Galsan-Bupyeong-Bugae district will also move forward, covering 2,958 households.

Five complexes are targeted there: Ukil, Daedong, Daejin, New Seoul and Dong-A. Zone A5 in the Gyesan district covers 3,418 households across two complexes — Kkachi Maeul Taehwa and Hanjin, and Jakjeon Hyundai 2-1 and 2-2.

In the Mansu 1·2·3 district, Zone A4 was selected with 1,530 households. Four complexes — Samik, Mansu Hyundai, Geumho Town and Jinheung — are included in the renewal plan.

The selection process also revealed strong demand from residents of aging apartment complexes eager to see renewal move forward.

After Incheon launched a pilot-zone application process last December targeting five aging planned cities — including Guwol and Yeonsu — applications submitted in June totaled 46,100 households across 21 of the 39 designated special renewal zones.

After a competitive selection process, six zones covering 16,267 households were chosen as the first sites for the renewal project.

The city said it formed an evaluation committee that included outside experts, verified ownership registries and building ledgers, and checked the validity of resident consent forms during the selection process.

Designation as a pilot zone does not mean ground-breaking or move-in is imminent. How quickly the city and residents can advance subsequent steps — including drawing up special renewal plans — will determine whether the project succeeds.

Incheon said it will dispatch a master planner to each zone as soon as resident representative bodies are formed, to support the development of special renewal plans.

The master planner will work with residents to set a renewal direction suited to each zone's conditions and provide administrative support throughout the process.

The city also published a rights-calculation reference date alongside the pilot-zone announcement. The measure is designed to block speculative activity through so-called "equity splitting" — the subdivision of exclusive portions of collective buildings.

The move serves as a safeguard against real estate prices around the project sites surging on renewal expectations, while protecting the property rights of existing residents.

Areas that were not selected pose another challenge, as residents there may push back over fairness concerns.

Given that applications totaled 46,100 households, a significant number of residents were left out of the pilot designation.

The city plans to determine the selection method and scale for renewal sites beyond 2027 for zones that were not chosen, through community meetings and consultations with relevant agencies.

"We will provide tailored administrative services to each zone from the earliest stages of the pilot, and make Incheon a national model for aging planned-city renewal," said Yoo Gwang-jo, the city's director of urban balance.


gilbert@heraldcorp.com