Gangnam Tancheon Water Reclamation Center Development to Take Over 10 Years

The Tancheon Water Reclamation Center site in Gangnam-gu covers an area of 410,000 square meters (about 120,000 pyeong), making it larger than Yongsan Children's Garden. The Seoul Metropolitan Government estimates that up to 13,000 housing units can be supplied on this site. However, reporter Baek Jong-hoon predicted that the actual development of this site would "consequently take over 10 years."

The reason for such a prolonged development period is the need for complex procedures, including the relocation of sewage treatment facilities, environmental impact assessments, and persuading surrounding residents. Since it will take a considerable amount of time from groundbreaking to completion, it is expected that a long period will pass before housing supply is achieved as envisioned by the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

While parks and tennis courts are built on the ground level of the Tancheon Water Reclamation Center site, sewage treatment facilities are actually located beneath and next to them. Reporter Baek Jong-hoon explained, "There are sewage treatment facilities here, and next to them is what looks like a park, but in fact, the structure underneath is similar to this. It's all sewage treatment facilities underneath." He revealed that sewage treatment and sludge purification take place in the underground and tank facilities.

Furthermore, staff residential apartments are located right next to this facility, illustrating the characteristic of a sewage treatment facility adjacent to a residential area.

Seoul operates a total of four water reclamation centers (formerly sewage treatment plants): Jungnang, Tancheon (Gangnam), Seonam (Magok), and Nanji. Reporter Baek Jong-hoon explained, "There are four water reclamation centers, formerly sewage treatment plants, located in Seoul. Jungnang, Tancheon (Gangnam), Seonam (Magok area), and Nanji. These are the four water reclamation centers, now called water reclamation centers, but their old name was sewage treatment plants."

Among these, Jungnang began operation in the 1970s, and the other three in the 1980s. Most of them are over 40 years old, and continuous improvement work is underway.

Public land owned by the Seoul Metropolitan Government is adjacent to the Tancheon Water Reclamation Center site. For example, the Seoul Eastern Road Business Office site is approximately 50,000 square meters, and the Seoul Trade Exhibition Center (SETEC) site is fan-shaped, measuring about 33,000 square meters. Reporter Baek Jong-hoon mentioned, "The Seoul Eastern Road Business Office is 50,000 square meters, and this somewhat large fan-shaped area is SETEC, the Seoul Trade Exhibition Center, which is 33,000 square meters."

These sites may be linked to the future development of the Tancheon Water Reclamation Center or utilized as sale targets to secure financial resources.

The Tancheon Water Reclamation Center is currently an actively operating sewage treatment facility, and therefore, it has characteristic odor problems. Reporter Baek Jong-hoon visited the site directly and reported, "It smells a bit. When I went there. And if you go to the basement level I mentioned earlier, which you're not supposed to go to, but if a reporter goes there, it smells quite a bit."

Such odors are a major factor making the facility undesirable to residents in surrounding areas, and solving environmental problems will be an important task during future development.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is envisioning a plan to create up to 13,000 housing units along with industrial facilities on the Tancheon Water Reclamation Center site. Reporter Baek Jong-hoon explained, "The Seoul City's plan is to put a maximum of 13,000 units and some industrial facilities."

While the Yongsan Children's Garden site (300,000㎡) suggests the potential for up to 13,000 units, the Tancheon Water Reclamation Center site is larger, so theoretically, it is expected to accommodate more than 13,000 units. A distinguishing feature is that it aims for complex development, including industrial facilities, rather than just high-density residential areas.

The development of the Yongsan Park site is likely to be centered on public investment, with a high proportion of rental housing. In contrast, the Tancheon Water Reclamation Center development is envisioned as a private investment project to attract private investment and sell apartments. Reporter Baek Jong-hoon stated, "For Yongsan, it's likely that public investment will lead to many rental homes. Here, the plan is to attract private investment and proceed as a private investment project."

While 30-40% of the total project cost is expected to come from government or local government funds, the main financial resources are planned to be covered by private capital.

To estimate the development value of the Tancheon Water Reclamation Center site, its area and density were compared with surrounding large-scale complexes. Comparing it with Dunchon Jugong Apartment (620,000㎡) can help understand the appropriate development scale for the Tancheon site.

In particular, Songpa Heliocity accommodated 9,510 households on an area of 340,000㎡. Since the Tancheon Water Reclamation Center site is larger, reporter Baek Jong-hoon assessed, "Songpa Heliocity has a similar area, 340,000㎡, and it had 9,510 households. Even if we include 13,000 units and some industrial facilities in the Tancheon Water Reclamation Center, since there is some area, it can be Heliocity-class or larger," suggesting the possibility of creating a large-scale complex.

The Tancheon Water Reclamation Center development project is expected to take at least 10 years. One of the biggest reasons is the prerequisite of securing a relocation site for the existing water reclamation center. Reporter Baek Jong-hoon explained, "Looking at the timeline, it will take over 10 years. It must pass the feasibility review of the Private Investment Review Committee. The committee evaluates whether the project makes sense, what benefits it brings, and if it's economically viable."

Furthermore, the project must go through the feasibility review process of the Private Investment Review Committee, during which the project's appropriateness, economic viability, and the validity of government financial input will be evaluated. Such complex licensing and review procedures inevitably lead to a considerable amount of time for project implementation.

In addition, the specific condition of relocating sewage treatment facilities increases the difficulty of securing a new site, and the resulting social consensus process is also expected to be a delaying factor.

Ultimately, complex problem-solving beyond simply constructing housing is required, so it is analyzed that it will take a long time for the Seoul Metropolitan Government's plan to materialize.

Relocating a sewage treatment plant is a process that realistically takes a very long time from the planning stage to completion. Reporter Baek Jong-hoon cited the case of the relocation of the Wonchon-dong sewage treatment plant in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, stating, "The initial idea to do this was in 2011. It's 2026 now. And the construction will finish in 2028. If you count from planning to completion, it takes about 17 or 18 years."

This shows that a significant amount of time is required for all stages, including planning, permits, resident persuasion, site acquisition, and construction. Even with efforts to shorten the planning and permitting periods, given the complexity of the facility relocation itself, the long-term nature of large-scale development projects appears unavoidable.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to sell the nearby Seoul Eastern Road Business Office and Seoul Trade Exhibition Center (SETEC) sites to secure the necessary funds for the Tancheon Water Reclamation Center development. Reporter Baek Jong-hoon explained, "They will sell and relocate those, and from the proceeds, they will inject about 500 billion won as seed money to private investors... They'll put in about 10% of that as seed money and then work with private investors."

The plan is to use a portion (about 10%) of the proceeds from these sales as seed money to attract private capital for private investment projects.

One of the biggest challenges in developing the Tancheon Water Reclamation Center is securing a site for relocation. Minister Kim Yoon-deok emphasized the difficulty of securing a relocation site rather than financial issues, referring to his experience in Jeonju where there was strong opposition to a new relocation site when trying to move an undesirable facility. Reporter Baek Jong-hoon conveyed, "Minister Kim Yoon-deok, rather than talking about finances, said, 'Where will it be moved?' as pointed out by Representative Ahn... 'Moving a certain undesirable facility in Jeonju was that difficult... due to opposition from the new relocation area...' He was implying that it's difficult to go as planned, 'It's not as easy as it seems.'"

This suggests that due to the nature of undesirable facilities, there is strong public opposition, making it very difficult to secure a relocation site, and it is highly likely to become a political issue.

Some centrist experts are proposing a compromise to develop both Yongsan and Tancheon Water Reclamation Center sites. This is an attempt to preserve the main Yongsan Park site while simultaneously developing the Tancheon site to secure housing supply and reach a political agreement. Reporter Baek Jong-hoon mentioned, "If you look at this slide, rather than just pushing for something, they say to develop only the damaged parts here and also develop both Yongsan and Tancheon. Centrist experts and those with centrist leanings talk about doing both."

This compromise is interpreted as an intention to utilize the advantages of both sites to increase housing supply while seeking development directions that consider the specific characteristics of each area.

The Tancheon Water Reclamation Center site has exceptionally strong locational advantages. Reporter Baek Jong-hoon explained, "A common point for both sites is excellent transportation... It's right by a subway station, you can get there in about 2 minutes. I walked there... It's also close to Dunchon Jugong." He emphasized its excellent transportation due to its subway station access.

Furthermore, its location near the Asia Athletes' Village Apartments and excellent accessibility to key Gangnam residential areas indicate its high value for development.

The sewage treatment facilities of the Tancheon Water Reclamation Center are concentrated underground and operate by purifying water through the injection of chemicals. Reporter Baek Jong-hoon explained, "Chemicals and such are injected here to purify the water."

While the upper part of the facility can be developed into a park, there is still a possibility of odors in some exposed sections, making underground development and the introduction of odor reduction technology essential during development.

Former leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, Cho Kuk, issued strong criticism of the Gangnam Tancheon Water Reclamation Center development plan. Reporter Baek Jong-hoon relayed former Representative Cho Kuk's statement that "if Gangnam is adopted as Mayor Oh Se-hoon's alternative, it could boost Gangnam real estate."

Former Representative Cho Kuk pointed out that due to the excellent location conditions of this area, including its proximity to Jungdong High School and Daecheong Station, private investors would be the only beneficiaries if private capital led the development.

The government and Seoul Metropolitan Government's supply plans go beyond mere housing supply and also serve as a competition for clarity, demonstrating their commitment to supply. Reporter Baek Jong-hoon mentioned, "There are counterarguments that if we say we'll even do something unreasonable, that we're truly committed, then the market will think there'll be a lot of supply, and housing prices will go down and stabilize."

In other words, even if it seems somewhat excessive, announcing large-scale supply plans could signal an increase in supply to the market, thereby contributing to the stabilization of real estate asking prices. However, some argue that activating existing reconstruction and redevelopment projects is a more realistic supply measure.

The third meeting between Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Yoon-deok and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is scheduled for next week. Reporter Baek Jong-hoon stated, "Next week, Minister Kim Yoon-deok of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon will have their third meeting. At that time, they might also discuss potential relocation sites for the Tancheon Water Reclamation Center."

During this third meeting, in addition to the Yongsan Park site development, a forward-looking exchange of opinions is expected regarding the Tancheon Water Reclamation Center development, especially concerning potential relocation sites for facilities. Attention is focused on whether concrete directions for supply measures will be presented through the discussions between both sides.