SEOUL, The development plan for an abandoned train maintenance depot site in the central Seoul district of Yongsan has become more concrete, as the city government said Monday it will permit the construction of a landmark building with around 100 floors and an unprecedented sky trail linking high-rises there, among others.
The Seoul government said it has finalized the Yongsan International Business District blueprint to transform the 500,000-square-meter site into the world’s largest “vertical” city featuring extensive green space from the basement and ground to the rooftops.
Infrastructure construction is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2025 and businesses will begin to move into the futuristic urban space, about 4.4 times the size of Hudson Yards, New York’s largest mixed-use development site, in the early 2030s, it said.
The unused train maintenance depot owned by the Korea Railroad Corp. and the land ministry has been dubbed the last remaining large section of undeveloped land in Seoul. It l
ies between the former USFK compound set to turn into a massive urban park and the Han River. It is also close to the Yongsan Presidential Office compound.
The predecessor of the Yongsan international business district project was first announced in 2006 but floundered thereafter mainly due to the outbreak of the global financial crisis in 2008.
The city government said the Yongsan district will be reborn as a “compact city” where business, residence and leisure culture can be approached within walking distance.
Depending on the intended purposes, the district will be divided into three zones — international business, business complex and business support, it noted.
The international business zone covering 88,557 square meters will see the construction of a skyscraper with around 100 floors, as the city government will ease its zoning and floor space regulations there. The zone will also host Class A office buildings, hotels and a metropolitan transit center, while the envisioned skyscraper will feature
observation and amusement facilities and various attractions, it added.
The business complex zone covering 104,905 square meters will accommodate business and corporate support facilities and the 95,239-square-meter business support zone will house support facilities, such as housing, education and culture.
Notably, 45-story office buildings envisioned for the business complex zone will be linked by a sky trail and the lower level of the international business zone will house a concert hall, an art museum and a cultural complex library to form the so-called Seoul Art Band, the city government said.
In addition, the new business district will aim to further expand its green area ratio by connecting itself with the Han River and Yongsan Park areas.
Source: Yonhap News Agency