Yongin City to Create Yongin Central Park on 62,443㎡ Mapyeong Sports Complex Site

[Suwon Ilbo = Reporter Park No-hun] The Mapyeong Sports Complex site in Choin-gu, Yongin City, will be reborn as a healing landmark 'Yongin Central Park (tentative name)' that encompasses the Gyeongan Stream greenery axis. It is planned to be developed as the city's largest flat-terrain park.

Mayor Baek Kun-gi of Yongin City announced the 'Yongin Central Park' development plan to citizens on the 17th through a Facebook and YouTube live broadcast from the City Hall briefing room.

Mayor Baek said, "We have decided to develop the Mapyeong Sports Complex, which holds many citizens' memories and the city's history, into a park to return it to all citizens."

Yongin Central Park will be developed as a ground-level park on the 62,443㎡ Mapyeong Sports Complex site in Choin-gu. The plan is to demolish all facilities on the site except for an indoor gymnasium and gateball court, and create green spaces including a 50,000㎡ walking trail.

The city will also introduce landscape architecture methods that utilize natural terrain such as hills to create three-dimensional lawn plazas on the ground level, while arranging separate spaces below for parking lots and office spaces for current stadium tenant organizations for citizens' convenience.

The city plans to secure 250 parking spaces by creating one underground and one ground-level parking facility, and will also install performance venues where various cultural performances can be held and sports facilities.

The city plans to establish a green belt triangle by connecting Gyeongan Stream through an access passage to the 77,727㎡ 'Gyeongan Stream Urban Forest' in Yeongmun-ri, Pogok-eup, Choin-gu, to be completed by the end of 2022, and the 1,378,049㎡ green rest area in Yubangg-dong designated as an urban natural park zone.

Additionally, a separate website will be opened to enable Central Park to be developed as an open space for citizen participation, and the city will receive ideas regarding the park's name and facility content composition. The city also plans to explore ways to link development of Yongin Central Market, a traditional market, and underdeveloped adjacent areas such as Mapyeong-dong and Gorim-dong.

The city aims for completion in 2022 and plans to establish a TF to promote Central Park, completing mid-to-long-term local finance plans and investment reviews by the end of this year, finishing all administrative procedures including detailed design in the first half of next year, and beginning construction in the second half. Total project costs are expected to reach 15 billion won.

Mayor Baek Kun-gi stated, "Rather than 'filling in' according to development logic, we will revitalize the old downtown through the method of 'taking away' that preserves the meaning of space," and added, "We will do our best to create eco-friendly green spaces where many citizens can heal."

Meanwhile, the city also explained to citizens regarding the reconstruction of the Yongin Public Bus Terminal in the Kimnyangjang-dong area, Choin-gu.

In February 2018, the city confirmed the Third Local Public Transportation Plan with a direction to rebuild the current public bus terminal and install a GTX Yongin Station complex transfer terminal in the western sector including Suji and Giheung, which has undergone public inspection by residents.

Separately, Yongin Urban Development Corporation held a 'Sports Complex Commercialization Plan Residents' Briefing' on February 8, 2018, which included plans for terminal relocation, but a feasibility study conducted in March 2019 showed insufficient business viability.

Regarding terminal relocation, building basic infrastructure such as roads and bridges requires over 67 billion won, and the results showed uncertain connectivity with the old downtown after development, and the possibility of deteriorating business viability due to future Choin-gu housing supply plans.

Accordingly, the city plans to rebuild the Yongin Public Bus Terminal in the short term, which urgently requires facility improvements due to safety issues, and improve bus entry and exit flow to address citizen inconvenience.

The city is conducting a design competition for the public bus terminal with 700 million won allocated for design fees, and plans to begin construction in the second half of next year when detailed design is completed. Total project costs are expected to reach 9.3 billion won.

Song Jong-yul, Director of Transportation and Construction, stated, "Considering large-scale development projects such as the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster and Yangji Logistics Center, as well as road network expansion, we will strategically reorganize public facilities in the Choin-gu area including the public bus terminal and explore ways to utilize the public bus terminal."