An 11,000-square-meter urban forest will be built at the front of the Global Business Complex (GBC) in Samseong-dong, Gangnam District, which will serve as Hyundai Motor Group's new headquarters. Including a park on the rooftop, green space at the site will expand to about 24,000 square meters.
The Seoul city government said on the 9th that its 16th Building Committee meeting, held on the 8th, approved three proposals: the GBC construction project, a new tourist accommodation facility in Yeoksam-dong and a long-term jeonse housing project near Gwangwoondae Station.
The GBC will feature an 11,000-square-meter urban forest connected to the ground-level plaza on Yeongdong-daero. Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall measures 13,207 square meters, meaning a green space of comparable size will sit in the middle of Samseong-dong. Named "Great Park," the space will be open to the public and linked to nearby public walkways and cultural facilities. A roughly 13,000-square-meter "podium rooftop garden" will also be created atop the lower floors. Four dedicated elevators will be installed to improve public access to the rooftop garden.
Cultural facilities including an exhibition hall and a performance venue will be placed along the Yeongdong-daero frontage. The exhibition hall will be built as a hands-on science museum centered on basic science, while the performance venue will be designed as a flexible space seating up to 2,000 for classical music, opera and musicals. An observation area will be set up in the north tower.
The GBC is planned as three buildings ranging from eight basement levels to 49 above-ground floors, with total floor area of about 972,000 square meters. It will house offices and officetels — studio units used as either homes or offices — along with the exhibition hall, performance venue, retail facilities, accommodations and the observation area. By connecting the Yeongdong-daero ground plaza with the underground level of a multi-modal transfer center, it will also serve as a pedestrian spine for the International Exchange Complex district. The city said it expects the GBC to become a global business and cultural hub and a new landmark, as the revised plan significantly expands the large urban forest, rooftop garden, hands-on science museum and performance venue.
The committee also approved a plan to build an 85-room tourist hotel, spanning three basement levels to 25 above-ground floors, in the area of 702-24 Yeoksam-dong in Gangnam District. The project involves developing a vacant, aging low-rise building on a site of about 522 square meters, with rooms ranging from doubles to units accommodating 10 guests. An open lounge will occupy the lower floors, while guest rooms, restaurants and a swimming pool will be placed on the upper floors.
Near Gwangwoondae Station in Wolgye-dong, Nowon District, 263 apartment units will be supplied in a building with six basement levels and 28 above-ground floors. The complex will consist of 75 public rental units, including long-term jeonse housing, and 188 units for sale. Taking advantage of the site's proximity to Gwangwoondae Station and the Dongbu Arterial Road, neighborhood retail facilities will be placed along the arterial road, while open views and sight corridors will be secured toward Mount Yeongchuk to the north.
"These are meaningful projects that strengthen international business and MICE functions in southeastern Seoul while expanding housing supply near a subway station in the northeast," said Myung No-jun, head of the Seoul city government's housing bureau. "We will carefully manage the follow-up procedures and push ahead without setbacks so that residents can feel real change."
