Garam Apartments in Ilwon-dong, Gangnam District, Seoul, has become the first complex in the Suseo housing development zone to win approval to form a rebuilding association, moving the project into full execution about one year and two months after a district unit plan revision laid the groundwork for the rebuilding of the aging apartment complex in August last year.
Gangnam District said on the 12th of this month it approved the formation of the Garam Apartments rebuilding association, according to the district on the 13th. The district processed the application in 10 working days after receiving it on Sept. 22, well ahead of the 30-day statutory deadline. Of the 511 owners of land and property in the complex, 480 consented to the association's formation, a consent rate of 93.93%.
Garam Apartments, completed in 1993, consists of 496 units in five-story buildings. The rebuilding will transform the site into 818 units in buildings up to 25 stories tall. The complex moved through the process in stages, winning preparatory committee approval in February, designation as an improvement zone in April, holding its founding general meeting in September and securing association approval this month.
Public support helped accelerate the early stages of the project. After a revision to the Act on the Improvement of Urban Areas and Residential Environments last year allowed preparatory committees to form before a zone is designated, the district tapped its contingency fund and commissioned public support services in November last year. Under the system, the district government covers costs and handles procedures while residents organize a rebuilding preparatory committee.
Gangnam District plans to extend the public support approach to other rebuilding zones. It has included funding in this year's first supplementary budget to support the formation of preparatory committees in five zones, including Suseo Shin Dong-A and Suseo Samik. The district intends to shorten the time required in the early stages of improvement projects by organizing preparatory committees in parallel with the advisory phase of the Rapid Integrated Planning program.
"Garam Apartments moved quickly to make the necessary preparations in line with the regulatory changes, and residents added momentum with their high rate of consent," Gangnam District Mayor Kim Hyun-ki said. "We will work to cut the time residents spend waiting unnecessarily during the rebuilding process, so they can feel that the pace of these projects has changed."