Project REIT established to drive SH headquarters move; land contribution and design competition to follow in sequence
The relocation of the Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation headquarters — the top priority project for Jungnang-gu — is moving into full swing.
Jungnang-gu sits on the northeastern fringe of Seoul and has long been considered an underserved district, overshadowed by development elsewhere due to its predominantly residential character.
Since Jungnang-gu District Mayor Ryu Kyung-gi took office, however, the district has pushed for balanced development between Seoul's northern and southern areas — and succeeded in securing the relocation of the SH headquarters, currently located near Suseo Station in Gangnam-gu.
The move faced resistance from the SH labor union, but the union ultimately joined the effort, allowing the relocation to proceed in earnest.
Jungnang-gu announced Monday that the Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation (SH) had completed the incorporation process for a project real estate investment trust (REIT) to drive the headquarters relocation.
The vehicle established for the project — Seoul Sinnae Mixed-Use Development Project Trust Management Real Estate Investment Company — completed its corporate registration on July 15 and received approval from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for its project REIT filing on Aug. 27.
A project REIT is a real estate investment company formed to carry out a specific real estate development. With the incorporation now complete, the groundwork is in place to advance the SH headquarters relocation; the next steps — contributing the project site and holding a design competition — will proceed in sequence.
The SH headquarters relocation project aims to build a mixed-use complex in the Sinnae-dong area, combining SH office space with a performance venue, apartment housing and neighborhood commercial facilities, in support of balanced development between northern and southern Seoul and the revitalization of the city's northeastern corridor. Jungnang-gu said it will continue working closely with the Seoul Metropolitan Government and SH to ensure the project drives local economic growth and establishes a new growth hub for the northeastern part of the city.
"With the project REIT incorporation complete, the SH headquarters relocation can now move to the next stage," District Mayor Ryu said. "We will work closely with the Seoul Metropolitan Government and SH to make sure the project proceeds without a hitch and becomes a new driver of growth for the district."
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