The government will introduce its first "universal public rental housing" — a program that widens eligibility from low-income households to the middle class — at the Junggye 1 complex in Seoul. Units originally planned for public presale will be converted into universal public rentals, aiming to serve housing needs across income levels from low-income to middle-class households. Units under 59 square meters will use a three-bay layout and larger units a four-bay layout, while a sky lounge housing community facilities such as a youth lounge and a fitness center will be added — a significant upgrade in quality over existing rental apartments.
According to the Public Procurement Service's national e-procurement system Nara Marketplace on the 17th, universal public rental housing will be introduced for the first time nationwide at the Junggye 1 complex in Nowon-gu, Seoul, a site selected under last year's Sept. 7 housing measures for public housing built on aging facilities.
Completed in 1990, Junggye 1 is a public rental apartment complex of 882 units in buildings up to 15 stories tall. Last year the government said it would rebuild the complex to add housing supply in the city center. Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) planned to rebuild the site into 1,370 units in total, comprising 882 integrated public rental units and 488 public presale units, with existing permanent rental tenants resettled in the integrated public rentals and the additional units created by the rebuilding sold as public presales.
Under the basic design contract for the Seoul Junggye 1 aging public rental redevelopment project, the 488 public presale units in the original plan have been changed to 514 universal public rental units. Integrated public rentals were adjusted to 884 units. The core of the design proposal is eliminating the presale portion and supplying the added units as universal public rentals. It is the first application of the universal public rental program the government is pursuing.
Under the proposal, the integrated public rentals will occupy the western side of the complex and the universal public rentals the eastern side, each as a separate zone. LH will design the entrances, pedestrian routes, support and welfare facilities and underground parking to be independent for each zone. The current plan calls for 362 units of 46 square meters, 11 units of 55 square meters, 94 units of 59 square meters and 47 units of 84 square meters, with no more than 30% of all units using specialized floor plans. The 46- and 55-square-meter units will have at least three bays and the 59- and 84-square-meter units at least four. A sky lounge on the top floor of the residential buildings will allow for a youth lounge — including a book park, study and office stations and a media lounge — as well as a fitness center.
In its Aug. 13 measures, the government said it would ease asset and income requirements to offer universal public rental housing with tenancies of up to 20 years. The plan is to apply design and finishing materials comparable to private housing so that non-homeowners across a range of income levels can move into good-quality public rentals.
The government will supply 36,000 universal public rental units next year, combining newly built, purchased and lease-based units, and will spend about 6.2 trillion won ($4.5 billion) to do so. The newly built units will be pursued first in the third-generation new towns of Namyangju Wangsuk, Incheon Gyeyang and Hanam Gyosan. The purchase-based approach involves buying existing homes or officetels — studio units used as either a home or an office — near subway stations and supplying them as rentals.
