Small-scale redevelopment yields 215-unit apartment complex

Floor-height deregulation enables roomier layout

A rendering of Gangbyeon Station Central i'Park. [Korea Real Estate Investment & Trust]
A rendering of Gangbyeon Station Central i'Park. [Korea Real Estate Investment & Trust]

Gangbyeon Station Central i'Park in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul — a project managed by Korea Real Estate Investment & Trust — has completed construction and begun move-ins.

Korea Real Estate Investment & Trust said Tuesday that the complex received its completion approval on Aug. 25 and began accepting residents Monday.

The development replaced a deteriorating low-rise neighborhood of 99 units with a modern residential complex of 215 units spread across four buildings rising up to 15 above-ground floors. The project also carries the distinction of being the first completed under Seoul Metropolitan Government's Moa Housing program, again demonstrating the viability of trust-managed redevelopment.

The project benefited significantly from deregulation under Seoul's Moa Housing review standards, which substantially improved its feasibility. Originally planned as six buildings with 211 units, the introduction of the Moa Housing review criteria in 2022 allowed the maximum height to be raised to 15 floors while reducing the number of buildings to four, resulting in a more spacious complex layout with greater distance between buildings.

New apartment developments are rising steadily in the surrounding area, and the construction of a new Gwangjin-gu district office and the relocation of major corporate headquarters are also underway, pointing to further improvements in living conditions and local infrastructure.

Trust-managed redevelopment became viable after a 2016 amendment to the Act on the Improvement of Urban Areas and Residential Environments opened the sector to real estate trust companies. Given the long development timelines involved, larger trust firms that entered the market early are now beginning to see completed projects materialize.

Korea Real Estate Investment & Trust has been building its track record in the redevelopment sector since the law was amended. As of the second quarter of this year, it employs more than 70 staff dedicated solely to redevelopment — the largest such team in the industry — and is currently leading projects at 40 sites nationwide, totaling 44,633 units, either as project operator or project agent.

Recent completions include the Incheon Hagik SK View redevelopment, the Yeongdeungpo-dong 2-ga Centreville Asterium street-block housing project, and the Incheon Seoknam Brownstone The Prime reconstruction complex. This year, major Seoul redevelopment sites including the Heukseok District 11 redevelopment and the Singil District 10 reconstruction have also reached the ground-breaking and pre-sale stages.

"The symbolic title of being the first completed Moa Housing project in Seoul again demonstrates our expertise in trust-managed redevelopment," a Korea Real Estate Investment & Trust official said. "We will do our utmost to manage the site until the very end so that residents can move in without any disruption."

Founded in 1996, Korea Real Estate Investment & Trust operates across four business lines: loan-type land trusts, urban redevelopment and reconstruction projects managed through the trust method, real estate investment trusts (REITs), and investment projects. The company has supplied approximately 30,000 units — including apartments and officetels — across major regions nationwide, and is currently advancing trust-managed urban redevelopment projects at 30 Greater Seoul sites, including Yeouido, Gangbyeon and Heukseok, as well as 38 sites across the country, serving as both project operator and project agent.


hwshin@heraldcorp.com